All the Time in the World (English)

Chapter 5 - Memories from Another Time

Alicia forced herself to wait for a few seconds before following Guy.
She found him only a few steps away from the door, petrified by terror.
The road in front of the hospital wasn't very busy, but there were various cars, and Guy stared at them in horror. An ambulance passed in front of them at full speed with its sirens lit, then the rumbling of the helicopter blades filled the air, and the aircraft lifted from the roof of the building, passing over their heads and disappearing in the distance.
Alicia hurried to reach Guy, worried about his pallor. Gisborne was trembling and panting, as if he couldn't take his breath, and he winced when Alicia took his hand. The woman noticed that her patient had his eyes full of tears, and she found herself wanting to protect him, somehow.
"Come on, let's go back inside," she said softly, gently pulling him, and for a long moment she thought that he wouldn't listen to her, that he would just stay there, sinking into his terror, or that he would run away.
Then Guy followed her, stumbling in his steps, his frozen hand clinging to hers.
Alicia put an arm around Guy's waist to support him, and Gisborne leaned on her. She thought that she had to take him back to his room, but she gave him a quick glance and realized that his patient wouldn't have the strength to walk till there: he had become even paler, his face was covered with sweat and she felt him leaning more and more on her, as if he was about to fall.
A nurse saw them and made the gesture of approaching, but Alicia nodded him to wait. Guy was already quite upset, and the intervention of a stranger would only make things worse.
Instead, she saw the door of one of the rooms that the nurses used during breaks, and she opened it with her free arm, then she guided Guy inside, made him sit in a chair, and sat next to him holding his hand and caressing his back with sweet and reassuring movements.
"Breathe slowly, Guy. Slow and deep breaths. You're safe here, nothing can hurt you."
"I've gone mad... I lost my mind..." Guy whispered desperately, and at that moment Alicia found herself thinking that it wasn't true.
She had thought that seeing the modern world outside the hospital would take him away from his fantasies about Robin Hood, making him remember something of his real life, but Guy's reaction had disconcerted her.
His terror was genuine and sincere, as if he had never seen a car or a helicopter in his life, and she suddenly found herself sure that her patient had never lied to her, that his tales weren't about an illusory world.
She had no idea how it was possible, but that man didn't just think to be a character in Robin Hood's stories, but his mind and all his memories were those of a twelfth-century knight.
Maybe I'm crazy too, but I believe him.
"No. I don't think you're crazy. But now you have to calm down. Close your eyes and breathe. We will find a solution for everything, I promise you. It will be all right, love."
Guy looked at her and clung to those kind words: in a world that was meaningless, Alicia's hand, offering her help, was the only firm point he could hold to. He let the woman embrace him and found himself crying desperately, unable to hold tears back, with his face buried against her shoulder and his whole body shaken by sobs.
Alicia caressed his hair and his back, steadily, instinctively guessing the gestures that a mother would use to reassure a frightened son, and, when at last Guy's cry settled a little, she found herself using her hand to wipe tears from her own eyes.
Her behavior wasn't professional and she knew it, but in all the years she had worked in the hospital, she had never experienced such a strong and instinctive bond with a patient.
She had taken care of all those who had been entrusted to her, and she had been especially fond of some of them, feeling deeply touched if their conditions worsened and turned to the worst and rejoicing when they were better, but never in all her life she had been so sure of having to protect and comfort someone as she did with Guy.
Guy was still leaning against her, exhausted after crying so much, and after a while he stirred, with a groan.
"What's up, Guy?"
"I feel sick... I have nausea..."
Alicia stroked his back.
"Make deep breaths. Is it easing a little?"
"No. I need to..."
"Behind that door there is a bathroom, if you can't walk, I'll bring you a basin."
Guy stood up, a little unsteadily, and Alicia followed him.
"Let me help you."
"No." Guy whispered, and Alicia knew that he was ashamed of being sick in front her. With a quick gesture she took off the rubber band that she sometimes used to try to tie her curly hair without many results, and she tied Gisborne's hair in a ponytail, then she touched his shoulder for a moment in a gesture of comfort.
"I'll wait here. Call me if you need it."