Silverkey Crossing

Little Sister - Part IV

One unnumbered night in the K wing, Aiden woke up with a full bladder. His bedmate seemed to gain weight when she slept. Sliding out from under her always took time that tested his bladder's patience.

She was awake when he came back to bed. She was on her side, facing him, her stare as icy as ever.

He returned to his place, the two of them in a full square spotlight of moon.

Where her eyes were motionless, his eyes roamed her face from the scalp where the smallest hairs began to part, to her wisps of eyebrows, down to her dark lips with their suggestion of dimples in the corners.

"What's your name?" he asked.

No answer.

Before he woke up, he was dreaming that they were in school together. Same class. The teacher introduced her to the classroom, but drew a blank when it came to announcing her name. Her class assignments were turned in without a name. Others asked Aiden who she was. A void in his brain blocked off anything he could say. But now, awake and staring at her, names rose and fell in his thoughts. One just felt right.

"Can I call you Lauren?"

The eyelids twitched.

Lauren Keller. He liked the sound of it.

----

After roughly 90 days of observation, Aiden found himself in a small office space full of books. A young black woman in a lab coat sat behind a wooden desk that would surely fascinate Aiden's mom. If it were a little older and more worn. The woman looked up and smiled, her eyes distorted by lenses as thick as coke bottles.

"Good morning, Mr. Keller! I'm Doctor Westing! How are you?"

She must do this a hundred times a day. The smile was bright and the tone lively, but it all had a rehearsed, prepackaged feel to it.

Aiden nodded.

"Well, that's good. Have a seat, please. The nurses tell me you've been doing very well here lately."

He nodded again.

"You ok? Would you like some water?"

Another nod.

She produced a bottle of water that trembled as soon as was in Aiden's hands. The tremors made it difficult for him to remove the cap and he had to drink from it while holding it with both hands.

"Are you alright?"

"I can't s-s-s-stop s-s-shaking."

"You didn't talk like this before?"

"N-no."

She studied him for a moment and made a few notes on a clipboard.

"Are you still experiencing disturbed sleep?"

"Mm-n-no."

"The nurses say you've been sleeping very well, very consistently. That's very good!" She made some more notes.

"How have you been feeling overall? Do you feel good here? Do you get scared?"

"I've been f-fine."

"I talked with your parents. They say you don't have much to say when they visit."

He furrowed his brow and shook his head.

"I can't t-t-talk r-right. Muh-my mouth w-won't work with m-my thoughts."

She made some more notes.

"You have some symptoms that you didn't have when you first came to stay with us, Mr. Keller. But we're very proud of how much better you've gotten. Keep up the good work and you'll be going home soon."