AUTHOR
… THREE WEEKS LATER…
"Doctor, what do you make of this?" The man on the other side of the table looked away from the screen where a brain x-ray was displayed. He heaved.
"Honestly, Richie," He began.
Mr. Parker was the man sitting before the doctor.
"I have not seen anything like this is all years as a neurologist. But I have read some books so I have some deductions. But they are mere deduction. I have no Medical proof to back them."
"I do not mind. I want to hear it." Mr. Richard Parker replied.
"Richie, the young man has no hemorrhage or any other sign of any form of impact to the brain. There is no sign of cancer, tumor or any form of decay of the brain cells which could take away memories. In fact, there are no signs that prove he will have any the future. With these other tests you have showed me, it's clear he is in very good mental and physical shape."
"I know. I know but that does not explain why he remembers so little about himself and how to live on earth," Richie pushed for a clearer explanation.
"The only thing that can cause such erase of memories and leave no physical scares, is a very intense mental activity."
"What," Richie quirked his face.
"In medical science, one thing we have not been able to decipher and therefore, dare not underestimate, is the power of the human brain especially in response to psychological traumas." Richie leaned back on his chair.
"Speak English please."
"It means that there is a probability that he has been though something very terrible In his past and he forced himself to forget. Somehow his brain succeeded to erase the memories that held those very painful days of his life so he could live, free of it. In the process, other vital memories were delete."
Richie nodded his head. That made quite a lot of sense.
"What about the fact that he can only eat raw meat."
"Well, the human being consumes only what it has been given over time. Just like you drank milk and ate bagels as you grew; where ever he is from, he only ate that for the greater part of his life. He is likely to never eat anything other than for the rest of his life. You know it kind of reminds me that some days ago, a friend told me that some traffickers were caught at the border with two boys as hostage. Very healthy and muscular boys. The boys were scanty dressed and they spoke this odd language. When the traffickers were questioned, they said the boys were from some poor and backward village some where in America. Then you said the boy at your place had claw marks all over him. It is possible that he might even be from somewhere like that. Maybe not too uncivilized since he speaks English well but it still has some weird lifestyles like nudity, eating raw meat and hunting wild animals." Richie smiled.
"What's funny?" the doctor asked.
"For someone making a deduction, you can be quite good at nearing the truth. I totally believe your analogy."
The doctor chuckled. "I had my fair share of story telling During my days."
The two friends laughed together. Then the telephone in the doc's office ran. He excused himself to take it. The nurse on the other end informed him of a appointment he was soon to attend to. He hung up the phone and returned to Richie.
"Well it seems keeping you is becoming partial to my other clients."
"Oh, I see," Mr Richard Parker stood up, immediately. The doctor and him made their way to the door.
"Please come back again. Even if you do not need medical advice. I hardly get to laugh this much everyday. It is usually sad hours of me telling people they are going to run mad in different ways." Richie laughed.
"I can imagine that," he went through the door.
"Good bye my old friend." Richie said finally.
"You are the only one who is old," the doctor replied. They both erupted in to another laughter section except Mr. Parker was walking away now.
LEO
I rolled over in bed. I could not get my self to sleep again. I had been eyes closed since nine o'clock last night. It would be different if Anamay was here her parents had already come to take her home. There was also a very bad quarrel between them and dad before they left so I do not think I will be seeing Anamay any time soon. Well, who would blame them. You are not expected to say
'oh, thank you and God bless you'
After seeing your daughter with a huge stitch on her legs to close up a large crevice made in her flesh. I breathed in and let it out from my mouth. I was lying on my back now. Other than my self and then, Mum, the only person to hang with was Stupid Elish.
Yeah, stupid because the past three weeks, he has been making the most ridiculous mistakes I have ever seen. But he did them so mean, cool and so intelligently that I took began to wonder if our method was the actual mistake and not his own. Even mum was cooing at him when he did them. Dad and I kept making disgusted sounds the whole time. Thank God he was confined to this house or I would be taking love letters back to him like I did for Demetri. Poor me.
After that thought, I sat up on my bed. I had to do something. I leapt out of my room to go downstairs, I crossed Demerti's room. Involuntarily, I paused as looked at the door. There was still this desire to open the door and see him romancing his hair by the mirror like a girl and then yell at him for making us late for school again.
*Tsk*
I looked away. We buried him last week. I should be trying to forget not reminiscing. I continued my stride downstairs. I wanted to find the kitchen. Hopefully, there was ice cream in the fridge. I walked through the parlor and into the kitchen. I spotted the ice cream and then someone on the kitchen chair. A scoop spoon in hand and three empty buckets of ice cream next to him. My eyes grew wider
'shit'
"That was all the Ice cream you motherf…"
I heaved. No dirty curses. This bastard will not make you stoop so low. But I was not going to let this one go.
'Never'
I stormed towards him. Oh, please do not misunderstand, I was certainly not going to punch him. Physical punishment was useless on him. Something else is what I had in mind.
"Elish," He finally looked at me with those odd ball eyes.
"Mhmm."
"I did not know could eat ice cream" I was gritting my teeth while saying it.
He looked at the whitish sugar and cream he was licking.
"Oh, so that is what this is called. I did not either." His voice was pensive.
"I was hungry. I decided to try anything I could find since there was no meat in the fridge. I took this, tasted it, like it and I ate it."
My eyes twitched. "All three of them?"
He noticed my displeasure.
"Did you also want to eat some. I have not finished it yet."
He passed the remaining to me. I peered into the bucket, there was something left. But if he thinks this will clear him of this, he is wrong. I picked up the ice cream and hugged it in my left arm.
"Dad will be furious when he returns and sees all the ice cream is gone. What are you going to do about it," I made sure he realized the weight of the snag he was into.
"We should keep what's left for him." He suggested.
"What."
He was fast. Snatching the ice cream from my hand and putting back the lid. I was seething in anger now. Watching him put it back in the fridge.
'Elish, you will regret the day you crossed paths with me'
"You think dad will eat leftovers. You better replace those ice cream with new ones or you are starving tonight."
He glanced my way.
"How am I supposed to do that. I do not have any money?"
I clicked my tongue.
"Fine, I will help you out. I know a place. One job and they will pay you enough to buy four ice creams in fact." My voice, smug.
"Where?"
I smiled.
…. Thirty minutes later…
"Mum, we are going out."
I said it in the sitting room to make sure she did not hear it. Then I returned to Elish who was already outside the front door. I made him where dark shades and a hoody. Baggy jeans too. So no one will see his looks and those odd ball eyes.
We went passed the gate which I locked with the code and we start down the road. Elish walking beside me. For someone who had not gone out for three whole weeks, he was quite unenthusiastic about his surroundings. Well, my luck. We went straight, no turns until we were nearing a construction site.
In this part of the world, some one buys a land and builds houses in it then people pay for the land and the house as tenants, for five years before it the can now apply to make it their own for life. The man who bought our estate was still building more House. Which means, construction workers were needed.
When we got to the site, I asked Elish to wait for me. I hurried off to meet the contactor . We had become friends after I had leased Demerti out to him, for too many occasions, as a cheap laborer. The man I was looking for I found in the spot he always was assigning work to new laborers.
Immediately he saw me, he beamed. "My boy, come here. Oh, it had been a while. How is that brother of yours." I ran to him.
"We are all good."
"Beautiful, did you bring him along today?" I forced a smile.
"No, I brought some one else." I pointed at Elish.
"He is very strong," I said.
"I bet he is," the contractor replied me. I waved at Elish to come over. He did.
"Elish show him," I spoke like a gangster selling guns.
"Show him what?" I turned sharply at him and gave him the stink eye. He huffed. He had remembered what we had rehearsed. Elish unzipped the hoody and took it off. I made him where a leotard turtleneck top to cover his scars.
"Wooooooooow," the contract was cooing at him already.
"I will only take a hundred dollars per hour." I said, laying out my bargain in whispers.
"Deal." We beamed together. The contactor gave Elish the work of carrying blocks to the laborers on all floors. While he worked, I sat with the fat man under the shade sipping every kind of beverage.
Job closes by nine in the evening, everyday but dad comes home by seven. So I was collecting a payment of Two thousand dollars. Yeah the money quadrupled because Elish did the work of four people and he could not deny me that payment. Not when he needed to be on my good terms if he wanted to see Elish again.
He stopped by a super market and bought the three ice cream and were now coming home.
Elish had not said anything to me since we left the house and I was too busy thinking about what to do with my one thousand and two hundred dollars to notice. When we were nearing the house, he talked.
"Are you happy?" he said Calmly.
"What?" I was smiling although I was confused.
"I know what you did. I know I was used. But you always give me a bad look when you see me. But today, you were not. So I did all that work to get you to have a better Tempo when you are around me. I just want to know if it worked." I suddenly grew dumb.
He knew what I was doing to him but he still worked his ass off to please me. I felt like a really bad guy now
'Wait, what if he said that to make me feel bad and voluntarily split the money. That was some thing I would do but Still'
Ah, I snapped at myself. If that was his plan, well, he should know this… it worked.
"Thanks, man. I will be good to you… I mean… it's not that I haven't been good to you before it's that I… em… will not let my jealousy make me less good to you from now on."
We were at the house gate now. He smiled at me. All my prejudice was gone now so the smile felt really cool to see. I returned the gesture before I went to the gate to punch the code. But when I was at the last digit, the gate opened.
I was surprised. My eyes flashed to the open entrance immediately. Dad stepped out. I stupefied.
Dad was seated, mum right next to him. Elish was standing beside my sweating self who was on his knees. Dad did not have a cane as usual which petrified me all the more.
"So after I warned countless of times that no one leaves the house especially Elish. You still went out; and with Elish of all people."
"I was the one who suggested it," Elish said.
My eyes fell on him. I wanted to stare holes into him. Dad would never buy that and defending me would only make matters worse.
"Look, Elish is even trying to take the fall for you. Someone you do not treat with regard at all."
'See; I said it'
"Dad I just wanted to go outside. It has been a while and ..."
"And so it is okay to sneak out. Not telling your mum about it. What if something happen?"
'With Elish, I doubt. Well, I knew explanations was not going to work so I had to use my trump card early'
"I was losing it, okey. Being around every thing that he touched. Seeing his face in the mirror. Walking past the door of his room every morning. I really needed some fresh air and I walked. Elish said he would come along. I could not stop him."
'Yeah, since Elish wants to take some blame then I will gladly share'
Dad heaved which means it worked.
"Elish?" dad called out to see if he would affirm it.
"That Is what happened," Elish agreed with me.
"Honey, see. I told you. You have nothing to worry about." Mum said what I thought I understood. Dad looked at me.
"Am glad you and Elish are getting along." Dad started.
'Wait, what is going on here?'
It was obvious now that dad interpreted the lie wrongly.
"You are going to be brothers soon."
'What!'
My eyes widened. Dad ignored them. "We are adopting Elish."
'Somebody shoot me'