Raelyn and Lex

#1: The Pink Pill

I was born with asthma and a pair of extremely weak lungs. When I was seven-years old, my condition had gotten so bad to the point that I had to be hospitalized for months. Undergoing treatment was no doubt tough, but during that period of time, I had an amazing doctor, and also a gang in the pediatric department of the hospital.

We were a group of seven-year-olds, wandering around aimlessly, wheeling our portable IV drips which were then so much taller than us. I was the only girl in the group, surrounded by the dumb trio – George, Jesse and Thomas. Till this day, I still think that I qualify as a guy more than any of them.

Our favourite spot to hang out was the playroom. At least, that’s what the hospital called it. Kids could read their ten-page thick books there, or they could, alternatively, play some hands-on games like Build-A-House-Made-Of-Foam-That-Will-Collapse-Within-Seconds.

Our favourite favourite thing to do, though, was to watch the television situated at a corner of the playroom. It was far more entertaining than any other activities. Every weekday at six o’clock, the four of us would march into the playroom to catch our favourite television programme on time.

It was a programme about this kid that was amazingly talented at singing. Only two years older than us, he could hit some high notes that most adults couldn’t. We would watch in awe as his melodious singing rang across the playroom. George would always brag that he could do the same, and when we challenged him, all he did was to scream and try his best to mimic the gifted kid.

Thomas even commented, saying that he sounded like a screaming pig.

My doctor was called Dr. Henry, and he was the best doctor I could ever ask for. He was kind, loving, and everything a doctor should be. Whenever he wanted to take a break or whenever he was free, he would run down to our wards and visit the four of us.

Every time he would bring this book of jokes along with him, and he had never failed to make us laugh whenever he was visiting. He was tall, too, and until now I still have this ridiculous attraction towards tall guys.

Dr. Henry had this pair of big, black, full-rimmed glasses. It was a shame because his blue eyes always seemed like they could shine so much brighter, if not for the pair of glasses. Whenever I got tired of treatments and broke down, he would remove his glasses and put them on me, telling me, “Cry, Raelyn. People won’t see you cry now!”

Then, I would bawl and everyone would turn to look at this strange wailing kid.

I liked Dr. Henry so much that I even had a crush on him, but just let me repeat the fact that I was seven-years old.

Yes.

Thank you for your understanding.

He was over twenty, and I wasn’t even close to ten, but I liked Dr. Henry because it always seemed like he could take away my pain and suffering.

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Then one day, all of a sudden, the gifted kid, Lex, came into our hospital. He had an air-conditioned room of his own, and George, Jesse, Thomas and I would always peek into his room to look at him. We simply couldn’t believe the fact that we were seeing a real person that appeared on the television.

“Mommy told me people on television are fake! They are created using computers!” I had claimed, pointing an accusing finger at Lex from outside his room.

“You’re dumb, Raelyn,” Jesse said, and that shut me up.

We wanted so much to talk to him, because we looked up to him so, so much. We played a round of scissors-paper-stone to determine who would lead us in to his room, and George lost. We all shouted at George to bring us in, but he chickened out, and I ended up being the leader.