***
Seeing the Trinity Hospital sign pop up. It was a very large building with a road all the way around the main building. Parking was often atrocious, and a lot of times people didn’t even park in the main parking lot. At any rate, I was glad that Mom was driving so I didn’t have to focus on that. The hospital and school weren’t really too near each other, but in a town this small there’s only one of everything so you don’t really have a choice of where to go.
Mom was the first to step out of the car, and I followed promptly. I slammed the door to the car and collected the “evil-eye” from Mom. Just as I went to take a single step, I tripped over something hard and fell face first into the concrete sidewalk. Mom rushed over to my side to help peel me up off of the concrete. I looked back down barley noticing where the asphalt parking lot met with the cement sidewalk. I wanted to burst into tears, but not because of the fall, because of my eyes. It could always be like this.
I followed Mom into the hospital and she walked over to the front desk. “Good afternoon, Miss, can I help you?” The woman asked.
Mom leaned close to the desk, “Yes, my daughter claims she can’t see, that she is seeing everything in,” Mom put her fingers up using “air quotes”, “black and white.”
I rolled my eyes at the ridiculousness Mom turned this into. But, I wasn’t about to say nothing was wrong when something was. Besides, after the doctor has a look, it’ll prove I wasn’t lying. Then Mom will have something to apologize about.
“Alright Ma’am, have a seat and the doctor will call you—what was her name?”
“Uh, Halle Fletcher,” Mom said folding her arms.
The woman wrote something down and looked back up smiling only to be polite, “Alright, the doctor will be with you in a moment, have a seat until then.” Mom walked over to the nearest seat, and I sat down next to her.
“Sorry to embarrass you, Mom,” I shot out in a cruel voice. Mom shifted in her chair turning her back on my completely and wearing a big, fake frown. I almost wished she would talk to me, it was much better than turning her back and ignoring me. I leaned my head back against the wall, noticing the headache from the lights again. What was wrong with me? Could it be cancer, or a brain tumor, or something? I sat there for at least 45 minutes thinking of all of the possibilities that would cause my symptoms—the Hantavirus, Pink Eye—but nothing matched perfectly. As far as I was concerned, it could have been anything, or a combination of everything.
“Halle Fletcher,” I heard my name called and jumped up out of my seat. I probably looked utterly strange with my quickened pace as I ran into the door the nurse held open, but I was eager to get the diagnosis. I don’t remember wanting anything more than I wanted to know what was happening.
Behind the door there was a long hall with many, many doors—all with numbers on them, 3392, 3394, 3396, 3398, the nurse opened the door to the left, room 3397. There were two beds in the room, but none were occupied. The nurse handed me one of those creepy patent outfits with the backs open. “Put this on, and the doctor will be around to see you in a moment.”
I walked into the room and the nurse turned to leave, Mom walked in the door right away, and closed it behind herself. I stepped around the side of the bed and pulled the curtain half-way around and began undressing, which I did in record time. When I pushed the curtain back to its usual resting place, Mom walked over to me and tied the strings in the back, and I sat down in the bed. “Why are you doing this?” Mom asked folding her arms.
“It’s not school, okay—”
“Then what; is it boys? Your friends? Do you hate me? Do you hate your family? What? What is it, Halle—”
“It’s not boys, my friends, you, or anyone else in the family—”
“Is it our living conditions? A car? A cell-phone? Why are you rebelling?”
“I’m not rebelling, Mom—”
“Halle, you can’t have us living like this—”
“If you would shut-up I could tell you what’s wrong!” I yelled. “I don’t feel well, I love you, I love my family, and our living conditions are fine, but I can’t see right. I am not fine. There is no other excuse for it. I have never lied to you, and I don’t plan on starting now. I just want to know what’s wrong me.”
I slouched back in the bed. I wanted so badly for her to believe me so I could share my worries and she would tell me it will be alright.
The doctor walked into the room causing me to jump. “Halle… Fletcher.” He studied the clipboard in his hands. “What seems to be the problem?”
I glanced at Mom who just looked away. “I don’t know, I was fine going to school this morning, and after I got there I just started feeling completely terrible, and I started vomiting. The next thing I knew I was laying on the bathroom floor, and then I passed out. I woke up in the nurse’s office and I couldn’t see anything in color, and I haven’t been able to since, everything looks grey, they are all different shades of grey.” I paused for a moment taking a breath. “Also, every time I walk into a lighted room I get a terrible headache, if that has anything to do with it.”
The doctor raised his eyebrows. “And you’re still having vision problems now?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Have you ever experienced anything like this before?”
“Only once or twice since the snake bite, I mean I passed out a few times, but I never lost my vision or vomited.”
“Snake bite?”
“Yeah, I was out camping with my dad and I was bitten by a snake, but that was a few weeks ago.” I wrung my hands feeling my palms sweat.
He nodded. “And how old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
“Let’s have a look than, shall we?” The doctor approached taking out a little flashlight and examining my eyes the same way the school nurse did. Next he put his hands on top of my head. “Tell me if it hurts,” he said and began pushing in different places on my head, but it didn’t hurt at all.
The doctor took a step back. “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” He took a quick glance at Mom. “There is this flu going around, and you might have a touch of it. It matches your symptoms almost to a T. It’s called Hyperglyocious. It’s not fatal, but it is a pain in the neck. The average duration of the flu is around a month. You should begin to regain your eye-sight gradually, having it back completely in a couple of weeks.” He let loose a small cough.
I felt more relieved than I had in months knowing my eyes would not be like this for long, and I would recover. My life would return to normal. The snake bite and the flu were simply coincidental.
“As for the headaches, they are a part of the flu as well, if they get too unbearable take some aspirin, it should help enough to allow you to continue with your daily activities. Otherwise, just use the common procedure for the flu—plenty of rest, plenty of water.” I nodded not being able to contain the wide smile spread across my face. I was going to be okay. “Thank you, Doctor…”
“Doctor David Lawrence.”
“Doctor David Lawrence,” I repeated like a bird.
Doctor Lawrence patted my shoulder. “You are free to go now.” He left the room, and I glanced back over at Mom, she still kept the same expression as before. I wanted to say “I told you so” but I refrained from saying anything else as not to make the entire situation any worse as it already was. I already felt bad for telling her to shut-up, but it was necessary. She wouldn’t listen to me, which is so unlike her.
I rose from the bed, pulled the curtain, and dressed into my ordinary clothes again. When I pulled the curtain back, Mom stood near the door waiting for me. She opened the door, and I followed her through the halls and back out into the parking lot.
Mom opened the car door and sat down roughly without saying anything, I followed but kept calmer and softer movements. “Mom?” I tested to see just how angry she was.
; “Halle,” she said with plainness, which showed her annoyance with me. I leaned my head back against the seat. “I was just scared, I’m sorry.”
Mom said nothing. Why is she holding this grudge? Why is she still blaming me? The doctor said I am ill, just like I said; it proved I wasn’t lying. It proved it.