Familiarity or Sameness

While storm clouds rolled into view, consuming everything in their path, a man sat. 

While rain started to pour and lightning spread in the sky, followed by the loud tremors of thunder, the same man sat, in the middle of the room. 

While the hospital employees scattered, moving patients this way and that way, trying their best to maintain the derelict building they worked in, the same man sat, in the middle of the room, immovable.

He just sat, and simply would not do anything but sit, there in the middle of the room, staring out the window, watching the trees bend as the wind pushed them like play things.

            'What's got him then?' a nurse said in a hush.

            'Oh, he always does this when there are storms, the first day he came to us it was storming and he did the exact same thing, he's non-violent...' came the reply from another nurse, standing by the first. 'Mister? Mr Walker? Sir, can you come with us? We need to move you, this room leaks.' But the man just sat and stared.

            For hours, the nurses tried to get Mr Walker to move from the room, but no response was met to the women's pleads. Just as they were about to give up hope though, lightning struck, and Mr Walker turned his head to face the ladies, the light splashing into his eyes, making them almost luminescent.

            'It's coming!' Mr Walker yelled, 'finally, it will be over!'

            'Please sir,' the nurses said, tugging on the sleeves of the hospital gown covering his frail body.

            'No, no, no!' Walker said frantically, he once again turned to meet the confused nurses' stares, this time meeting their eye contact as well. Seriousness entered his voice, and a staggering glare entered his eyes, 'leave me!' He hissed and pushed the first nurse away, sending her straight to the ground, a loud 'thump' echoing over the room. At once the other nurse rushed to her aid, leaving Mr Walker to turn back to his window, to sit in silence once again.  The nurses exited the room, muttering about more help and sedation.

            Once they had left, and the sounds of their footsteps receded from the hall, another quick flash of lightning lit up the sky, and Mr Walker jumped.

            A face had appeared on the other side of the window, another man, whose eyes glowed red when the lightning struck. He tapped on the window. Tap tap tap. Tap, tap, tap. He pressed his face up against the window and beckoned to Mr Walker, who got up laughing, whispering to himself, reciting sayings and myths and prayers that he knew could help no one. Mr Walker lifted the latch on the window and at once they flew open, banging into the walls. The man outside leaned forward. To an observer, it would seem as though Mr Walker was mimicking the other man's movements.

            'Hello there,' the man said. 'I see we're doing well.'

            'Better than you think,' Mr Walker replied. 'It's going to be here, I know it is.'

            The man looked at Mr. Walker and brushed a leaf off of his gown. 'Oh I know as well as you do my friend. That's why I'm here,' whispered the man in an awed hush. Mr Walker laughed manically as the man backed away, disappearing from sight.

            As Mr Walker straightened himself up and went back to his spot on the floor, the man that he had seen was making his way to the entrance of the hospital. Mr Walker sat, as the rain from outside poured, spilling from the gutters to the room inside, dampening the carpet, and sprinkling onto Mr Walker's face.

            'Here it is,' Mr Walker excitedly said in a soft voice, 'Here it comes. The end is here.' The lightening struck once more and Mr Walker fell onto his back, crossing his arms on his chest. To Mr Walker, the ceiling turned into the night sky- covered with thunder clouds, swirls of dark blue and black competing for dominance. Mr Walker lay on the soaked carpet, his eyes glistening for a few seconds before they glazed over and shut. One last rattling breath escaped his lips. Before the wind in the trees and lightning in the sky Mr Walker vanished in a flash.

            At the same time, the man Mr Walker had talked to entered the hospital.

            'Hello,' said one of the nurses, 'Are you here to check up on a relative?' she questioned. 'I hope you'll excuse the mess, our funding was cut,' she smiled apologetically. 

            'No, not at all. I quite enjoy the rain' said the man. 'I'm here to check myself in. My name is Frank, Frank Walker.' The nurse looked up in surprise.

            'Oh!' she exclaimed, 'That's a popular name. Follow me Mr Walker, and we will fill out your details later.' The nurse got up from behind the desk she was sitting in and lead Mr Walker into a room, where he sat down in the middle of the room and stared through the window.

            'What's got him then?' Another nurse said.

             'I don't know, but something makes me think that he'll always be like this,' the nurse replied.