Pricked

15

     I no longer care to watch the doctors examine me because it's never anything new. I only pay attention when Dr. Arren comes or even Dr. Matthews come. They treat me like a person, not a disease or syndrome. Cory is taking notes when I return from my walk along the invisible boarder I'm trapped within.

"Hello boys," I say dryly while walking in to see the charming Doctor Matthews giving vital numbers to Cory. "Anything new today?" They are talking but not to me.

"How is her body still alive?"

"That's a great question Cory, please do tell." I direct my attention to Matthews.

"I would love to tell you, I really would..." his hesitation makes me want to slap him. "But it's not that easy."

"Really you don't say?!" Sarcasm stains my voice, but it came out more like anger then humor.

"All her vitals are within normal range and the blood work shows that her organs seem to be working still after..." Matthews reviews the notes, "what has it been now 2, 3 weeks?"

"Yeah, it's been a long while so if you could work on fixing my faster that would be appreciated." I say kicking as the base of my bed, my foot hitting to surface, but not moving the bed.

"When we first examined her and each time we came after that, her vitals were still very similar and all within low but normal limits."

"Great." I bite out, my jaw clenched, frustrated.

"What of her spirit?"

"Yes, thank you Cory, you are a genius! It's like you can read my mind." I pause a moment and think again, can you read my mind? I focus my attention to Cory but he says nothing as he waits for Dr. Matthews answer.

"Her spirit?" Matthews's questions.

"Yes. Her spirit," Cory looks down as if he asked the stupidest question, but to me right now, it's the best question ever! What of my spirit? Matthews doesn't speak, this time it is he that waits for an answer. "Well," his eyes move up to Matthews, then he walks to look at me and Matthews follows Cory's gaze. "My grandmother used to believe that after death we go somewhere else."

"Like heaven and hell?" Matthews asks.

"Yes like heaven and hell. But since she is not dead, but not really alive" Cory's eyes flicker up to Matthews. "Is there any way that her spirit might be..." Cory's face twisted as he searches his brain for the right word.

"In limbo?" Matthews both states and questions turning away from me and looking to Cory.

Cory's eyes light up, "yes, yes. Like limbo." I want to kiss them! They got it right, I'm stuck here, if you can call the palace a limbo after all my days stuck here, it feels more like a hell.

"Well that's not medicine and I don't know anyone that has died and come back so maybe it's possible, I suppose. Her sprit could be stuck somewhere."

"Yes, hello! Right here. Me!" Finally something good out of this doctor crap. So many numbers and strange words and finally someone gets' it right. My spirit is right here. I am overwhelmed with joy and amazement that one doctor finally got it right, and after so many failed attempts and useless testes, it was an assistant that figured it out. "Put me back in my body please," I beg, "so I can either live or die in peace."

Arren comes soon after the limbo theory and Matthews's talks with Arren about the possibility of my sprit floating around the palace. Also, how they might figure out medically, how to fix someone that has no soul, if that is the case. Arren agreed that it was possible, but how to put a spirit back in its body isn't a medical problem.

"If she is temporally separated from her soul..." Arren let out a breath and it takes all I have not to scream at them to do something right now.

"I don't care what, but please do the impossible. I will be the guinea pig, your test dummy!" I look between them, mouth wide open unable to think past this moment.

"That could explain why her vitals are all normal, but she's not waking up." Arren looks to me from the doorway trying to make himself believe that such nonsense could be true. "But medically I'm not certified to..." Arren scrunches his face thinking over the details of spirits and putting me back together. "I don't know how to do that..."

Cory cut in with his oh so brilliant ideas, "maybe we need a hypnotist' or circus folk, you know the fortune tellers, and medians." Cory's eyes go from Matthews to Arren in search of some clarity.

Matthews is the first to speak up, "I've never believed in those things, but I must admit that her condition is rather new and difficult-"

"And confusing for everyone that has seen her." Arren cuts in.

"Thanks Arren and I thought we were friends" I say sarcastically "but if I'm confusing and difficult then send me to the circus freaks." I honestly don't care who tries to fix me, I am just this desperate. So not only did Matthew and Cory leave to find a new cure, Arren went with them too.

"Find me a good werido okay?" I ask following them down the steps and waving goodbye. "One that can fix me!" I call out. They continue to talk and discuss long after I can hear or see them.