The Chaos Nexus

All is well.

"There doesn't appear to be any physical damage to your body, Owen," said Dr. Roselina. We were in Whitecourt Local Hospital, Whitecourt, Canada. My home town.

"It's remarkable, I must say. More than that. What interests me is the brain scans we made with the fMRI. Your brain activity is unlike anything I've seen. You seem to be alright, though you may want to stay awhile in case there's a problem."

I looked at my parents as they glanced at each other.

"And then there's the eye situation, which I cannot even begin to explain. You said your eyes were green before?"

"Yeah."

"And... now his eyes..." my mother attempted.

"Are orange," I finished.

"I've never seen a case such as yours before. I'm baffled, truly. No other word for it."

Dr. Roselina stood there a moment, hands in her pockets.

"But let's focus on the good news. Owen is alive and well, and there appears to be no harm done to his body. I am very interested in his brain activity, though. Not that I'm saying we need to be worried. His motor functions are good, he's fully aware of his surroundings and the current situation he's in. I'm saying we need to be cautiously optimistic."

"Is he ready to be discharged?" asked my father.

"I'm honestly not entirely sure about that. Like I said, I'm staying focused on his fMRI scans."

We all stayed silent for several moments.

"Owen, go home. All of you. But I must ask you to come in once every fortnight. For more brain scans. Maybe we can also try and figure out this eye-colour-changing situation."

I heard my mother let out a sigh of relief.

My father thanked the doctor and sat down next to my hospital bed.

"Am I allowed to walk, at least?" I asked, glancing at the wheelchair beside the bed.

"I recommend keeping the physical activity to a minimum. And no, you don't need the wheelchair anymore," the doctor smiled.

I smiled back.

"Alright, let's get out of here, then."

* * *

We pulled into our garage when my mother asked, "Are you sure you feel alright?"

"Mom, I'm 100%. Physically, at least. Right now, I'm just extremely confused."

She turned and looked back at me. I saw the concern in her eyes.

"Only about what happened. And how it happened. And how I now have orange eyes. Kinda cool, I guess."

We got out of the car. My father clicked the garage door remote and the door began lowering.

"Come, let me help you up to your room," said my father.

"I know what I'm dressing up as for Halloween," I prepared a joke.

"And what's that?"

"A light switch."

Dad let out a little chuckle, but Mom remained straight-faced.

We entered the door that connected the garage to the house and walked through the kitchen. The refrigerator had a small puddle under it, but the rest of the house was dry.

We walked up the steps next to the living room while Dad said, "We cleaned up the water and washed your bedsheets and blankets. They're all nice and dry for you. Your week in the hospital gave us enough time to take care of what needed taking care of."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Your posters were ruined, though. Sorry about that."

"What about the light switch?"

"We had an electrician come in to take a look at the house. He didn't find anything wrong or out of place. We don't have the slightest idea why any of that happened. But don't try to use the light switch. At all. We'll have another electrician come in to take a look at it again."

We reached my bedroom. Before I could enter, Dad embraced me.

"I'm so glad you're still with us, son."

I noticed the crack in his voice.

After a long hug, he let go.

"Goodnight, son."

"Goodnight, Owen," Mom finally said.

"Goodnight."

I walked in, feeling around for my bedlamp switch, before changing my mind.

I don't need another electrocution.

I climbed into bed and closed my eyes.
The strong, strange emotions were gone, but that last flash of memory stayed in my mind: I'm sorry.

I dozed off in the dark while thinking about what that memory meant.