Like always, Eleanor had been told to wait in her hidey-hole for her daddy. But unlike most days, today was very special to her. It was her birthday and one of her bestest friends had given her a doll shaped like her very own big daddy. So even while Delta was gone, she still had the doll to keep her company. The doll danced in her arms and she hugged her most precious possession to her chest.
(Pound-Pound)
The sound make Eleanor jump not from fright but pure delight. HER big daddy, her knight in shining armor had arrived. In her giddiness, Eleanor scrambled to the exit of her cubby-hole and into the awaiting arms of Delta.
"Look daddy it's you," she exclaimed holding out her cute doll.
Delta said nothing in reply but picked up his beloved charge and placed her on the ground. As soon as her tiny feet touched the marble floor, Eleanor began tugging on her knight's hand urging him forward.
"Let's go out to play daddy…"
They traversed down the corridor hand in hand as if a father and daughter out on a picnic.
Eleanor awoke from her dream to two sensations: She was warm and something was blaring in the background. No, not blaring whistling. She opened a lazy eye to see steam spewing from a metal pot across the room from the bed were she was laying. She tried to say something but all that came out was a whimper. Her stomach, it hurt. Each breath was taken with labor. Eleanor struggled to upright herself but her hand slipped causing her to fall to the floor.
"Oh my heavens," shouted Gracie upon entering the room. "Dear what happened to you? Johnson, Johnson come immediately!"
A tall man with wearing a white coat rushed over placing Eleanor back on the bed.
"My word, don't give me a heart attack dear. I thought- I thought… well no matter dear you're doin' just fine. Doc Johnson and his assistant Lucy here are going to make certain. You just rest and let this good man do his job."
While Gracie tended to the kettle, the doctor proceeded to examine her pulse by pressing two fingers two her wrist. "Her blood pressure seems to be low... your stomach!"
Doc Johnson tore the fabric of Eleanor's dress around her stomach revealing a shard of glass that had lodged itself through her abdomen. For a moment the doctor stared at the bright ruby colored blood that ran down her midriff. Gracie's hands started shaking and she crumpled against the wall dropping her cane. Doc looked towards the door and saw multiple faces staring.
"Lucy I need you to quickly grab some clean sheets we can use for bandages and Joe you need to get these people out of here. Gracie I…"
Gracie was no longer on the floor but back at Eleanor's side holding her hand while the girl grimaced.
"Doc Johnson, if you try to ask me to go one more time I will break your jaw with my cane. And trust me that is one thing you don't want to feel."
Doc Johnson prepped his tools in the time it took for Lucy to return with adequate strips of cloth to clot the bleeding. With doors shut and blinds closed they started the procedure by using a pair of scissors to cut Eleanor's partially blood-soaked dress apart, leaving her in her underwear. After dabbing up the blood that had been pooling around the wound they doused the area in alcohol. Eleanor, drowsy from the blood loss, grimaced in pain while squeezing Gracie's hand.
Doc Johnson picked a pair of tweezers then paused turning to Gracie. "I'm about to extract the shard."
Gracie had been muttering sentences under her breath ever since Doc had started. She remained that way and only nodded her consent.
Doc then turned to his assistant, Lucy. "Be ready to apply the bandages the moment the shard is free." He took a deep breath and grasped the shard. With a steady hand he lifted the shard out of Eleanor's stomach. Eleanor screamed in agonizing pain as the shard was dislodged. She tried to struggle but was held down by several pairs of hands while Lucy applied several bandages.
When Eleanor stopped thrashing, Doc Johnson moved over to his assistant.
"How is the bleeding has it stopped?" He stared at the bandages to find them white as snow.
"Mr. Johnson, the bleeding seems to have ceased. S-She has yet to bleed through the bandages at all."
In disbelief, Doc Johnson slowly lifted up the first layer of bandages then the second. He continued to pull away the strips until he came to Eleanor's naked midriff which, other than dried blood, had already healed over without even a scar. Gracie clapped her hands together and sang praises while Doc Johnson took Eleanor's vitals a second time only to find her healthy again.
Doc rubbed the area where the scar previously was only to cause Eleanor to laugh. The sound only further caused Gracie to elate.
Gracie bent over and hugged Eleanor where she lay. "I almost lost for a second time in my life but the good lord saw fit to bring you back. Don't ever leave me again baby."
"I won't," whispered Eleanor. She still did not know who this person was but somehow this embrace felt familiar to her.
A few seconds later, Gracie pulled herself away from Eleanor and extended her hand to the doctor. "Doc Johnson. You are a miracle worker. You brought my baby back from the brink of death's doors. I am eternally indebted to you."
The doctor was cleaning his instrument while marveling at the speedy recovery. The only other person he had seen heal that fast was a… little sister. He turned around and saw Gracie offering her thanks and accepted it out of politeness.
"I really did nothing but retrieve the shard. It was thanks your girl's extraordinary healing ability she's alive right now. But anyway I really must be going. Lucy, come let's give these two some privacy."
The two people were left in each other's company. An awkward moment of silence past.
"I know dear," she said clapping her hands together. "I'll put the kettle back on and you're probably thirsty. I'll go fetch a glass of water from the tap and I've got the perfect dress to replace that rag. Don't go anywhere baby, Aunt Gracie will fix you up."
Gracie reset the kettle to boil then left the room closing the door behind her. The sound of her cane in tempo with her feet could be heard down the hallway. Eleanor got to her feet then grabbed the banister to steady herself. It seemed to her that the loss of blood was affecting her more than she had original thought.
Using the wall to upright herself, she traversed the room. Next to the wooden door was an old dresser on which a black and white picture stood leaning against an object. Eleanor snatched up the picture and saw a little girl with pony tails standing in front of Gracie. The little girl's smile spoke of warmth and tenderness. The object the picture was leaning on turned out to be a doll with a baseball head and a broken watch for a face. A tear suddenly plashed against the leather of the dolls head. To her surprise, Eleanor found that it was she who was crying when the second tear rolled down her face.
"That doll was given to me by one of those little devils with the pink dresses and evil eyes," said Gracie as she entered the room with a glass of water in hand and a backpack in the other. The woman motion for Eleanor to sit on the bed and handed her the glass. Gracie walked over to the dresser and put the backpack on top then opened up a drawer.
"The little demon told me… she told me my baby was alright. But enough chitter-chatter. Try this on hon." From the dresser Gracie retrieved a blue dress forgotten by time and man.
Eleanor's eyes widened with glee. She threw the dress over her head as quickly as she could. The fit could not be more perfect.
"What do you think dear? It was originally made as a gift for one of my stage hands but then the revolt happened and… Well, I'd hate for that beautiful dress to go to waste. Here check yourself out in the mirror."
At the foot of the bed were two doors leading to a small closet. Gracie opened one of the doors revealing a partially cracked mirror that ran the entire length.
Eleanor peered into her reflection with eyes that almost seemed to stare back. Her hair was like a ravens: black as night. And her eyes were as blue as the ocean and just as deep. Her small pink lips parted in awe then in joy. For the first time, since she had exited the Vita-Chamber, she felt happy. Eleanor turned to Gracie with a sheepish grin on her face.
"Thank you Ma'am."
Eleanor's gratitude pleased but also saddened the woman for it had revealed the unbearable truth: the girl really did not remember her former caretaker.
Eleanor saw the woman's reaction and faltered in her own glee. She decided to fix the situation the best way she knew how. She grabbed the picture off the dresser and handed it to Gracie.
"Mrs. Gracie?"
"Gracie will do just fine dear."
"Gracie, the girl in the photo… standing in from of you, is that me? Can you tell me who I am?"
Gracie sighed as she reflected on happier days. "You are Eleanor Lamb, child. Your mother, Sofia Lamb, was a courageous woman who fought for the common folk. For her actions, the government saw fit to lock her up. But before they could, she saw fit to give you to me to look after. It was the happiest time of my life. I treated you as if you were my own. This picture was taken the day you disappeared. We had decided to go to Dionysus Park that day. After we rode the merry-go-round, this man with a camera asked to take our picture. As it came time to leave I-I couldn't find you baby. You were nowhere to be found."
Gracie paused for a second to wipe her eyes with a stowed handkerchief.
Eleanor pondered at what Gracie had told her. What bothered her more than not remembering anything was the fact that she felt nothing either. She now knew who she used to be but what was she now? Another question hit her. "What about my mother? What does she look like?"
"Oh honey, your mother is a beautiful person just as you are. You may not have her blonde hair but you have her lovely and unwavering eyes."
Eleanor still found herself full of questions. "A-Aunt Gracie, how did I get here? If I came out of the Vita-Chamber… does that not mean I died? What of my mother?"
