…living is easy with eyes closed.*
404 words, 2 minutes read time.
“Pardon me, sir… Excuse me, but can you help us to fill in some additional details about yourself? About your medical history? It’s going to be some time before our Health Engineer, Doctor Hapless, will be here to see you. So, is there any additional information you can share with us? Anything at all?”
This emphatic woman sounded much too young to be doing whatever she thought that she was supposed to be doing. Her voice was that of a child, soft but high-pitched, strangely hoarse, nearly shrill. It grated like a screeching baby before naptime, just not nearly so loud. Fortunately, this woman discovered her embarrassment and backed off, “Oh, I’m sorry, sir…” then whispered into my right ear,” Never mind, I forgot… You’re not conscious.”
I imagined her looking around next for anyone nearby who might have noticed her error. Her keen abilities had me wondering about whatever happened to Obamacare. There was then some small commotion from across the room. It might have been equipment being moved or stopped from falling. Maybe a door opened and allowed some vagrant noise to bleed in from another room. The sound could also have been a small black hole opening in the guise of an underutilized hallway, revealing wormholes between our and other multidimensional time and algebra rifts.
I was becoming ever more aware that I wasn’t thinking as well as I should. This didn’t bother me too much. In fact, most such distractions amuse me. Like the imaginary family I believe is waiting to greet me when I come home.
In this room, there seemed to be a soft accumulation of quickly staggered gasps that rose and disappeared in an instant. From that silence, a steady pat of hard rubber soles entered, crossed the room, and stopped very near me.
It seemed someone grasped my hand and maybe moved it. Moved it! Someone touched and moved my hand! My god! This was a great and sudden astonishment. To think I may have felt something! My right hand may have been shaken, and maybe my arm lifted!
“Hello, Sir,” said a man with a mild Indian accent.
“My name is Dr. Hapless. I’ll be serving as your highly educated Health Engineer and A.I. interpreter this evening, and remain so, likely for longer than you can imagine! How are you feeling today?”
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*Lennon, McCartney (Strawberry Fields Forever)
4/26/26
-dalton
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