Bliss Creek

Chapter 6: The Check Up

I awaken totally refreshed. I slept like a person who actually earned it. 

I prepare for the day, knowing full well I will see Conrad again. My hair is slowly coming back in. I can still see quite a bit of scalp, and it does not seem like any hair is growing over the spot where my incision was. Fortunately, the site is small. Curious though; it seems that if I had been in a car wreck with a massive contusion to my head, the incision would not look so much like an incision, but more like a jagged crack. It's really amazing what doctors can do these days. After staring at my sparsely covered head for what seems like hours, I dress and venture into the kitchen. 

My father has already left for the day, and my mother looks up from her tedious tidying and smiles. 

"Well, good morning, sleepy head! I thought I was going to have to go wake the dead, you slept so long. Your breakfast is on the table." I nod and go straight for the muffins. 

Despite my tardiness, they are still warm. I slather the first half of my chosen muffin with butter and quite shamelessly devour it, the second half, and another. Coffee—where is the coffee? I walk to the kitchen counter and reach over my mother to pour myself a nice, large mug of coffee. Aww, the juice of life.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" I inquire.

"Well, we have a visit with a physician who is local. He will see how you're healing. He's affiliated with the hospital you were in, so he has your case and background. Then, of course, you'll have another session with Conrad this afternoon, and I suppose if you wanted to play soccer afterwards, I would not be opposed. But, you must show me where you are, so I will walk with you." She looks at me with a stern face, and I am smiling, almost giddy, at the thought of Conrad and soccer. 

I actually feel alive, like I have a life. My worries about the amnesia and my empty brain have taken a back seat, along with all the anguish it brings. 

We hop on our bikes to head to the the market. I know that I don't know anything different than riding bikes everywhere. God knows I don't remember ever having been in a car prior to the ride home from the hospital. But this just feels weird, wrong. Haven't we as a society advanced further than this? Then it occurs to me that Conrad explained it yesterday: car bombs. That's why. Really advanced society. I will have to ask some more about this during our afternoon session. 

We arrive at the market and park our bikes in the usual place, then walk a little further than I have been before, as it is too crowded with pedestrians and vendors to try to maneuver a bike through this area. We are now past the market and into a section of brick buildings. The buildings form a U, and in the center is a large courtyard that looks like it was once concrete, but now grass and weeds have taken over. The buildings themselves are spectacular—so much character. The building in the center is larger than the rest and has a set of stairs that are about fifty feet across leading up to the front doors. On top of the building is a tower that contains a bell, and a clock adorns the front of the tower. It does not appear to work, as it shows the wrong time. There are concrete lions, with various pieces of their bodies broken off, adorning the posts at the edges of the stairway. We walk up the stairs, passing a few men in suits and a handful of women and children, to the largest building in the center of the U, and I stop and turn around at the top. I take in the view and am impressed with what this once was. A town hall, maybe? A courthouse? I'm not sure, but whatever it was, it was magnificent. Unfortunately, time and the lack of upkeep have led to this location's demise. Nonetheless, I am charmed. We enter the front doors and find the doctor's name on the marquee just inside. The entryway houses a few people wandering about, looking for the right direction or door. A few seem to know exactly where they are headed and pass us with purpose. The white marble floors are just amazing to me. In the center of the entryway is a magnificent set of stairs that separates and splits into opposite directions. The elevator no longer works, so we take the stairs. At the top of the right side of the stairs is a long hallway peppered with doors.