Chapter 7: Dr. Kinder

A soft knock on the door of the large classroom brought Arnold's attention from his journal.

"Come in."

The knob turned and a middle-aged Asian man Arnold had never seen before poked his head in. "I'm looking for an Arnold."

"That'd be me."

The man smiled a kind-hearted smile. "A friend of yours asked me to come and talk with you. He said you were experiencing some pain."

At that, Arnold frowned. "I told him I was fine, but thanks anyway."

Unmoved by Arnold's brashness, the man stepped into the room and casually came over to where Arnold was sitting.

"He also said you wouldn't tell anybody what was wrong. He said you have trouble climbing the stairs, soyou don't leave the room too often."

Arnold couldn't help but scowl a little more, though more out of guilt at being found out than with irritation at his friend for prying.

"Do you mind if I take a look?"

"A look at what?" Arnold asked stubbornly.

"At your leg. I can tell by the way you sit that your left leg is giving you trouble."

"Are you a doctor?"

"Yes. Dr. Kinder."

Arnold's scowl faded as defeat sunk in. He nodded a submissive consent and sat motionless as the doctor carefully pulled back his left pant leg to reveal the freshly healed scars from the accident. Dr. Kinder was very gentle as he shifted Arnold's legs ever-so-slightly, examining carefully with sharp brown eyes and a careful touch.

"What happened here?" He asked.

"Motorcycle accident…and burns."

Arnold couldn't stop himself from sucking in a sudden breath when the doctor shifted his knee in certain directions.

"You were wise to avoid the stairs. Some of your bones are out of alignment, and the muscle tissue is extremely thin. Hm…"

He examined Arnold's other leg briefly, as if comparing the two.

"These burns went deep. It's a miracle you didn't get a nasty infection." Dr. Kinder continued, as if talking to himself. "How bad is the pain?"

"Not too bad." One look at the doctors eyes and Arnold knew he'd been caught lying. "I have some pain killers." He added hastily. The doctor didn't say anything. Arnold felt required to prove his honesty so he reached into his pocket and pulled out the dozen or so tiny tablets. They were covered with pocket lint, and most of their coating had chipped off. This almost made Arnold feel worse.

"How many have you taken a day?"

"I don't take them every day."

"Ok, how many have you taken in the past week?"

After a slight pause, Arnold said: "Two". This was, of course, a lie. He hadn't taken any since he 'borrowed' them from Dr. Brandon, convinced that he could handle the pain for he time being.

The doctor kneeling before him didn't look overly pleased, but whether it was because he hadn't been taking pain killers or because the sanitation of the pills themselves might have killed him, Arnold didn't know.

"Would you mind coming down to the medical building and letting me take some x-rays?"

Arnold didn't say anything. Not only did the thought of being X-rayed bother him in general, but he was rendered somewhat speechless by the fact that they even had the equipment to take X-rays.

"You don't have to right now. But I'd like to get a better look at the problem as soon as possible. The faster we find the cause, the sooner we can find out how to fix it. In the meantime," he held out his hand, "mind if I take those and bring you something stronger?"

Arnold knew that by 'stronger' he meant 'cleaner'. He dropped the disgusting lump of tablets into the doctor's hand. The Asian man smiled. It was a kind, comforting smile. Arnold was ashamed of his earlier apprehension toward the man. His intentions were kind, and he didn't seem irritated at all with Arnold's behavior. Arnold couldn't help but begin to like him a little.

Arnold sat atop the front steps of the boarding house, blowing air into a yellow balloon. He smiled to himself as he tied the knot and released it, watching it float into the air on the gentle city breeze. Somewhere behind him inside the house, Sinatra sang about the sea as the final credits of Finding Nemo played across the TV screen. Arnold knew that the kids had probably abandoned their movie before the final scene had even faded out – he could hear his daughter screaming in delight in the back yard.

He released a couple more balloons before a soft, delicate hand lighted on his shoulder, and his wife sat down beside him on the stoop. He had just finished picked up a pink balloon, and she watched with a small, attentive smile as he filled it with air, tied the knot, and handed it to her, kissing her cheek as he did so.

Her smile was so soft, so perfect, so loving. She gazed down at his gift a moment before releasing it gently. It soared slowly into the sky, and they watched contentedly for a moment before his hand came to rest upon hers. She moved closer to him and he put a strong arm around her shoulders, fastening her to him like the last two pieces of a puzzle. Her warmth filled him with lethargy, and he knew he could sit here like this all day. It wouldn't have been hard, either. His grandparents always gave them plenty of alone time if it meant they could be with the kids for a while.

Before Arnold realized it, Helga had turned her head sideways and was kissing him. He brought one hand up to her face, and from there the kiss escalated to where they probably should have moved it inside for the sake of the neighborhood kids.

"Arnold…" His wife murmured in his ear, her voice filled with passion. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Arnold remembered the conception of their eldest child having started somewhat like this…

"Arnold!"

In an instant, everything was gone. It was as though his wife had been sucked into oblivion in an instant's time, and he was crumpled quite alone on the front stoop of the boarding house, dark clouds rolling overhead and an ominous wind howling around him. The time between the sunny day and the sudden ripping open of a sky full of rain was lost to him.

He jumped from his seat and looked around frantically. "Helga!"

Arnold lurched foreword at the sound of someone crying loudly. It wasn't a cry of pain or sorrow, but of joy. He threw his blankets off and climbed to his feet. The classroom was empty of its other occupants, and Arnold could hear a great deal of commotion coming from somewhere in the building.

"Arnold! Someone get Arnold! Tell him Helga's here!"

Arnold wasn't quite sure he'd heard right, but it was enough set him running. He rounded the corner and descended the stairs in a fury of ecstasy.

She's here! Helga's here!

He pushed past people in his hurry to get to her, flying across the concourse and onto the wide flight of stairs that lead down. Before he knew what had happened, Arnold felt himself falling…

"Someone go get him, tell him-"

Arnold's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. Still somewhat wrapped in his previous dreams, he leapt out of his makeshift bed and hurried out of the room.

"Arnold?" Max asked, having been the only other occupant of the room when Arnold left. He tossed his shirt aside and followed the blond man into the hall, concern lacing his dark features, but Arnold had already rounded the far corner and was rushing down the stairs.

Helga! She's here! She's finally here!

He could hear the excited commotion coming from the basement level, and was for the first time thankful for the obnoxious echo that this large building provided. He wouldn't have heard the news from his room otherwise.

"I'm coming…" He panted, lunging toward the stairs.

The instant before he fully recalled his last dream, Arnold felt an unbearable surge of pain and his leg completely gave out beneath him. Before he could even cry out, vertigo caught him and he heard the horrid crack of his knee against the cement stair before the pain caused him to black out.