Chapter Nine

Now

It's been three days since Aurora called me. I was getting ready to go to my session with Dr. Murphy, but he came and found me.

"I didn't realize I was that late," I joked.

"It's not that, Ponyboy," Dr. Murphy said. "I have something to tell you."

The first thought that ran through my head was: Aurora is dead. But that's not what Dr. Murphy said.

"They've found Aurora, and she's here," he said slowly.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I asked. "Let me see her!"

"Ponyboy. She doesn't remember," he said.

"Remember what?" I asked.

"She doesn't remember anything before she ran away, Ponyboy," he said.

"Does she remember me?" I asked.

"Yes," Dr. Murphy said. "But barely. I'll let you see her. Maybe you can jog her memory."

We walked down a series of hallways into an area that I didn't even know existed. The walls were actually padded. Then I thought: Was this Hammacher? Only the really insane people go there. I was worried about Aurora. Dr. Murphy somehow read my mind.

"Yes, Ponyboy; this is Hammacher. She's pretty bad."

We got to a room, and Dr. Murphy unlocked the door.

"You can go in," he said. "but don't say anything to upset her. She was hard to calm down."

I cautiously walked into the room. What was I afraid of? This was Aurora, my best friend. She was sitting on the floor. She had dyed her hair, it was blond. I liked it better black. She was cuddling something that looked like a rabbit, but it wasn't moving. It was probably a stuffed animal. She had gotten really skinny. She had been before, but she'd gotten skinnier. Gosh, she was so damn skinny…

"Aurora?" I said quietly as I sat down next to her.

She looked up at me. Her eyes were dull, and she looked confused. "Who are you?" she asked.

Her words stung. Who are you? How could she not remember me?

"Ponyboy," I replied, "Ponyboy Curtis. Your best friend since we were three. Don't you remember me?"

"It's…blurry," she said.

"We did everything together," I said. "Went to school, hung out, I went to all your dance competitions…"

"I danced?" she asked. How could she not remember dancing?

"Yes," I said. "What do you remember?"

"I remember…" she said. "Two people lying on the floor. Blood. Another person…my mom…stabbing herself. I remember someone…you, trying to hold me and comfort me I guess. I remember hitchhiking. Creepy truck drivers, and being cold and hungry. I wanted a rabbit so bad; I stole one. It died, a dog killed it. They got me another one, though."

"It's cute," I said. I hoped that would make her feel better.

"It's not real," she said. At least she knew it was a stuffed animal.

It was like all the life was gone from Aurora. She didn't remember hardly anything, her eyes weren't shining like they normally did, and she was so skinny. She looked like she hadn't eaten the whole three months she'd been missing.

"Ponyboy," she said. She remembered my name.

"Yeah," I said.

"Did you have a brother?" she asked.

"Yeah. Two of them," I replied. Did she remember Darry or Soda, or was she just curious.

"I remember something else," she said, "a guy named…Texas?"

"Close, it was Dallas," I said. "Do you remember anything else?"

"I don't know," she said. "Why can't I remember anything!" She started crying.

"Hey, it's OK, just calm down," I said as I hugged her. I was close to crying myself.

"Pony," she said after a few minutes.

"Yeah," I replied.

"They gave me a shot when I got here. Why did they do that? Where am I?"

"It was probably something to calm you down," I replied. I'd had my fair share of tranquilizers. "You're at a hospital."

"I'm not sick am I?" she asked.

"We both are," I said. "But we're getting better.

Doctor Murphy's Sessions with Ponyboy Curtis

Doctor Murphy: Well, Ponyboy. How did seeing Aurora make you feel?

Ponyboy Curtis: She wasn't herself.

DM: How so?

PC: She…I can't explain it. She was too quiet, and she didn't remember me.

DM: That bothered you?

PC: Yes it bothered me! I'm her best friend, and she hardly remembered me. Do you know how that feels?

DM: No, Ponyboy. I honestly don't.

PC: You're not making me feel much better. I thought your job was to make me feel better.

DM: My job, Ponyboy, is to help you overcome obstacles in your life. I think I've done a pretty good job of that.

PC: Really?

DM: You may not realize it, Ponyboy, but you've come a long way.

PC: I have?

DM: Yes. When you first got here, you wouldn't even talk to me. Now, you're almost ready to leave.

PC: I don't want to leave without Aurora.

DM: I don't know how to tell you this Ponyboy, but Aurora…well…

PC: Well what?

DM: Aurora might never leave.

Ponyboy refuses to talk for the rest of the session

End Tape

Now

I went to see Aurora the next day. They hadn't tranquilized her, so I didn't know what to expect. She was supposed to start talking to Dr. Murphy the next day. I was going to tell her a few things; what to expect and all that crap.

The first thing I noticed about Aurora when I walked in was that she was shaking. When I got closer, she looked really tense, and her eyes were abnormally bright. A breakfast tray was sitting on the table. The food on it was untouched.

"Hi, Aurora," I said.

She looked at me nervously.

"You remember me, don't you?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Don't you want to eat?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Why not?" I asked.

"They've poisoned it," she said.

"Poisoned what?" I asked.

"The food," she said. "they want to kill me."

"It's not poisoned," I said. "I eat it every day, and I'm not dead."

"And they took my rabbit away," she said. It was at the foot of her bed.

"No they didn't," I said "It's right here." I handed her the stuffed animal rabbit.

"Flopsy!" she said as she hugged the rabbit, "you came back!"

"It was never gone," I said, "it was at the foot of your bed." Dr. Murphy was right. Without the tranquilizer, she was pretty bad.

Aurora didn't hear me. "You silly little bunny," she said to the stuffed animal, "you can't run away. It's not safe."

"You do know it's a stuffed animal, don't you?" I asked. She'd known last night.

"No she's not!" Aurora said.

"Yes she is. Watch," I picked up the stuffed animal and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a quiet 'thud'. Then I realized how stupid that was.

"You killed her!" Aurora screamed.

"Aurora…I…" I said.

Aurora kept screaming. Some of the doctors came in and gave her a tranquilizer and led me out. The whole time she was crying about how I'd killed her rabbit. The doctors were telling her that it was just an accident, but she didn't believe them.

I wondered if she'd even remember what happened.