"Every act of perception, is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination."
Two Months Later
Early morning, Maine put on her white coat and checked on the patients in her wing. Most of them were still asleep, since it was still dark outside. Walking slowly, she passed by Richard's room but he wasn't there. She panicked, his wheelchair was there but he wasn't in his room.
"Pika....chuuuu!"
Someone was already up, watching Pokemon at the recreation room. She hurriedly walked over to see who was watching TV this early. To her surprise, Richard was there, laughing at the two Piikachus mimicking each other. He was able to walk all by himself to get here. It was also the first time she ever heard him laugh, such an infectious sound, he looked like a regular guy enjoying a good show. He turned his head and smiled at her, nodding once to invite her to watch with him.
She sat on the couch but distanced herself from him. To her surprise, he reached for her arm, tucking it under his. They watched together, fingers intertwined, with Maine fully aware of her hand underneath his arm. Anyone who saw them would think they were a regular couple. His nearness was doing strange things to her breathing. He pulled her closer each time she attempted to move away.
Easy Maine, she warned herself. He's a patient, a very handsome one, but still. The long days and nights of work must be taking a toll on her. All work and no play made Maine a gullible dork. Patient, Maine, he's a patient. She had to keep remind herself that.
Actually, reminding herself he was a patient was getting to be a habit. It was easy to forget being a doctor with him. Although he didn't talk much, he was good company. They sometimes sat side by side in companionable silence, moments when he would sometimes space out then come back to awareness again. Lately the space out moments occurred less and the episodes were shorter, it did him good that someone was constantly communicating with him.
She remembered how addicted she was to playing Pokemon, even during her last year in college, when things got so hectic. She still played it occasionally but stopped at Generation 4 after she beat Gym Leader Cynthia. Suddenly, she had a light bulb moment. If Richard watches Pokemon, chances are, he also played the game. She searched among the toys stored in the cabinets, and found a Game Boy advance.
"Richard, do you play Pokemon?" She opened the game and showed him.
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He looked at the game boy and slowly, memories came to mind, vignettes of it, like slides on a projector.
Graduated Grade 7 with honors.
Game Boy Advance. Graduation gift from mommy.
"Good job, Richard! Mommy loves you so much."
Pokemon. Favorite game.
Mommy gone.
Miss mommy.
Maine handed the Game Boy Advance to him, showing him Pokemon Generation I. He took the Game Boy from her and started to play. He was surprised to find no difficulty in pressing the buttons and remembering the game well despite his accident.He remembered he stopped playing the game after his mom died when he was a senior in high school. Playing the game then reminded him too much of her. He realized he missed playing the game.
It was like a trip down memory lane, going through the grasslands to travel to the different cities to beat the gym leaders, earning badges along the way, collecting the pokemons and filling info into the pokedex. He hoped he would be allowed to play the game till he reaches Generation IV.
He puts the game on pause and gives Maine a clumsy hug.
"Thank...you, Maiiii..nnn....."
