Realm Wraith (10 page)

Monday morning came and went. Some time after noon, the bedroom door opened and Rayne wheeled himself up to the breakfast table, eyes dark, hair a mess, an irritated look on his face.

“You look like you’ve been through hell,” David joked. “You see what happens when you skip a night of sleep? I’m surprised you weren’t in bed longer.”

“I guess I learned my lesson,” Rayne muttered. “I skip a night, I sleep for twice as long the next. That—that was a terrible idea.”

“Then we’re agreed. Don’t do that to your body. You’re healing, remember?”

Rayne rolled his eyes. “Levi at school?”

“Yeah, I brought him a few hours ago. But I think you and I need to talk. I’ve noticed Levi’s been avoiding you all weekend. What happened?”

Rayne saw David had made tea and grabbed a cup, but he had no interest in taking any food. He clutched the warm vessel in his hands.

“He asked me what it was like to be dead, and if I saw heaven.”

“Oh.
Oh.
”
David winced. “I told him not to ask you that.”

“He almost lost his father. Of course he was going to ask me.”

“That explains why Levi wouldn’t tell me what happened.” David pulled up a seat at the table. “Poor boy.”

“David?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you remember much about my parents?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while hasn’t it? I can’t say I really knew them. I only met them a few times back when we were in school together. But you haven’t really mentioned them much, have you? Not since the accident.” David trailed off, staring down at the wooden grain lines in the table. “Now I see what this is about. I don’t know why I didn’t see the connection sooner.”

“What connection?”

“The accident? Your parents died in that car crash. No wonder you’ve been out of sorts. You lost them because of something like that, and then you almost die getting hit by a car. Look, I know it won’t mean a lot coming from me, but it’s just a coincidence. It’s not as if automobiles have it in for your entire family or something.”

Rayne stared at David, dumbfounded. “My parents died in a car accident?”

“Eight years ago. You don’t remember?”

For a moment Rayne hesitated.

“I know things have been foggy lately,” David went on, “but surely you’d remember something like that. The money they left helped you take care of Levi. There was also the settlement money from the lorry driver that knocked them off the road.”

Rayne just sat there, not even blinking.

“Rayne? Do you remember anything about them?”

After another minute of blank staring, Rayne gave up, and spoke the truth.

“There’s nothing. I don’t even remember having parents. I looked through my scrapbook and there were these two
strangers
. I’d never seen them before in my life.”

David’s brow furrowed as he rose from his seat. “That’s not good. Not good at all. The doctors must have overlooked something. I’m taking you back to the hospital to have a specialist check you out. It’s possible they missed something.”

“But—”

“No buts. I’ll ring them to see if there’s anybody available and we’ll leave right away. This could be serious; you should’ve told me you’ve been having problems like this!”

Rayne didn’t argue. He wondered, if a specialist could find something wrong with his brain, maybe fix him so he could sleep at night. So, he waited without protest while David made arrangements by phone.

“All right, let’s go.” David wrapped a coat around Rayne and pushed his wheelchair out the door. They took the elevator downstairs and, in moments, they were both out on the street. David lifted Rayne up and placed him into the passenger seat, folded up and stored his chair in the back, and they were on their way.

They pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, and David helped his friend back into his chair and wheeled him in through the front door.

“Ah, Dr. Seraf. Was wondering when you’d get here,” the receptionist in the lobby greeted him. “Dr. Orban can see you in a moment, if you’d kindly wait over there.”

“All right, thank you.” David pulled Rayne’s chair out of the way. “I should go move my car; I parked in a 10 minute parking zone. Won’t be more than a moment.” He ran back out the door, leaving Rayne alone in the waiting area with the receptionist, who smiled at him, then went back to answering phones.

“Well, I’ll be, if it ain’t Mr. Mercer!” a loud, boisterous voice cut through his ears. He turned around to see Miranda’s smiling face, dressed in her usual nurse’s uniform as she walked down the hall towards him with a smile. For the first time Rayne saw her in something beside a painkiller fueled haze, and realized how attractive she was beneath the bright lights of the lobby. Her medium-length hair, normally neatly tied behind her head, was a little disheveled today, and she looked like she’d gone a while without sleeping, but despite that, she appeared quite charming, and she had a friendly, gentle atmosphere around her.

“Miranda, it’s good to see you,” he said.

“How’s the recovery coming? David taking good care of you? Not getting into any trouble, are you?”

“No, I—well, I’m getting better. David’s a bit worried about me. Just brought me in to get checked out, make sure I’m all right.”

“Oh, well that’s good to hear. Gotta make sure everything’s in working order. I’m sure it’ll put you son’s mind at ease to know his father’s doing well.”

“Mr. Mercer? Dr. Orban will see you now,” the receptionist called over from her desk. “Miranda will take you to his office. I’ll let Dr. Seraf know where you are once he’s come back to fill out the paperwork.”

A puzzled look crossed Miranda’s soft features. “Dr. Orban? Ain’t he the neurologist? You sure this is just a checkup, then?”

“It’s nothing, really. David’s just worried that I’m having memory problems. Really, I remember a lot of stuff, it’s just, I suppose the car knocked some of them out of me,” Rayne laughed, trying to ease the tension, but Miranda still looked concerned.

“Well, all right. If anyone can fix you up, it’s Dr. Orban. He’s good at what he does.”

Miranda grabbed the back of Rayne’s wheelchair and pushed him down the hall to a smaller room. Inside, a short man in his mid-50s with balding, grey hair and spectacles stood rifling through a clipboard full of papers. He glanced up when the door opened.

“Thank you, Miranda,” he said as she pushed Rayne’s wheelchair into the room. “I’ll call if I need anything.”

Miranda smiled a grimmer smile this time. In that instant of concern she visibly showed towards Rayne, he saw past her friendly demeanor, and sensed something odd hiding behind her smile. There was no doubt in his mind she was a cheerful, kind soul, but a sadness dwelt there, a deep sorrow and pain that she masked in that chipper attitude. He wondered what he sensed in her, as he watched her leave.

“Now then, Mr. Mercer. Dr. Seraf explained on the phone you’ve been having memory problems?”

“Yes, doctor. It’s all been a bit foggy, but there’s—I suppose specific events in my life I just can’t seem to remember.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Well, when I try to remember my childhood, it’s all a blur. I remember having a dog, and I remember living in a nice, happy home. But I can’t remember my parents at all. Even looking at a photograph of them, I just don’t recognize them at all.”

Dr. Orban nodded. “That does sound serious.” He rifled through the charts in his hand. “From what they’ve told me, the car accident put you in a state of temporary brain death, but according to your last tests, there were no indications of permanent brain damage. Is the memory loss recent? Or is this something you’ve experienced since the accident, and are only now telling us about?”

“The latter.”

“I see; you should have brought this to our attention sooner. Now, it’s possible that memory loss could occur in a situation like this, and it can be tricky to deal with. Have you forgotten other things, or is it just your parents?”

“I don’t rightly know, doctor. I didn’t recognize my childhood home in the photo either. When I remember my childhood, there’s no visual images. I can’t see anything clearly; I just feel things. Emotions. It’s hard to describe.”

“What about memories of school, of classmates? Other family members?”

“I don’t—” Rayne thought, trying to remember. He knew he’d gone to school, and he at least remembered David as one of his classmates.

“Anything?”

“Nothing really stands out. It’s hard to remember any details. I remember the people currently in my life, I remember my co-workers, and my neighbors, the people at Levi’s school, and of course, David and Levi. I remember all of them. But everything in the past it’s just, I see a few faces, and some names like—” Rayne scrunched up his face, thinking. “I remember one fellow. A long time ago, from my neighborhood. His name was—something with an A? I can’t recall, really. Sort of a bully.”

“So you do remember some parts of your childhood, but not your parents?”

“Well, I recollect this bully fellow, and there’s my dog of course. Can’t quite recall his name either.”

“Hrmm.” The doctor looked Rayne up and down. “It could be retrograde amnesia. In cases like this, the brain is able to form new memories after experiencing trauma, but select memories of a person’s past can be lost. ”

“Is it permanent?”

“It depends. Sometimes a memory can be jogged, so to speak, by showing the person things that they’d connect with those memories. Things from your past.”

“But it’s not anything really serious then?”

“Forgetting your parents and your entire early life isn’t something trivial. It is definitely a cause for concern and, frankly, we should have caught this sooner. But, you were responsive to your friends and family, there was no immediate sign you’d forgotten anything. They did test your memory, didn’t they?”

“I was asked things like my name, my birthday. I remember things like that: facts. I suppose it’s just everything before that. People I used to know. They’re just not there anymore.”

“I see.” The doctor put the chart down on the table beside him. “Well, let’s schedule some more tests to rule things out. In the mean time, there’s not much that can be done besides trying to trigger memories. I would advise you to take it slow, don’t try to force it. With time, they may return; you just have to be patient. You’re a very lucky man to have survived that accident.”

“I know. Thank you, doctor.”

“Are there any other concerns I should know about?”

“No, nothing.” Rayne stopped himself, and bit his lip. “Actually, have you ever had a patient suffering head trauma who had a problem with odd dreams?”

“Odd dreams?”

“Like a recurring dream. Like, every night when they go to bed, they experience the same thing, night after night. And the dream feels much more real than it should.”

“When you say recurring, does this relate to your accident? Are you reliving that moment when you go to sleep at night?”

“Nothing to do with the accident itself, no. Just a very vivid, I don’t know, it’s like I dream about the same strange place every night.”

The doctor pulled out a pad and started to scribble onto it with a pen. “While I can’t rule out a physical issue right now, it might not be so simple. Any sort of recurring dream you’re having could very easily be psychological. I’m going to write down the names of a few psychiatrists you may want to look into. They might be able to help you recover your memory. Even if the problem is physical, I would still recommend looking into therapy. Recovering from a near death experience, dealing with lifelong paralysis, it’s all very traumatic, and a professional will help you deal with it. It could also be good for your son to have someone to speak with about this.”

“I don’t know. I’m not certain I feel comfortable with that sort of thing.”

“You don’t have to do it if you really don’t want to.” Dr. Orban put the cap back on his pen and handed the paper to Rayne. “All I’m asking is that you think about it, and if you do decide, all of these people are quite skilled in their field. All right?”

Rayne reached up and took the paper from him. “I’ll think about it,” he said.

“That’s a good man.” The doctor stood up and opened the door for Rayne, who wheeled himself out into the hallway. A fidgeting David waited for him.

“Dr. Seraf, were you waiting out here this whole time?” asked the doctor.

“They told me that Rayne had been taken back to see you. I didn’t want to just walk in on you while you were talking. Is he all right?”

“I’m fine.” Rayne’s voice dripped with irritation.

“I’ve arranged for Mr. Mercer to have some tests, but I suspect it’s a minor case of amnesia,” Dr. Orban clarified. “His memories will likely come back on their own, but I feel he will recover faster if you’d help him out. Maybe take him down to where he grew up, and get him reacquainted with his past.”

David nodded, putting his hands on the grips behind Rayne’s chair.

“I also gave him the names of a few psychiatrists,” the doctor continued. “So if you want to help him out with that, I think he would greatly benefit from therapy once he’s more able. All right?”