Plant Boy

Chapter 2 - Trust

     I sat on the side of the bed in silence after the doctor left. It was an eternity as I itched to go. However, when she opened the door I suddenly longed to stay. I hated the feeling of waiting, but when she came back I tried to retain every little bit of detail in the room.
I squinted to see every little crack on the ceiling as her figure strolled ever-so-closely. Eventually, the doctor's head blocked half my view of the ceiling. Her lips presented a half-hearted smile.
   "Time to go", the doctor told me. She moved her hand forward as if she wanted a handshake. I grabbed her hand.
     Before I could have a chance to shake her hand, she lightly pulled me forward. I sat upright with the force she put in.
"Can you stand?" She asked as she held my hand.
  "I think so", I answered.
I carefully let my legs slide across the bed to have my feet dangle over the edge. I gave a tiny hop and my feet landed on the cold floor. The flooring was a stone color with a smooth texture. It almost felt like rock.
     My legs shivered ever-so-slightly from the weight of my body. I would have already fallen if the doctor wasn't gripping my left hand.
     "Is that what people do in handshakes?" I asked the doctor.
     "What?" She asked back with a confused look.
     "Never mind", I sighed.
     Carefully, I placed my right foot in front of my left. My legs shivered more violently as my right foot touched the floor. I held the doctors hand with my other hand out of pure instinct.
     The doctor moved forward slowly. Eventually, I bumped into her when she turned to the right
     "The door is that way", I told her. She smiled at me. This time it was a real smile that was full of heart.
     "Just follow me", she urged.
     "Don't we have to go?" I asked.
     "You need to eat before we go", She claimed. My eyes widened.
     "Sunlight", she assured as she looked to the window. "You need sunlight."
     I had no problem with this. I carefully changed direction and continued walking with the doctor. I become more confident with each step I took.
     "Sit here and absorb as much as you can", the doctor told me when we reached the window. "I'm going to get you a wheel chair."
     "Wheel chair?" I asked.
     "Just sit tight", the doctor urged. I nodded as I slowly descended upon the floor. I shivered when I felt the chill of the floor against my legs and rump.
     The doctor finally let go of my hand once I was sitting. She then rushed out of the room. When I heard the door shut I knew I was alone again, forced to wait.
    I slowly put my hands out to soak up the sun's rays. I smiled from pure content as the golden rays gave me life. Strength slowly return to my limbs one by one.
     I pushed on the ground with both hands as I firmly placed my feet onto the floor. I carefully let my legs do all the work as I stood.
     I was like a toddler who got the hang of walking; Somewhat unbalanced at first but otherwise fine.
     "Let's try this again", I told myself. Taking a step was easier than expected. The suns rays had been continuously fueling my strength. 
     I felt my legs wobble as I walked away from the window. Clumsily, I stumbled as the strength ceased to pour into my veins and I was forced to grip the metal bars on my bedside for support. My heart raced as I clung onto my bedside as tight as I could.
I blinked when I realized my stupid mistake. My only wish was to go back to the window where the light was strongest.
I jumped as I heard the door slam open. The doctor sped back into the room with a chair that had wheels on each side.
I let myself fall onto the chair once it was close enough. The dark fabric that made up the chair was soft enough to break my fall, yet rough enough not to be comfortable.
"Nine, what were you thinking? I told you to stay put!" The doctor yelled at me.
     I shook my head while trying to gather air into my lungs. The relief of sitting in the chair felt like heaven. Major strain in my arms had morphed into minor aches.
     "Window", I breathed. "Please."
     The doctor gave a sigh and rushed me to the window. It would have been fun if I wasn't exhausted. The short lived "chair ride" had been exhilarating in a way. It was the fastest I ever moved in my entire life. However, it only happened for a couple seconds and stopped when I was close enough to the window.
     Sunlight hit my fist and the rich, life-giving energy filled where strength was absent. I gave a relaxed sigh as I slowly felt better. Within the matter of ten seconds I felt like I could walk again. However I did not dare to try.
     "Nine", The doctor called. "Are you okay?"
     "Yes", I answered. "I'm okay."
     The doctor came to the side of my wheelchair. My eyes widened when I spotted the worried look on her wrinkled face.
     "Please don't do something like that again", the doctor told me with genuine care in her voice.
     I stayed silent for a moment as I studied her concern. It seemed awkward staring at the worried look in her eyes. Why does she care anyway? I am nothing to the rest of the doctors.
     I looked out the window again, I studied the young man who was so suddenly on it. His hair was brown and his eyes were a floral purple. The boy mirrored every little movement I made.
     "What?" I asked. I pointed at the window and the young man pointed back. I looked back at the doctor. "Who is that?"
     The doctor gave a small smile. "That's you nine. When you see yourself in an object it is known as your reflection."
      The doctor stepped back out of my sight. The chair was suddenly turned away from the window. Once again I felt the exhilaration of being pushed forward as we headed out the door.

     What I saw was astounding, almost too much to take in at once.
    On the walls of what the doctor called "the hallway", were what she called "paintings". Some showed people and a couple depicted wondrous places. One such painting was a man in a field of white. When I asked what it was, the doctor explained the man was in something called "snow". I was about to ask "What is snow?" But another question came to mind once I saw yet another painting.
      The questions about the paintings remained consistent until I noticed the people in white lab coats scattering the place. I must have asked the doctor countless times if she recognized any of them, but all the answers had been a no.
     She then rolled me into a small room where the walls, ceiling and floor had all been a metallic color.
     "What's this?" I asked while looking around more. As I was looking I spotted her pressing the wall.
     "Oh this?" She asked. "This is an elevator."
     "A what?" I asked. Surprise sifted through my gut as two walls appeared out of the space between the hallway and the so-called elevator. One came out from the right and the other from the left.
     "You seem frightened", the doctor commented softly.
     I watched as the doors closed us out from the hallway. More fear spiked up my belly as I felt the sensation of falling. I gripped the armrests of the chair out of fear.
     "Don't stress yourself out. You're not in danger", the doctor chuckled softly.
There was that expression again. I wasn't in danger. Maybe "You're not in danger" was a human expression that actually meant "You're not in danger." Unlike how "This shot will hurt a little bit" actually means "This shot will feel like a bitch came in."
I relaxed as the sensation of falling stopped and the doors opened once again.
"I have a question", I stated.
"Yes Nine?" The doctor asked again. This could have very well been the fifty-millionth question today.
"Why do most humans lie to me?" I asked.
"What?" She asked softly with dull eyes full of empathy and concern.
"All the shots hurt even though they said it wouldn't. No one ever told me of a world other than the one I lived in", I explained. "The only one to tell me it was fake was you. I had never known of this thing called a hallway until now."
The doctor slowly knelt to wrap her arms around me.
"Oh nine", she murmured. "Theres so much of this world you are yet to see."
I almost instinctively jerked away from her embrace. I almost turned my head so she couldn't see the tears. Almost...
I let the tears break from my eyes. I let her embrace me. I sobbed like a child as more tears rolled out. All while she could still see my face.
"Why are you the only human who cares about me?" I managed while crying.