Scott's POV
I drove up to the hospital to check on Mitch.
The receptionist shuddered when I said Mitch's name.
"What?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.
"Mr. Grassi is emotionally unstable. You can't see him yet." She replies, her voice shaky.
"Emotionally unstable?" I echoed.
The receptionist nods. "Just this morning, when he woke up, he started panicking. He sang a high note and all the glass shattered. One of our nurses was right in the line of fire."
My eyes widened. "He hit a high enough frequency to shatter glass? He can't be human..."
He survived a fall from five stories up. He shattered that glass after hitting a high note. Maybe he isn't human...
"Can I see that nurse?" I asked.
"Are you related to her in any way?" The receptionist replied.
"Can I not see someone out of the goodness of my heart?" I retorted.
"Hospital policy. Only friends and family are allowed to visit." She says, shrugging. "Nothing I can do about it."
I sighed and tapped my fingers on the desk. "Thanks anyway."
Doctor Carr walks out into the waiting room and smiles when she sees me. "Scott, hello!"
"Hey, Doc." I greeted.
"Are you here to see Mitch?" She asks.
"Doctor, he's-" The receptionist began.
"It's fine. I'll take him. And I have sedatives with me in case things take a bad turn." Doctor Carr reassures.
The receptionist nods and continues typing on her computer.
~
Doctor Carr led me to Mitch's room.
I heard him before I saw him. He was singing.
E sa fari carizzi distu cori
com' 'u canaru la menzu la mari
Si cadu dinta fazzu schiattacore
ca ri la pena ti fazzu mu mori
Fici 'na caggia e lla fici d'amuri
culle manere mee la seppi fari
La caggia siti vui, rosa d'amuri
l'accellu sonu eu pozzu entrari
Iu fazzu spari se mi ficc'avanti
ti ferma su di la cu non ti movi
Attaccuvil' a vvui e t'attacca amuri
su la cassa t'abbatte de lu cori
Badaggiu, bella mia; ca ti cunzumi
Basti ca ti cunzuma per amora.
I didn't realize I was holding my breath until my lungs started to burn. He had such a beautiful singing voice. He had a soft, soothing tenor that carried from his room and down to the hall.
I looked over at Doctor Carr. Her eyes were glistening.
She wiped her eyes and walked on.
"Mitchell?" She says.
"Is Scott Hoying here?" He asks.
"Yes, he is. He's come to see you."
"Oooh, goodie! I've been meaning to talk to him." I heard him say.
I entered the room.
Mitch was sitting cross-legged on his hospital bed, an IV in his left arm. He was playing with a small teddy bear, making it walk and dance.
"Oh, hello, Scott Hoying." He greets, smiling.
I was breathless again. His smile was wide and genuine. Dimples appeared in his cheeks.
Then his smile disappeared. He looked confused.
"What?" I asked.
"Where are your eyebrows?"
I groaned. "Noooo," I mumbled.
"They're invisible."
"No they're noooot!" I whined. "They're just blond."
Mitch nods, his mouth open.
"What were you singing earlier?" I asked him.
Mitch's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure. It just popped into my head and I sang it."
"You're regaining your memories?" Doctor Carr asks.
"I suppose so," Mitch replies. "It's called 'Riggitana' I think."
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.
Mitch's brown eyes widened. "Wait." He whispers. "I know your voice, Scott Hoying. I've heard it before..." He closed his eyes in concentration. "But where..."
Mitch grasped at his hair, his body hunched. He sat up straight suddenly, crying, "You're the voice!"
I glanced at Doctor Carr, who just shrugged.
"The voice?" I echoed.
"Yes! As I was falling, I heard your voice. You said you would catch me when I fell." Mitch replies, grinning.
"I did?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Mitch cheered, raising his arms in the air in triumph. "You have saved me! You caught me!" He reached out to me. "I must embrace you, Scott Hoying!"
I walked over and hugged him hesitantly. I gasped as Mitch hugged me really tight.
"Thank you so much, Scott Hoying. Thank you." Mitch whispers, his voice breaking. "I was so afraid..."
"You know you can just call me Scott, right?" I replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Scott," Mitch says, releasing me from his embrace.
"It's fine."
"Mitch," Doctor Carr begins. "Can you describe your fall to me?"
Mitch bit his lip. "It was terrifying. I was surrounded by my blood and feathers, and I could see my tears, too. I kept falling. I couldn't stop. I tried to fly, but my wings wouldn't work."
Wings?
"I was so scared. I was afraid I would be falling forever. Oh, and I couldn't speak. I could move my lips, but no sound came out."
Doctor Carr nods, writing down Mitch's account.
"Then I heard Scott's voice saying that I shouldn't worry or be afraid. He said he'd catch me when I hit the ground."
"I don't ever remember saying that." I said, my eyebrows knit.
Mitch looked at me, just as confused as I was. "Really?"
"So you had no intention of killing yourself?" Doctor Carr asks.
Mitch looked at her again. He shook his head. "No, I would never do that. Why would you think I would try and take my own life?"
"Do you not remember?" I inquired.
Mitch tilted his head to the side. "Remember what? After you spoke to me I woke up in your arms."
"I saw you at the top of the building, and you leaned forward."
Mitch's eyebrows furrowed. "I have no recollection of that. Are you sure? It was dark outside."
I nodded. "I'm sure."
"We suspect you of having amnesia, Mitch, so maybe that's why you can't remember." Doctor Carr says, looking up from her clipboard.
"I suppose," Mitch replies, looking out the window. "It's really pretty outside." He smiles. "I forgot how pretty it could be outside."
Doctor Carr and I shared a confused and worried look.
"Why are you looking at each other like that?" Mitch asks.
My head snapped and saw that Mitch was shifting his gaze between Doctor Carr and me.
"Did they tell you what happened on August 17th, 2012?" Doctor Carr says.
Mitch nods. "That was the night I died. A car accident, right?"
"You had a head-on collision with a drunk driver. You were taken in an instant." Doctor Carr replies.
"At least it was quick," Mitch says, holding up the teddy bear. "But I still kind of wish I knew what it felt like to die."
We were silent for a moment until Mitch decides to speak up.
"Scott, why did you catch me?"
I blinked, taken aback by Mitch's question. "I-I'm not sure," I stammered. "I knew you wouldn't survive a five-story fall, but I just felt like I needed to get to you."
"Perhaps it was fate."
I smiled a little. "Yeah, maybe."
Mitch smiled back at me.
"Who do you like?" I blurted out. I covered my mouth, my cheeks reddening.
Mitch was startled, but he simply answered. "Boys, I think. I can't really remember."
I nodded.
"I also like cats. Ooh, and food!" Mitch adds.
I laughed and Doctor Carr cracked a smile.
"Who do you like, Scott?" Mitch asks curiously.
I bit my lip. "I don't like to talk about it."
Mitch pursed his lips. "Alright," He sighs. "Thank you again, Scott, for catching me."
I smile. "No problem. Glad I could help."
_____________
"Riggitana" is a real song. I didn't make it up. I can't speak a lick of Italian. I just Googled "Italian folk songs".
-Spontaneous_Soprano