Heathen's Scale (Hear Me Out Series #1)

Chapter 2 : Fleeting Memory

Complete darkness was harder than I had imagined. Particularly with the feeling of little inhales and exhales and the beat of confusion. It took a while to reduce my thoughts to whispers and murmurs. And then terminate them as soon as they began.

I blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I am deeply puzzled. If it was a reminder, it would only give the sense of paranoia and hasty scrawling.

"Grade II brain cancer is where the tumor grows slowly but may spread into nearby tissues or recur." Doctor Alec smiled at me, pausing for a while, and said, "Brain cancer is an exceedingly rare type of cancer."

I could feel my heart pounding on my chest, big lumps were forming inside my throat. My eyes caught the two nurses walked towards the other side of the bed, handling Doctor Alec a pen and a paper.

"However, it is difficult to cure, but treatments can help prevent the spread of the cancer and ease symptoms caused by the tumor," Doctor Alec added, as he wrote something on his document.

The lump in my throat eased. "But I just woke up." I gazed towards them, Lucho and Demetrio, and saw both their eyebrows knitted in line.

Demetrio asked, "Is she okay?"

"Being in a coma for the past two years may affect temporarily her state, her brain, and her emotions."

I inclined my head to face Doctor Alec. "Why am I in a coma?" I asked, biting my lower lip. "I am deeply puzzled."

He flashed a reassuring smile before he uttered. "Two years ago, if I am not mistaken, Mr. Demetrio, rushed you here. After the surgery, unfortunately, a nerve was damaged resulting you in a deep coma."

"Come again?" I blurted.

"Though ties-in are not completely decisive, the following have been designated as possible causes of cancer in the brain. Show to perilous substances such as benzene and even gasoline has been known to motive brain cancer and even exposure to cigarette smoking and revelation to radioactivity." He paused for a while, scratching his head.

"How should I say this?" He handed back the paper to the nurse, Maxine, beside her and said, "Exposure to this substance causes neurological symptoms and affects the bone marrow causing aplastic anemia, excessive bleeding, and damage to the immune system," he continued. "Are you a student perhaps? Are you a chemistry major?"

"I don't recall- ." I was trailed off by Lucho as he answered, "Yes, she is."

"However, the good news is surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are the most common different forms of care for a brain cancer," Doctor Alec said. "A surgery is often used to remove cancerous cadres from the brain in an invasive procedure whereas chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used to kill cancerous cadres in non-invasive procedures." He explained.

Demetrio took a step facing the doctor. "Why was it spreading fast?" he asked.

"Hypothetically speaking, as she was in a state of coma, it was likely due to the fact that micro metastases, or small areas of undetectable cancer growth, have spread beyond the brain as the time of detection," Doctor Alec replied.

"Will I be okay?" I asked, trying to move my fingers. The corner of my lips turned up as I successfully move and lifted both my hands.

Doctor Alec looked at me straight at my eyes. "We're doing our best." He flashed a genuine smile before they turned their back. I heard a loud bang of the door as Demetrio, Doctor Alec, and the two nurses walked out of the room.

Minutes have passed when I decided to take a rest. Ever had that feeling that someone was watching you in your sleep?

I tried drifting back to nothingness, but I just could not shake this feeling that I was being watched. I remained still, still eyes shut. I was about to close my eyes and fall into a deep slumber when a screeching sound of a sharp object made me half from my actions.