Soul Searching

I woke up slowly. My eyes were slits and everything was blurred as I tried to figure out why I was so stiff and in pain. Moving my head around slowly, I realized I was in a hospital. It didn’t appear to be a nice one though. The walls were a creepy lemon yellow and the television looming above the bed actually had knobs protruding from it. The curtains were a strange orange that may have been popular decades ago. I tried to sit up but the pain was sharp and sudden. Why was I in the hospital? Was I in an accident?
The IV in my arm was aching. I looked down at it. I am sure it wasn’t normal. The needle and tape was surrounded by a fusion of purple and green. I felt panicked. I tried to recall why I was here and what had happened, but nothing immediately occurred to me. I craned my neck to see if I could see into the hallway, but the door was nearly shut. I laid back and tried to relax and concentrate. What had I been doing before? Before what though? I couldn’t remember a thing.
The last thing I actually could remember was sitting in class. Yes, I was sitting in class taking notes. I was a junior biology major sitting in vertebrate zoology taking notes. It was good to remember. But, what had brought me here?
I heard a woman cackling down the hall. I heard feet scuffing by and a murmur of voices. I considered yelling, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted or needed help at this point.
I moved a bit and got the blanket off of me as best as I could. I took my hand that was free from the hospital’s invasive tubes and rolled up the light blue hospital gown I was wearing. I nearly fainted. They had opened my chest!
They had needed to operate on my chest and I wondered why as I looked at the ugly wound. It was horrific. It started high and went below my breasts. It was easily eight inches long. I had been sewn up with this thick black suture and now I looked like Frankenstein. I threw the gown back over myself and felt like crying. I still didn’t understand why this had to be done.
The door creaked open.
“Miss Thomas?”
I felt like I had no voice to answer but I had a million questions to ask.
“Yeah…I’m here.”
This large figure came over to me. It was the nurse. A large woman who smelled like lunch with obviously dyed hair and tons of makeup on started checking my vitals.
“How are you feeling today?”
I told her that I was feeling in pain and that I don’t remember being awake before today. She prepared a syringe of what I assumed to be pain killer and injected it into my IV. She also changed the IV bag which was nearly empty.
“You don’t remember why you’re here?” she asked.
“No clue…I saw the huge scar on my chest but…” I trailed off not knowing what to say or how to explain why I didn’t know what was going on.
She sweetly replied, “I’ll go fetch the doc for you. He’ll explain what’s happened.”
I lay back still trying to remember. I felt like my head may explode because I was trying to think so hard. Maybe I actually had a heart attack? Probability was slim, but I didn’t know what else to think.
“Hello. I’m Dr. Lee” said this new voice.
“Hi.” I replied. “What is wrong with me?”
“Nothing at all is wrong. You are perfectly fine.”
I was starting to think this hospital was not only unsanitary but the staff was insane.
“You chose this as an elective surgery.”
I processed the word elective and the only thing I could think was this was the wrong doctor in the wrong room.
“I didn’t elect to have surgery. Why would anyone elect to have their chest cut open!? I think you have me confused with another patient.”
I was trying not to become upset, but it was becoming difficult. This Dr. Lee could tell I was starting to become irritated with all of this.
“So, you do not recall signing up for this surgery in your class?”
I signed up for surgery in class. Yes, I’m sure I did. Whatever. This man was delusional. I told him I think I would remember signing up for surgery. I asked him what type of surgery I actually had because I still had no clue what they had done to me.
“It’s simple, Miss Thomas. We removed your soul.”
I started to laugh. I wasn’t in a hospital. I had gone to an insane asylum in a time machine and they had let the patients cut me up. That made more sense than soul removal.
“Okay, so…where’d you put it?” I chuckled.
I thought this guy was crazy. He would probably look in his pocket or under the bed and say, “Gee…I know that soul was in here somewhere”.
“It is now property of the university. They are doing a series of research studies on the souls of biology students.”
He replied with a straight face and was looking directly at me. My eyes widened and I shook my head in approval as if any of this could be real.
“Like I had mentioned, it was an elective surgery. Biology students that completed the surgery would receive extra credit for their classes. You are the only student that has volunteered thus far though.”
I nodded my head again. I understood the words he was saying but they were just ludicrous. He received a page on the overhead speaker system. It crackled and was overbearingly loud. He excused himself, but said he would return shortly to answer any further questions I might have.
He briskly walked out the door. My eyes were wide and my mind was racing. I elected to have my soul removed for extra credit. My soul now belonged to the university. I really think that I needed medication. I couldn’t believe any of this was happening. I freaked out.
I sat up and ignored the dull pain in my chest. I threw the blankets off of me. I grit my teeth and slid the catheter out. I ripped the IV out of my arm. Blood started to drizzle down my arm. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand. I did it, but nearly fainted. I dizzyingly fumbled to the bathroom and found some bandage. I rolled it around my arm.
I was breathing heavily. I was nervous and scared. I gripped the door handle and slowly pulled on it. The hallway started to appear. I heard noises but saw no one. The floor was the colors of mint green and dirty white in a checkerboard pattern. I tilted my head out of the doorway. I didn’t immediately see anyone. I ran.
I thought I would pass out, but I didn’t let myself. I was determined to get out of this place. I saw an exit sign glowing red at the end of the corridor. I ran harder. A nurse spotted me as I flew by the nurses’ station. She began yelling, but it didn’t phase me. I had to go. I reached the door. It had a long push handle. I leaned up against it. I glanced down the hall. Three figures were running towards me with warnings. They said I had to stop. It wasn’t safe. I pushed hard and flew through the door. Nothing was there.
I started to fall. The air was warm as it rushed passed me. I was outdoors flying toward the ground somewhere below me. I began to scream and cry. I was going to die for running away and then it occurred to me…I had no soul. I was going to die without my soul.
I woke up with a twitch. Dr. Lee was standing above my desk. The room was empty except for him and me. I looked up towards him nearly feeling the same panic I had felt in the dream.
“Glad you could wake up. I don’t believe you will do well in this class if you continue to designate it as nap time, Miss Thomas.”
He glared at me sternly and I nodded as I got up and gathered my books. I apologized and left in a hurry. I ran to the bathroom. I threw my books in a pile and looked in the mirror. I looked flushed. I took the hem of my shirt and slowly pulled it up. There was no incision. I was okay. It was a strange, but realistic dream.
I gathered my books and left the building. The air was warm and it felt as if it might rain. I thought of the feeling of falling and got a shudder. I walked towards the registrar’s office.
I stepped inside the large wooden door. The air conditioning felt good. The lady behind the counter came over and asked if I needed help.
“Yes. I’m here to save my soul.”
“Excuse me?” she replied.
“I mean…I’m here to change my major”, I proclaimed.
She looked at me kind of funny and started fumbling with something behind the desk. She pushed some papers toward me and said to fill them out and that they would be processed within two weeks. I filled them out. I filled in the blank of current major with biology and the blank of my new major with English. My soul had been saved.