"Have you remembered anything else?"
Slightly eyed Doctor Green, wondering how much he should divulge. He had had some fairly outlandish dreams about cross-bred animals and metallic mountains. Yesterday, when he had told the doctor about remembering a gigantic buffalo with feathers named Lamar, the doctor had prescribed him some medication that gave him a rash on the back of both legs.
"Nope, my mind is as blank as ever," Slightly replied with what he hoped was a convincing grin.
Doctor Green grunted and wrote down some notes. "Well, I'm afraid you're stuck here until you start remembering something or we locate your relations. If there's been no progress after two weeks we might place you in a children's home."
Something stirred in Slightly's memory at the mention of a children's home, but the thought was so fleeting and faint that he couldn't grab onto it.
"Do you have any more questions while I'm here?"
"No, sir."
"Alright, then. I'll let you rest."
Doctor Green straightened some utensils and then left the room. Slightly leaned back against his pillow. He was disheartened that he didn't seem to have any friends or family. It had been three days and no one had come to claim him. Perhaps he was just a big jerk and nobody liked him.
He looked through his belongings again, holding up the strange metallic bodysuit. He stood and held it against him, only, instead of hanging in front of his body, it drifted over to a cart in the corner. He stepped closer to the cart and the suit jumped out and clung to it. So it's magnetic, he thought. He peeled the suit off of the cart, took a few steps back, and held it in front of him again.
"Is that yours? Were you a performer in the circus?"
Slightly looked around the suit and saw Lily standing in the doorway. He balled up the suit and threw it on the bed, then tried to look as appealing as he could in a hospital gown.
"Lily! How magnificent that you stopped by! How are you?"
"I'm fine," she responded, giving Slightly a curious look. "I'm just here to change out your rubbish and towels."
"Oh." Slightly's spirits only fell for a second. "Well, I'm glad to see you anyhow. How's work? Anything interesting happen today?"
Lily raised one eyebrow and gave him a look that made him flush. "Yes, actually. I found a diamond ring in one of the bins and had to hunt around to find its owner."
"Really? I'm surprised you didn't keep it."
"Are you?"
Slightly hesitated. Was that what he would have done? Kept somebody else's diamond ring? Was he a thief? Or was this just nervous chatter?
"Obviously you did the right thing," he blurted, "which speaks volumes about your character, but you must have been tempted to keep it."
Lily shrugged. "Some things are more valuable than others, I guess." She pushed her cart over to the rubbish bin and emptied it. She looked over her shoulder. "Any luck with the...?" She asked, tapping her finger to her temple.
"No, not really," Slightly responded. "At least, not anything that makes sense. And it appears I have no family."
Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry to hear that. Although, sometimes family can just be a burden. You might be lucky to be rid of them."
Slightly attempted a smile. It was incredible that she could put a positive spin on something so dismal.
"Or you might have been on holiday," she continued, "or you could have been running away. That would explain why nobody knows you."
"I hadn't thought of that," Slightly mused, sitting on his bed and running his hand through his shaggy hair. "Are you sure you want to be a doctor? You'd make a great counselor."
Lily snickered. "No, I'm much better when things are black and white. Matters of the mind and heart tend to get a little grey."
"I'd assign them a more appealing color than that."
They stared at one another for a moment, and then Lily ducked her head.
"Well, I'd better go."
"Can't you stay longer?"
She gave him a half smile. "I've finished all my duties here."
"Hm. If only I had a bedpan or something."
Lily laughed. "That's the first time I've heard anybody wish for a bedpan. Plus, it probably wouldn't be the most romantic thing for me to be cleaning up your sewage."
Slightly's eyebrows shot up. "So, you'd like it to be romantic?"
"I... well, no... but I..." Lily shook her head and cleared her throat. "It was nice to see you, Slightly," she murmured, and rushed out of his room.
Slightly walked to the door and watched Lily disappear down the hallway. Beautiful and inspiring, he thought. As much as he wanted to stay and learn more about Lily, he wouldn't have much to offer her unless he figured out who he was, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to get answers here. He had to get out of the hospital.
*****
The moonlight came in through the windows in the hallway and made a checkerboard pattern on the floor. Slightly moved stealthily along the wall, trying to find an exit. He had changed out of his hospital gown and was wearing the clothes he had come to the hospital in. He had torn off a piece of the bodysuit and stuffed it in his pocket just in case it turned out to be important. He heard a noise and scurried into a nearby alcove. He held his breath as a nurse walked by and didn't let it out until she had disappeared around the corner.
Slightly stepped back into the hallway and shook his head. He was being silly. He was fairly certain it wasn't illegal to escape from the hospital. He'd probably get nothing more than a slap on the wrist for leaving. But it was more fun to pretend that it was dangerous and illegal, and he was very good at pretending.
He found the door that led out of his wing and discovered it was locked. There was no one around who could open it, and he didn't really want to draw attention to himself by finding someone who could. He studied the lock. It seemed simple and could be easily picked if only he had something skinny and stiff.
At that moment he remembered the hair gel in his pocket and smiled. He pulled a few strands of his hair from his head and slathered them in the gel. In seconds the strands were blue and rigid. It only took him a few seconds of maneuvering the hairs before he heard a click and unlocked the door.
Slightly took the stairs down to the main floor and emerged into a reception area manned by a sleeping security guard. It was almost too easy, Slightly thought with a touch of dismay, then shrugged and headed to the automatic doors that led outside. He paused a few meters away, wondering if he was making a mistake. He had food and a bed here, and he could see Lily almost every day. But he knew as long as he stayed in the hospital he'd be in a personal limbo, and he wanted to find out who he was, or at least make something of himself.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Slightly gasped and looked behind him. The security guard had awoken and was heading towards him. He smiled, grateful for at least a bit of danger, then ran out the doors and into the cold night.