Chapter Eleven
As the receptionist escorted them back towards Doctor Prevensie's office, Namid was aware that the pleasant smell of the lobby had given way to an antiseptic smell. Suddenly, the realization that someone was going to be putting something in her head hit home and she jerked back away from her parents. The three adults turned and took hold of her arms.
"Ya'nala, what's wrong?" Doc asked.
"I'm scared," Namid said. "Is this gonna hurt?"
"I don't know, Sweetie, but that's what we're gonna talk to the doctor about," Rain said gently.
"Love, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," the Doctor said. "No one will force you and no one will think any less of you if you're too uncomfortable to go through with it. This is entirely your decision."
"I want to do it," Namid said.
"Are you sure?" Doc said. "We won't be angry if you don't wanna do this."
The Doctor glanced at the receptionist who was waiting patiently.
"Sorry, she's a bit nervy," he said to her.
"I understand, take your time," the receptionist said.
"Will you stay with me while they do it?" Namid asked.
"Honey, we'll stay with you if that's what you want," Rain replied.
"Okay, I'll do it then."
She took ahold of her mother's hand and both Doc and the Doctor came to her side as the receptionist led them to a room at the end of the hallway. When the receptionist opened the door, the antiseptic smell got even stronger and Namid wrinkled her nose at it.
"Hello there, I'm Doctor Prevensie," she heard a man say in a deep baritone voice. "Come in and have a seat."
Namid let her mother guide her over and she sat down in a seat. She felt her mother sit beside her and felt someone sit on the other side. She sniffed and smiled when she smelled the Doctor's chocolate chip cookie scent. She leaned back as he placed his arm around her shoulders.
"And this must be Namid," she heard him say.
"Yes, it is," the Doctor replied.
Daddy, what's he look like? She thought to him.
She saw a picture in her mind's eye of Doctor Prevensie. He was late middle age, medium height and thin with thinning white hair and a lined face. He wore huge glasses with thick lenses that gave him an owlish appearance. He was wearing a white lab coat and dark grey trousers with black shoes. Namid decided she liked him and relaxed some more while the Doctor rubbed her shoulder.
"Now," Doctor Prevensie said, "your daughter wants to get the chip in her head that will allow her to see?"
"Yes," the Doctor said. "But we have a few questions first."
"By all means, ask," Namid heard him say.
"Will it hurt?" Namid blurted out.
"The operation? No, Namid, you'll be put to sleep while I perform it. It'll be completely painless. Now you might have a headache for about a day afterwards but that's all."
"How long will it take?" Rain asked.
"Only a couple of hours. I perform it right here in my office and if you want, we can do it today as soon as our chat is done."
Namid frowned when she heard nothing from anyone and she wondered what was going on.
"Um…what's gonna happen?" Namid said when no one spoke up.
"Well, Sweetie, you'll lay down on your stomach on this bed I have over here and I'll sedate you so you go to sleep. Then I'll shave off a bit of your hair and make an incision and then I'll place a chip at the back of your brain and this chip will work as your eyes for awhile until it makes some neural connections and bypasses whatever damage was done to your eyes that makes you blind."
"So the chip won't be in there permanently, " Doc said.
"No, it dissolves completely after about a year. It's main function is to establish neural pathways that will allow her to see again. It will help her see until these pathways are established and then it will no longer be necessary."
"Good because we were wondering about that," the Doctor said. "Our kind can live up to two centuries or more in a life and we were afraid the chip would wear out before then and we'd have to get it replaced."
"Oh no, it'll only be in there for a year and then it dissolves completely and passes out of the body," Doctor Prevensie said. "Now in that time, for the first six months, the chip will allow her to see as soon as it's inserted but she'll need to wear glasses at first with special magnifying lenses because the connection won't be that strong. She'll wear them for about six months and after that there will be enough neural pathways that her vision will be strong enough to see without them. "
"Hey, they look like your glasses, Dear," she heard her mother say.
Namid was filled with curiosity and asked her father to show her. She saw an image of them. They resembled the Doctor's glasses except with very thick lenses. She didn't think they were that attractive and was glad she'd only have to wear them for six months.
"So, she'll see straight away then," Doc said.
"As soon as she wakes up, she'll have some blurry vision but it'll be corrected with the glasses," she heard Doctor Prevensie say.
"But with the glasses on, she'll have normal vision," Rain said.
"Yes, she'll be able to see just fine with them on."
Happiness flooded Namid's body and she suddenly felt excited that at last she'd be able to see like everyone else. She felt the Doctor's lips on her cheek.
"Rainbow, do you still wanna go through with this?"
"Yes!" she said.
Everyone chuckled.
"I think that's a definite yes from her," the Doctor said.
"Splendid, we can do it right now if she's ready."
"Now? I can do it now?" Namid said.
"If you want, Sweetie, we have all the time in the world, you know," Rain teased.
"I wanna, Mummy, I wanna do it!" Namid said.
They laughed again.
"Okay, but we don't want you dragging your heels to do this," the Doctor teased.
Her body warmed when she felt him kiss her head and she sent love into his mind.
"Now, I have one question for you," Doctor Prevensie said. "When I shave her head, do you want me to just shave the area where I'll be doing the surgery or go ahead and shave her hair off?"
Namid suddenly saw the Doctor's face in her mind's eye. She giggled when she saw his shocked look and a little word balloon above his head that said, NO, NOT HER HAIR! She giggled harder when the Doctor showed himself carrying her shorn hair in his arms while he wept.
"You want me to keep my hair, Daddy?" she said aloud.
"Might as well cut it all off," Doc said. "Otherwise, she'll be walking around with a bald patch on the back of her head."
"Yes, cut it all off," Namid said aloud.
She giggled when a few seconds later; she saw the image of the Doctor putting her shorn hair in a small coffin while he wept.
"It'll grow back, Daddy," she said while he snickered.
"I know, Love, I'm just mourning the loss of your hair early," he said, patting her hand.
"Well, whenever you're ready, we'll begin," Doctor Prevensie said.
Namid felt another rush of fear within her and the Doctor put his arm around her and held her tight.
"We won't leave you. We'll be here when you wake up," he whispered to her. "So don't be afraid. We'll keep watch over you."
"Okay, Daddy."
The Doctor kissed her cheek and she heard Doctor Prevensie rummaging around in a cabinet before he walked over to her. She heard a whirring sound and then felt something in her hair and her hair falling to the floor in clumps. She giggled when the Doctor began to sob loudly and say, "No! Why?" in an anguished voice.
"Be strong, Love. Soon her hair will grow back," she heard her mother say which made her laugh harder.
"I know but…oh, the humanity!" the Doctor wailed as they laughed.
"I take it, you like your daughter's hair," Doctor Prevensie said as he used the electric razor to shave it off.
"Yes, I like all my women's hair," the Doctor replied.
"While you're mourning the loss of her locks, I'll tell the others what's happening," she heard Doc say.
"You're coming back though, right, Dada?" Namid said.
There was a pause and she felt Doc's lips on her cheek.
"I'll be back straight away. I'm not leaving you either, Ya'nala," he said to her.
He squeezed her hand and sent love into her mind while Namid relaxed and let Doctor Prevensie finish shaving her head.
"Oh my God, she's a billiard ball now," she heard the Doctor say.
Namid giggled.
"Daddy, be quiet!" she said as he chuckled.
After a few more minutes, Doctor Prevensie was done and Namid giggled when she felt her father running his hand over her bald head.
"Yup, billiard ball," he said.
"It's cold in here all of a sudden," Namid said.
"Well, I expect so since you had a full head of warm hair fifteen minutes ago," the Doctor said while they laughed.
She stood up with him when he took her hand. She let him guide her over to the bed and she lay down on it on her stomach. The bed was made of cold plastic that made her shiver and she felt grateful when someone draped a warm cotton blanket on her up to her shoulders. The Doctor laid a hand on her back while he sent love into her mind.
"We'll be right here," he said to her. "There are several chairs nearby and we'll be waiting for you to wake up so we can be the first things you see."
"Okay, Daddy."
Rain kissed her head.
"We love you, Baby. We'll be waiting for you to see us," she whispered.
"Okay, Mummy, is Dada back yet?"
"Not yet but he'll be in here too so don't worry."
"Okay."
She giggled again when the Doctor showed himself burying the coffin in the ground while he wept. Behind the hole was a large tombstone that said HERE LIES MY DAUGHTER'S HAIR.
"Daddy, quit that!" Namid said while the Doctor sniggered.
"Just in mourning, my Little Cue Ball," he said to her.
Namid winced when she felt something sticking her in the arm and something warm being injected into her vein.
"Now, count back from one hundred for me, Namid," Doctor Prevensie said.
"One hundred, Ninety nine, Ninety eight, Ninety….seven, Ninety…six, Ninety…"
Namid trailed off as she felt herself slowly drift away into a dreamless sleep.
