The Wooden Bird

Part 3, The Wooden Bird

Freddie laughed ahead of Evander as he leapt over a tree and ran through the growing weeds. Freddie looked a bit like an astronaut, in the full get-up that protected him from the air. Evander had decided to ignore the rules, just for today. Afterall, if today was the last day he got to use his old lungs, then he might as well enjoy it. He leaned back, basking in the glorious sunlight... and then doubled over as a fit of coughs raked through his body.

Freddie came leaping over, laughed, and then pounded on his back, which had the opposite effect of helping.

"C'mon Vander, keep breathing! Those lungs gotta last a few more hours!"

Evander gave him a weak smile, but already his eyes burned, and his head felt dizzy. Even if he couldn't see the toxic metal particles in the air, it didn't mean his body didn't feel it.

"Listen, Freds, it's kinda getting late..." Evander said.

Freddie did a cartwheel, but then laughed at Evander's pinched face. "Fine, let's go."

Together they made their way out of what had once been a small community park and walked down the abandoned streets. When Evander was younger, this whole area had been a thriving neighborhood community. Then, people started dying left and right. The toxic metal particles in the air had been identified as the culprit, and people had all but moved underground, where all the air was treated and cleaned constantly, to make the air safe to breathe again. But that didn't remove all the days and hours Evander had spent as a kid breathing in those toxic metal particles. When Evander was selected for a new, private program to get new lungs, his family had jumped at the chance.

Usually, the thought of his new lungs excited Evander, but now it felt poisoned by Nina's words. The small weight of the bird pressed against his leg. Was it possible she was jealous? But Nina had never struck him as the jealous or lying type. And he distantly remembered her older brother, the same dark hair and deep eyes as his sister, but with pierced ears and tattoos that Evander's mother would have never allowed. Why would she lie about him not coming back?

Then again, he had seemed the free-spirited type.

"Hey Vander, you in there?" Freddie tapped on Evander's forehead, and Evander started, realizing that almost with thinking his feet had carried him to his destination: the private hospital where they would give him his new lungs. It was only a single story, but, like an iceberg, he knew the vast levels that lay beneath the surface. It was easier that way to filter the toxic metals out of the air.

"You okay?" Freddie said, the first hint of concern in his voice. Evander shook his head, trying to shake free the thoughts Nina had planted there.

"Yah. Of course. Gonna run laps around you next time I see you." Evander wasn't a great liar, but it hardly mattered with Freddie. Freddie laughed, slapped him on his back, and then they said their goodbyes.

Finally, Evander pushed his way into the building. The first floor was deserted, of course, but he entered one of the air locked elevators, closing his eyes as a blast of air pulsed upwards, pushing the polluted air up and out. He had only a few moments in the cool air to try and understand the building tension in his chest. Maybe he should turn around, it wasn't too late—-but then the elevator opened, and Evander faced a woman sitting behind a desk, who smiled warmly at him.

"Hello, you must be Evander. Please come in, we're all ready for you."

No, he was being silly. He was fine. This was all fine.

An hour later, Evander lay on the operating table. He'd changed into new clothes, but he had taken the small bird with him, unable to leave it behind for a reason he couldn't explain.

The doctors shuffled around him, none of them meeting his eyes. He had the strangest feeling in his chest. Just nerves, he thought. Nerves. Not Panic.

"We're gonna knock you out now," one of the doctors said, fitting a plastic device over his face. But he didn't breathe it in. Instead, he held his breath, and waited, only allowing the faintest amount of the gas into his chest. Why was he waiting? The gas wasn't like the gas outside, full of toxic metals. Finally, he had no choice, breathing in, and felt the swirling gas sweeping into him...

Reality faded...

High above him, like he was set in a deep hole, he watched the swirling doctors, giants speaking over an open grave.
"Can you believe how much lungs are going for these days?"

"It's wild that they have to take 'em from younger and younger kids now."
"As long as I get my cut..."

But now the voices were gone, and Evander was suddenly back in the trees behind his house, the sunshine burning down on him, and next to him, Nina knelt on the grass, her fingers clutched over the small wooden bird.

"Open it up," someone said, and just then, Nina's hands opened. But it wasn't a wooden bird. This bird was real, with a proud red chest and a tiny yellow beak. It opened its wings, leaping free and flying up into the blue, blue sky...

... and somewhere far away Evander felt his own hand slacken, the wooden bird falling free.

This scary story comes from my active imagination, but nothing is as scary as the fact: "Vaping can expose you to toxic metals like nickel, chromium and lead that can damage your lungs". To learn more visit The Real Cost.