Zam the Hybrid

3. Catching Up

Sam focused his mind. He had one objective but he still had to put everything he could muster into it. All of his effort and strength had to be forced into his hand. Could he do it? His eyes were solely focused on the object that he held. Sam didn't know how much longer his vision could stay sharp for. When he started out, he'd been trembling slightly but now he was visibly shaking. Fully aware that his mother was watching him with great expectations, he took a deep breath and attempted the task.

"Go on Sammy," his mother whispered. "I know you can do it." He would reply but he still had troubles with his tongue. Speaking was difficult and right now he was really trying to succeed in the latest challenge his mother had set. He didn't like failing.

It took every ounce of strength he could muster but eventually through some painful tensing of his underdeveloped muscles he gripped the pen in his hand and moved it across the page. It was oddly satisfying to see the ink flow from the stiff, inanimate object. After a few seconds, he'd managed to write the word 'Sam' on a piece of paper. He smiled at the handiwork, finally seeing some progress.

"That's brilliant honey!" his mother cried, hugging him tightly. It warmed Sam to see his mother happy. She cried a lot. "Just try and make the 'S' a bit more curly. It looks a bit more like 'Zam' at the moment." It took a lot more effort but he managed to smile and nod. Maybe he'd try again another day. Maybe. For now, he'd just take this small victory and carry on building himself up, pleasing his mother and his tutors until he was ready for school. That was a day he had to look forward to.

*

"Now what does that say, Sam?" Tutor number one said. Sam couldn't remember all of their names. He was too focused on learning.

"Grace. Went. Shopping. She. Bought. Some. Strawberries," Sam carefully read out, taking a long pause in between each word to ensure that he pronounced the words correctly and enunciated them clearly.

"That's very good Sam. Now try it again but without the pauses. Try to let the sentences flow. Remember the importance of punctuation." Sam nodded and processed the information. Looking back at the book, he attempted to read the section again.

"Grace went shopping. She bought some strawberries." Feeling victorious already, Sam continued on. "Grace went to the till and paid. The shopkeeper was very friendly."

"That's very impressive," Tutor number one smiled, giving him a golden star sticker for his efforts. His mother would no doubt be extremely proud of his progress today. Only a few weeks ago he hadn't been able to read at all and now both his reading and writing were coming along very nicely. He was even getting used to moving his tongue to formulate different sounds. Speaking as they called it. He smiled to himself before turning away from the tutor and turning on the television. He often didn't fully understand what was going on on the flashing screen but still, it was relaxing and when you worked for twelve hours a day, a little relaxation never went amiss.

*

Mary Baker had four exceptional tutors at her disposal, all imparting their knowledge to her little boy. When he'd woken up from surgery, Sam had a brand new brain with absolutely no recollection of any event prior to the operation. Whilst this had meant that Sammy was finally free of cancer, he hadn't even known who she was. They had been forced to re-teach him everything, including the identity of his parents. If they even were his parents anymore.

Sometimes, Mary wondered if she'd made the right choice. She had saved her son's body at the cost of losing his mind. But still, there was something about this new brain of Sam's that struck everyone who met him as odd. He'd been twelve when Doctor Cass saved him. That was three years ago. In theory, he should have had the mental capacity of a three-year-old, despite his body being almost sixteen. The rate at which Sam had learned was incredible. He could read and write fluently and his mathematical skill was starting to rival that of someone his body's age.

Mary didn't know whether to feel concerned oroverjoyed. At first, they had feared that it would take decades to bring him upto the point where he used to be. It filled her with joy knowing that she hadher son back. However, the constant thought bugged her; what if there wassomething wrong with him? He shouldn't have been able to learn this quickly. Itwas impossible. If he kept learning at this rate, who knew what would happen.Would he continuously learn more and more until he knew everything? Or would hecap out? Only time would tell.