Part 13: All Alone in the Moonlight
Jack just stood there in disbelief. How could his own sister not recognise him? How?
Doctor McNab jumped in. "This is your brother, Andie. He's come to see you."
"I have a brother?"
"Okay, Jack, I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside."
Jack just nodded. Nodded, but didn't move. He was stuck fast to the spot. Doctor McNab pushed gently on his upper arm, trying to get him to move towards the door.
"I know this must be hard Jack, but you really should wait outside."
Jack finally relented and went outside.
"That was quick Jack, what happened?" Doug asked as Jack re-entered the corridor. Jack didn't say anything; however, he just sat down heavily in one of the seats that lined the wall on one side of the corridor. Joshua sat beside him and took Jack's hand back in his.
"She... She didn't recognise me," Jack replied, looking at neither of the two guys in the hallway with him, with a confused look on his face.
Neither Joshua nor Doug knew what to say. They couldn't think of any words that could have possibly been of any comfort. Joshua simply hugged Jack tightly. Doug looked through the window into the room, even though the blinds were down.
Sometime later, it could have only been twenty minutes, but to all three men it had seemed like hours, Doctor McNab returned. Jack, Joshua and Doug stood up from the seats where they'd sat, waiting impatiently for any news.
"Doctor?"
"Jack, there is some good news. Andie doesn't appear to have a concussion. She managed to answer our questions correctly. However, it seems evident from her reaction when you entered the room that she may have some form of amnesia. I'm going to have to get someone with more experience in this area down here to do some tests."
"O- okay," Jack said, hesitantly.
Then Jack returned to his seat and watched as the doctor walked to the end of the corridor and had a short conversation with a nurse before picking up one of the telephones. Not long after she'd hung up the phone, did a man in a shirt and tie greet the doctor. As Doctor McNab walked with the man back up the corridor Jack once more stood up. The man introduced himself as Doctor Pickett before disappearing into Andie's room.
Doctor McNab once again addressed the three men, "There's a relative's room nearby if you'd prefer to wait there. It's more comfortable and quiet, not so many people."
"I'd like to wait here, just in case. You know. I want to be nearby," Jack said, looking through the window at the closed blinds, just like Doug had.
"Someone will come and talk to you and keep you informed as to any changes or news."
Jack didn't say anything so Joshua spoke up. "Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor McNab then led the way, back up past the telephone she'd just used and then in the opposite direction from the way Doctor Pickett had arrived. Jack was lost in the maze; he couldn't see how the doctors managed to find their way round this place every day.
Shortly after Doctor McNab had left them in the Relative's Room, Jack had once again fallen asleep on Joshua. Joshua sat there with Jack's head in his lab, looking at his eyes move under his closed eyelids and stroking his hair gently. Doug fidgeted terribly and stood every now and again only to pace the floor, eventually he excused himself and returned to work. And so the two teenagers were left, one asleep in the other's lap. Joshua keeping his watch over Jack while he dreamed.
For the first time in a while Jack had a new dream, one that didn't take place in the park, or on the bridge. He stood, instead, on the well-kept grass in front of a fresh grave. He was standing directly in front of the headstone but couldn't read the words that had been engraved on its surface. The grave wasn't in a cemetery; there were no other graves around. Off to one side stood a small number of mourners, dressed in black, and among them stood Jack's dream stalker. No matter how hard he tried he still couldn't make out any of the shadowy figure's features.
Jack turned to look to his other side and wasn't surprised to see the blond from his previous dream standing there. If both had held out their arms they would have been close enough to touch fingertips, the exact same distance they'd been apart before. Jack opened his mouth to speak but the figure, still dressed all in white, held up a hand to silence him.
"You're early."
"I'm not really in control of these things, you know."
"I know, but still, you're early."
"For what?"
"If I told you that it would defeat the whole point of you being early, wouldn't it now? If I could tell you now, then you wouldn't be early."
"You've seen 'The Matrix' one too many times."
The figure just smiled.
"What is that, like some form of Zen non-answer?"
"Something like that. Answer the door, Jack."
"What's tha "
Jack woke up just then to hear a knock on the door to the Relative's Room, which opened as he sat up. It was Doctor Pickett.
"Jack, wasn't it?" Jack nodded as he watched how the hospital's fluorescent lighting bounced off of the balding doctor's head. Even though he was thinning on top, Jack thought he could only be in his mid-thirties.
"I've finished my examination of you sister."
"How is she?" The urgency and desperation were obvious in Jack's tone.
"Physically she's fine. However, I believe she is suffering from what we call emotional amnesia."
"What is that?"
"It's what sometimes happens when a person has experienced something traumatic, it causes the person to forget certain things, including the event itself. So, while Andie knows certain details about herself and the world, she has forgotten this evening's events and many personal details. Unfortunately, as you know, this means she has absolutely no idea who you are."
Jack bit his lip and squeezed Joshua's hand. "W- what's going to happen? Can you do anything."
"We can't do anything definite here, but seeing as your sister's injuries are minor, we are going to release her this evening and let her go home with you in the hope that being in a familiar place will spark some memories. Because she has retained some personal information I believe that the outlook is very good for Andie."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor Pickett smiled. "I'm going to take you back to see you sister, now. I'll be waiting outside for you when you're ready."
Jack nodded and Doctor Pickett left the room, shutting the door behind him. Jack took a few deep breaths before looking at Joshua, relief in his eyes. "She's going to be okay."
"I thought you knew that already."
"But that was dream, just a dream. It told me what I wanted to hear, because that is what a dream does. That's why I was so quick to believe it. Some mysterious figure appears in my head while I'm asleep who knows everything about what's happening and ensures me that my sister is fine. The idea that I should believe anything like that is laughable. But to be told by a doctor, a real life doctor, that's something else."
"Okay, but it's not like they told you different things though is it? Were they both just telling you what you wanted to hear, or were they both right?"
"But a dream, Joshua. How can dream be right?"
"Maybe the more pertinent question is how can a dream be wrong? We've got to have a reason to dream, they must serve some purpose. And somehow I doubt that the reason is to lie to us. To provide ourselves with false comfort. Especially with dreams as specific as the ones you're having right now."
Joshua saw the looked at Jack, deep in thought. "Sorry, I don't mean to be so obscure and profound right now. I'm sure you don't need it."
"Don't worry, I think you might have a point. I'm a little confused as to what that point is, but I'm sure you had one all the same!"
"Did you want to go get Andie yet, or do you want some more time?"
"No, definitely now." Jack reached out and opened the door.
It was very late when they finally got home. But they weren't going to sleep yet.
"I will remember something. I must."
"Well she's definitely still Andie," Joshua joked to Jack.
Andie saw a family picture in a frame in the hallway and picked it up. "Well I definitely know you then." She said, looking from the picture to her brother. "When was this?"
Jack took the picture from Andie. "Three years ago, before we moved here. It was taken in Providence, where we used to live. We'd gone out for the evening to your birthday. We'd gone out for a restaurant and we were walking through Waterplace Park when mom got someone to take a photograph of all of us."
After a while Andie shook her head. "I don't remember." She looked up and caught a look of herself in the mirror in the downstairs bathroom. "I coloured my hair?"
"Yes!" Jack was overjoyed, thinking she'd remembered something.
Andie, looked at him and pointed through the open door. "The mirror."
Jack was crestfallen and the two of them walked back down the hall. Andie took three steps before stopping. "The mirror." she repeated, so quietly it was almost a whisper. She ran back to the bathroom.
Jack followed his sister, Joshua behind him. As they entered the room they saw Andie with her hand out, fingertips touching the mirror.
"What is it Andie?"
"Broken. The mirror, it was broken. I remember, there were pieces of it all over the floor." She made her way back to the door and placed her hand on the door jam. "The door was closed, locked. I'd shut myself in, alone. And I broke the mirror so I wouldn't have to see him."
"See who?" Joshua was confused.
"Oh God, Tim." Andie turned to look at Jack with tears already in her eyes. "I remember. Columbia had just beaten Cornell. It was homecoming. Dad had had one too many tailgate martinis so Mom was driving. We were fighting for Tim's attention. We were always fighting for his attention. And, um....she didn't see the truck." The tears were coming fast now and Andie just collapsed into Jack's arms, who held her and made small whispered comforting sounds.
When Andie stopped crying, she let go of her brother and took him by the hand. "I need more. I've got to remember more." She looked round the hallway frantically and stopped on the stairway. She made Jack sit on the stairs. "You were there." She moved to the middle of the floor. "We were standing here," she said, turning back to face Jack.
"Who's we?" Joshua asked.
"Her and Dad." Jack answered for her. He knew exactly what she was remembering now. This memory would be emblazoned on his mind forever, even more strongly than the last one. Andie nodded. Jack had no idea what was happening in his sister's head, but in his own that scene was replaying: "I will NOT calm down and I will NOT be quiet....."
"What happened?"
"This is where I told my father. He already knew of course, but he didn't want it to be true so he ignored it, tried to smother it out of me. And Andie told him to leave."
"I remember."
"What do you remember, Andie?"
"All of it."
To Be Continued ...
Jack just stood there in disbelief. How could his own sister not recognise him? How?
Doctor McNab jumped in. "This is your brother, Andie. He's come to see you."
"I have a brother?"
"Okay, Jack, I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside."
Jack just nodded. Nodded, but didn't move. He was stuck fast to the spot. Doctor McNab pushed gently on his upper arm, trying to get him to move towards the door.
"I know this must be hard Jack, but you really should wait outside."
Jack finally relented and went outside.
"That was quick Jack, what happened?" Doug asked as Jack re-entered the corridor. Jack didn't say anything; however, he just sat down heavily in one of the seats that lined the wall on one side of the corridor. Joshua sat beside him and took Jack's hand back in his.
"She... She didn't recognise me," Jack replied, looking at neither of the two guys in the hallway with him, with a confused look on his face.
Neither Joshua nor Doug knew what to say. They couldn't think of any words that could have possibly been of any comfort. Joshua simply hugged Jack tightly. Doug looked through the window into the room, even though the blinds were down.
Sometime later, it could have only been twenty minutes, but to all three men it had seemed like hours, Doctor McNab returned. Jack, Joshua and Doug stood up from the seats where they'd sat, waiting impatiently for any news.
"Doctor?"
"Jack, there is some good news. Andie doesn't appear to have a concussion. She managed to answer our questions correctly. However, it seems evident from her reaction when you entered the room that she may have some form of amnesia. I'm going to have to get someone with more experience in this area down here to do some tests."
"O- okay," Jack said, hesitantly.
Then Jack returned to his seat and watched as the doctor walked to the end of the corridor and had a short conversation with a nurse before picking up one of the telephones. Not long after she'd hung up the phone, did a man in a shirt and tie greet the doctor. As Doctor McNab walked with the man back up the corridor Jack once more stood up. The man introduced himself as Doctor Pickett before disappearing into Andie's room.
Doctor McNab once again addressed the three men, "There's a relative's room nearby if you'd prefer to wait there. It's more comfortable and quiet, not so many people."
"I'd like to wait here, just in case. You know. I want to be nearby," Jack said, looking through the window at the closed blinds, just like Doug had.
"Someone will come and talk to you and keep you informed as to any changes or news."
Jack didn't say anything so Joshua spoke up. "Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor McNab then led the way, back up past the telephone she'd just used and then in the opposite direction from the way Doctor Pickett had arrived. Jack was lost in the maze; he couldn't see how the doctors managed to find their way round this place every day.
Shortly after Doctor McNab had left them in the Relative's Room, Jack had once again fallen asleep on Joshua. Joshua sat there with Jack's head in his lab, looking at his eyes move under his closed eyelids and stroking his hair gently. Doug fidgeted terribly and stood every now and again only to pace the floor, eventually he excused himself and returned to work. And so the two teenagers were left, one asleep in the other's lap. Joshua keeping his watch over Jack while he dreamed.
For the first time in a while Jack had a new dream, one that didn't take place in the park, or on the bridge. He stood, instead, on the well-kept grass in front of a fresh grave. He was standing directly in front of the headstone but couldn't read the words that had been engraved on its surface. The grave wasn't in a cemetery; there were no other graves around. Off to one side stood a small number of mourners, dressed in black, and among them stood Jack's dream stalker. No matter how hard he tried he still couldn't make out any of the shadowy figure's features.
Jack turned to look to his other side and wasn't surprised to see the blond from his previous dream standing there. If both had held out their arms they would have been close enough to touch fingertips, the exact same distance they'd been apart before. Jack opened his mouth to speak but the figure, still dressed all in white, held up a hand to silence him.
"You're early."
"I'm not really in control of these things, you know."
"I know, but still, you're early."
"For what?"
"If I told you that it would defeat the whole point of you being early, wouldn't it now? If I could tell you now, then you wouldn't be early."
"You've seen 'The Matrix' one too many times."
The figure just smiled.
"What is that, like some form of Zen non-answer?"
"Something like that. Answer the door, Jack."
"What's tha "
Jack woke up just then to hear a knock on the door to the Relative's Room, which opened as he sat up. It was Doctor Pickett.
"Jack, wasn't it?" Jack nodded as he watched how the hospital's fluorescent lighting bounced off of the balding doctor's head. Even though he was thinning on top, Jack thought he could only be in his mid-thirties.
"I've finished my examination of you sister."
"How is she?" The urgency and desperation were obvious in Jack's tone.
"Physically she's fine. However, I believe she is suffering from what we call emotional amnesia."
"What is that?"
"It's what sometimes happens when a person has experienced something traumatic, it causes the person to forget certain things, including the event itself. So, while Andie knows certain details about herself and the world, she has forgotten this evening's events and many personal details. Unfortunately, as you know, this means she has absolutely no idea who you are."
Jack bit his lip and squeezed Joshua's hand. "W- what's going to happen? Can you do anything."
"We can't do anything definite here, but seeing as your sister's injuries are minor, we are going to release her this evening and let her go home with you in the hope that being in a familiar place will spark some memories. Because she has retained some personal information I believe that the outlook is very good for Andie."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor Pickett smiled. "I'm going to take you back to see you sister, now. I'll be waiting outside for you when you're ready."
Jack nodded and Doctor Pickett left the room, shutting the door behind him. Jack took a few deep breaths before looking at Joshua, relief in his eyes. "She's going to be okay."
"I thought you knew that already."
"But that was dream, just a dream. It told me what I wanted to hear, because that is what a dream does. That's why I was so quick to believe it. Some mysterious figure appears in my head while I'm asleep who knows everything about what's happening and ensures me that my sister is fine. The idea that I should believe anything like that is laughable. But to be told by a doctor, a real life doctor, that's something else."
"Okay, but it's not like they told you different things though is it? Were they both just telling you what you wanted to hear, or were they both right?"
"But a dream, Joshua. How can dream be right?"
"Maybe the more pertinent question is how can a dream be wrong? We've got to have a reason to dream, they must serve some purpose. And somehow I doubt that the reason is to lie to us. To provide ourselves with false comfort. Especially with dreams as specific as the ones you're having right now."
Joshua saw the looked at Jack, deep in thought. "Sorry, I don't mean to be so obscure and profound right now. I'm sure you don't need it."
"Don't worry, I think you might have a point. I'm a little confused as to what that point is, but I'm sure you had one all the same!"
"Did you want to go get Andie yet, or do you want some more time?"
"No, definitely now." Jack reached out and opened the door.
It was very late when they finally got home. But they weren't going to sleep yet.
"I will remember something. I must."
"Well she's definitely still Andie," Joshua joked to Jack.
Andie saw a family picture in a frame in the hallway and picked it up. "Well I definitely know you then." She said, looking from the picture to her brother. "When was this?"
Jack took the picture from Andie. "Three years ago, before we moved here. It was taken in Providence, where we used to live. We'd gone out for the evening to your birthday. We'd gone out for a restaurant and we were walking through Waterplace Park when mom got someone to take a photograph of all of us."
After a while Andie shook her head. "I don't remember." She looked up and caught a look of herself in the mirror in the downstairs bathroom. "I coloured my hair?"
"Yes!" Jack was overjoyed, thinking she'd remembered something.
Andie, looked at him and pointed through the open door. "The mirror."
Jack was crestfallen and the two of them walked back down the hall. Andie took three steps before stopping. "The mirror." she repeated, so quietly it was almost a whisper. She ran back to the bathroom.
Jack followed his sister, Joshua behind him. As they entered the room they saw Andie with her hand out, fingertips touching the mirror.
"What is it Andie?"
"Broken. The mirror, it was broken. I remember, there were pieces of it all over the floor." She made her way back to the door and placed her hand on the door jam. "The door was closed, locked. I'd shut myself in, alone. And I broke the mirror so I wouldn't have to see him."
"See who?" Joshua was confused.
"Oh God, Tim." Andie turned to look at Jack with tears already in her eyes. "I remember. Columbia had just beaten Cornell. It was homecoming. Dad had had one too many tailgate martinis so Mom was driving. We were fighting for Tim's attention. We were always fighting for his attention. And, um....she didn't see the truck." The tears were coming fast now and Andie just collapsed into Jack's arms, who held her and made small whispered comforting sounds.
When Andie stopped crying, she let go of her brother and took him by the hand. "I need more. I've got to remember more." She looked round the hallway frantically and stopped on the stairway. She made Jack sit on the stairs. "You were there." She moved to the middle of the floor. "We were standing here," she said, turning back to face Jack.
"Who's we?" Joshua asked.
"Her and Dad." Jack answered for her. He knew exactly what she was remembering now. This memory would be emblazoned on his mind forever, even more strongly than the last one. Andie nodded. Jack had no idea what was happening in his sister's head, but in his own that scene was replaying: "I will NOT calm down and I will NOT be quiet....."
"What happened?"
"This is where I told my father. He already knew of course, but he didn't want it to be true so he ignored it, tried to smother it out of me. And Andie told him to leave."
"I remember."
"What do you remember, Andie?"
"All of it."
To Be Continued ...