'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 7, "The reality":
(Author's notes on bottom)
Inside a dimly lit room William Prime lies upon a bed with a large white blanket covering him up to the chest. Scars and cuts with bandages wrapped around them litter his body and a prominent white bandage patch covers the bullet wound on his right shoulder.
"Are you alright Mr. Prime?" A hazy voice echoes in his ears as he slowly regains conscience. "Ohhhh…" William moans as he tries to rub his head but realizes that several tubes are hooked up to his arm, "What happened?" His eyes slowly begin to adjust to the low light and he looks off to his left to see someone sitting in a chair against the far wall near the entrance, but he can't make out the face.
"Where am I?" William grunts with pain as he tries to sit up in his bed, only to cry out in pain and sink back down. "Please lie still Mr. Prime…you've been through a terrible ordeal; and you need to recover your strength." The voice tells him, and he finally puts the voice together with the face of the person in the chair. "Who are you?" he asks. The figure slowly rises from the chair and walks over to the side of William's bed; coming into the low lighting just above William's bed. His vision is a little cloudy but he's able to distinguish that the figure is a young girl, "My name is R. Dorothy…Don't you remember?"
"Uh…" William moans as he blinks slowly, "…Not really. I'm so exhausted…I really don't remember anything." She nods with understanding and pulls the blanket up the rest of the way to William's neck, "You do need to rest and recover your strength…you should be better soon however." Her face remains emotionless, but he senses the sincerity in her voice and smiles lightly as he closes his eyes slowly and breathes a deep sigh of relief.
The soft pillow behind his head gently caresses his heavy head as he opens his eyes again and stares at the plain white ceiling above him. A small lamp on an extendable arm swing is just to the left of his field of vision, but the weight of his head holds him back from looking at it. He breathes deeply again, and once again the stale odor of the room and lovely smell of R. Dorothy gives him a strange sense of pleasure and peace; forcing a smile out of him.
The sudden sound of wheels gently racing down a track distracts him, and he turns to see R. Dorothy pulling a white vinyl curtain closed around him slowly. He moves his head with much pain as he looks around the bed at the ceiling to notice a track of curtains running around the entire bed. Just then he notices a second bed to his right, and he grunts with pain as he pushes himself up into a sitting position.
"Well hello there my boy…" the person in the other bed calls out with a little laugh. "Do I know you?" William asks as he tries to see the man in the other bed, but his eyes are still blurry. "I doubt it…" The man laughs, his voice aged and withered. "…But I do know a little about you." "Really?" William blinks slowly as he tries to clear his vision to no avail. "Yeah…I overheard the doctors talking; and they said that you lost a lot of blood. Frankly, they think that you're lucky to be alive!" The old man smiles but William doesn't notice. "Did they say how?" William asks groggily. "Not really, but I bet it has something to do with that wound on your shoulder there." The man states as he points to William's bullet wound. "Oh, this?" William comments as he points to the wound; almost yanking out his tubes. He winces in pain and lowers his arm down to his side, easing the pain. The old man laughs and sits up on his bed, uncovering himself from underneath the blanket.
A few minutes pass without any exchange of words and William starts to fall asleep when the old man begins to speak again, "So…who's your lady friend?" William blinks awake and shakes his head a little to wake up fully, "What do you mean?" "Oh don't be coy with me young lad…" The man giggles lightly, "…She's pretty cute. Is she your girlfriend?" William's face becomes blank as he decides what to say next. A brief moment passes that seems like an eternity, "No…" William finally admits, not finishing his statement.
"Well, what is she then? Your sister? Cousin? A family friend?" the man asks. "No…she's…" he begins but then looks at the man in question, "What business is it of yours?" The old man recoils a little in shock, but smiles soon afterward, "Oh come my boy, I was only asking. I'm not going to steal her from you or anything…" he laughs a little, "I'm an old man. My years have passed me by and there's no going back." He sits in his white hospital gown upon the edge of the side of the bed facing William, "Listen to me my boy…you've got a lot of good years ahead of you; don't waste them like I did."
"What do mean?" William asks him. The old man smiles at him, "I would tell you to enjoy the beauty and power of your youth; but you wouldn't understand. Most people don't realize what they had until it's gone…until it's too late. I spent my life working, living from paycheck to paycheck; paying my bills and living a plain, ordinary life. But now I look back and realize that I wasted all of those years; I could have easily made something out of myself, but I failed miserably." He looks away from William in sadness, "You see my boy, I could have went to college and made something out of my life; but instead I chose to just work at a normal minimum wage job. Sure, I rose in the ranks, made more money and lived a better life, but deep down inside my heart I was not happy." The man explained. "I spent my life alone. I never married; and only dated occasionally, but nothing ever came out of those dates. I spent my life alone…" he looks back at William in sadness, "..and that's something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy."
William quietly listens as the old man continues to speak, "And so you see, now I'm too old for anything; my youthful days gone like pages torn out of a book. I have memories, but memories can only go so far…they can't replace the feelings of love and acceptance given by a real person." A tear slowly drips down the face of the old man, rolling across his wrinkles like an old needle across a warped record, "I'm not trying to preach here, but I'd hate to see someone else go through the years of pain and sadness I had to endure. I have no children, no family, no wife…" he sighs deeply, "…no love." William begins to tear up as he listens to the old mans words, each one more powerful than the last. "My heart has grown cold and bitter over the years. People I once called friends I now call mere acquaintances; and the race I used to love called humans I now hate." He rises slowly from the bed and with each measured step makes his way around the bed. As he slowly pulls open the curtains; sunlight fills the room; causing William to shield his eyes. As his eyes begin to adjust, William once again looks at the old man; but this time the light from the window creates an aura around him, casting soft beams of light from behind him that glow as they hit the dust in the air.
"Perhaps the cruelest teacher of them all is time," the old man begins as he slowly makes his way back to the bed, "Time has robbed me of my youth, my agility, and my health. But worst of all, time has robbed me of the one thing I cherish most at this time; my happiness." he smiles at William and he merely stares in awe at the old man. Soft violin music plays in the background; music that William did not notice before but now has become prevalent. "My boy, listen to what I say. Enjoy this time you have here on this plain of existence. Time is precious, and we are not given much. Love your fellow man; love them as if they were the last being upon the face of the planet. Kindness is a rarity these days; and we as a species are too quick to deal out death like cards in a round of poker; except in this game the stakes are much higher than you could ever imagine. If you can help it; do not harm anyone; do not rob them of their time. Life is far too short for that."
"Many have wondered what is the meaning of life; why are we here and why do we exist. Honestly, I don't believe that anyone will ever know the answer to those questions; no matter how much faith they have or how hard they search. Some things just aren't meant to be known…" the old man lays back down on the bed and pulls the blanket over himself slowly like a veil. Tracks of tears stream down William's face; leaving distinct trails. "I believe that life is meant to be enjoyed; life is meant to be lived for the moment; as if each moment were precious; because each moment is precious. Every second I talk is a second I will never get back. One could spend their life watching each second pass; counting each as it passes them; never even looking back, but they will gain nothing from that. Remember that memories are what we make them; and sometimes memories are all that we have…" the old man smiles, "Take it from someone whose been there."
As he painfully slumps back down into the bed, William stares at the ceiling, contemplating what the old man had just said. Suddenly the door bursts open and a few moments later the curtains part on the old man's side. Three doctors disconnect his equipment and unlock the brakes on the wheels of his bed. "Where are you going?" William calls out as they start to move him. He looks at the doctors, and notices from their stiff movements that they are androids. "My time has finally come. I have incurable disease my boy." the old man explains as they start to move him, "I got it from a woman I once dated many years back. The doctors found it too late; and now my body is nearly dead." he points around at the doctors as they silently move him, "My body may be nearly dead, but my soul craves life. But no one sees this anymore; people only see others for what they look like on the outside; not for whom they truly are on the inside." The man passes behind the curtains but continues to speak as the doctors move him on his bed, "Remember my boy; it's never easy to save a life; but it's always too easy to end one. Play your cards right; and enjoy what time you have. And be happy, for sometimes happiness is the only thing that won't abandon you."
Light from the outside hallway fills the room as the door opens and the doctors take him the rest of the way out; and the door slam with a fierce thud, causing William to flinch. Just then the curtains near him part again and as William's eyes begin to clear up, he sees R. Dorothy standing near the bed. "How long have you been here?" William asks her. She gently places her hand upon his, "The whole time…" she gives a slight smile, and returns to her seat.
"Hmm…he's finally awake." a manly voice states. William looks in the direction of the voice and sees Roger Smith walk into the room. "Who are you?" William asks him. "Well, it appears that you don't have your memory back yet…but that's not surprising. You've been out for nearly a day…" Roger explains, "…do you realize just how close you came to dying?" William looks at him as he places a hand upon R. Dorothy's shoulder and sips from a cup of something hot in his other hand, "No…" he smiles as he looks over to the empty space where the old man's bed was, "..but at least I didn't die like he did."
"Who?" Roger asks as he walks over to William's side. "The old man who was over there…" William points, confused. Roger walks over to the area and examines it closely. He finds a clipboard on the floor and picks it up, "Hmm…you must be mistaken. There's been no one here for over 3 weeks." Roger looks over at William in confusion. William quickly turns to R. Dorothy, "You seen him, didn't you?" "No, Mr. Prime, I did not." she admits. "But…but…" William begins as he slumps back into the bed.
"You're just exhausted William; it's nothing to worry about. The doctors say that you should be better by tomorrow once they finish their tests and you've regained your strength." Roger states as he takes another sip of the drink, "So I think you'd better get some sleep. I'm very interested to hear about your adventure with Alan Gabriel…" William sighs deeply and closes his eyes, "Yes…I'll hopefully have my memory back by then." He begins to breathe in and out as he starts to fall asleep, "Well…maybe if I play my cards right," William thinks to himself, "Maybe one day I'll understand what that old man meant; because I have a strange feeling he was right."
Author's Notes:
Who was the old man? Was he a just a figment of William's imagination; or something more? And what will Roger Smith do now that the situation he thought was under control is not anymore? Keep watching…