Aisling Murphy's Arc

Chapter 4 of 12

The next morning, sun filled the infirmary ward. Aisling waited by the window until both doctors came in together. She had to tell them. The dreams felt too real to keep inside. Dr. Hartwell set down her black bag. Dr. Blackwell followed, his own bag swinging at his side. "I keep dreaming about a red planet," Aisling said. "A city under a dome. A tall red man named Zyx. It wasn't just a dream. I was there. I felt the sand shake." The two doctors glanced at each other. Dr. Hartwell sat on the edge of the bed. She had fought hard to be taken seriously as a woman physician, and she chose her words with care. "Aisling, listen to me," she said gently. "The fall hurt your brain. A hurt brain makes strange dreams. Loud ones. Scary ones. They feel real because the injury stirs up pictures while you sleep." Dr. Blackwell nodded. "It's very common after a head injury. The mind fills the empty space. Those dreams aren't memories. They can't be." "But the sky," Aisling said. "I always want to look up. The dream told me why." "That's the injury talking," Dr. Blackwell said kindly. "Not a message." Aisling felt her face go hot. They were not listening. They thought the dream was only broken sleep. She opened her mouth to argue, but Dr. Hartwell took her hand. "There's something else you need to hear," the doctor said. Her voice dropped. "We've watched you closely. Your memories of before the fall. Your name. The people who love you. We don't think they're coming back." The room went quiet. Aisling's chest tightened. "In most cases the brain heals and memories return," Dr. Hartwell went on. "But your injury is deep. It won't fully heal. This is likely permanent." Aisling stared at her hands. Everything she had lost would stay lost. She thought she might cry. Then the ward door opened. Ember came in fast, her red dress swishing, a small chihuahua puppy tucked against her chest. The puppy wriggled free and scrambled onto the bed. Aisling did not know this woman. She did not know the dog. But the puppy licked her chin, and something in her chest loosened. Ember knelt by the bed. Her brown eyes were wet. "I heard," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, little one." Dr. Hartwell squeezed Aisling's hand once more. "The old memories are gone. But you can still make new ones. Every single day. That's a gift. Don't waste it." Aisling looked down at the puppy in her lap. Then she looked at Ember, a stranger who had come running for her. The past was closed. But the window was still there, and the sky beyond it. "Then I want to start now," Aisling said. "I want to go outside. I want to see the sky myself." Ember wiped her eyes and smiled. "Soon," she promised. "When you're strong enough, I'll take you."