Myne

twenty four

Day five. 

Rain woke up. 

*

Johann Abrams never had any delusions about his being a genius. At best, he could praise himself for having an ability to study and learn that was better than most. And this had been proven many times in his life, by the many humbling incidents. None more than the case he was looking at right now. 

Rain’s charts and reports littered the desk he was sitting behind. The monitor was more of the same. In eleven years, didn’t seem like he had made any progress at all. He was still the same lost, the same confused, the same helpless. He was feeling terrible about himself, when came the knocking. 

“Come in,” he said aloud. 

Carmina Inniyane, the nurse he was most comfortable with, and was thus his assistant, walked in. Closed the door. And looked at him with an expression he wasn’t accustomed to seeing on her. 

“You need to see this,” she said. 

“See what?” 

“Excuse me,” she said. Walked around the table. Squeezed in by his side. Reached for the keyboard and the mouse. Pulled up a video from his records. Played it on full screen. 

It was the video of his interaction with Rain, after she had woken up. It was the video from merely a few hours ago. There was just Rain’s face on the screen. 

*

“How are you feeling?” 

The questions were in Johann’s voice, from behind the camera. 

Rain smiled, a sweet and innocent smile. “I’m good,” she answered. Her voice was soft, but otherwise just fine. Exactly like her regular voice. 

“Do you know how long you were asleep?” 

The smile fell. She shook her head slowly. Showed a troubled expression on her face. 

“I’m not sure. Doesn’t feel long. Different from usual. How long was it?” 

“Five days. You were asleep five days. Do you feel different in any way?” 

“No. I feel like myself. Like I had a good sleep. But nothing out of the ordinary. When I woke up and saw that I wasn’t in my room, the first thing that came up in my head was that I was at the hospital. Only then did I actually recognise the room, the furnishings, everything. And then I knew, it had happened again.” 

“Do you remember the last time?” 

“Yes.” 

“How much?” 

“Honestly, whatever I’ve been told. I think it’s not the memory itself, but the picture I drew from what I heard, what I was told. Does that make sense?” 

“Yes. It does. Does it to you?” 

“I don’t know. Sometimes it does. Other times, not so much. When it doesn’t, feels weird. I feel weird. I really don’t know how to better put it. How to explain it.” 

“That’s okay. I think I can understand. Not from personal experience, I assure you. But, I do.” 

She nodded. Smiled, again. And waited for the next question. She knew it was coming. It showed on her face. 

“Do you remember anything from when you are asleep? A dream? A sound? Anything at all.” 

“No,” she said, readily. “Frankly, I wish I did. If it was a one time thing, I could make peace with it, somehow. I think I did. I was five, and something happened to me. Some kind of illness. Or accident. Or injury. Whatever it was. I was unconscious for a week. And then I woke up. And everything was as usual. Ordinary. Noting unexpected, or beyond explanation. Then, it happened again. And I don’t know what to make of it. It’s what you used to say, right doctor? What happened once, can happen again. And what happened twice, will most certainly have a third. I guess, I’m now all about the third. And I don’t know how to feel about that. Does that make sense?” 

“Yes. It does. Strangely enough, it makes perfect sense.” 

*

That was the end of the video. Johann had seen the video already. Immediately after the recording, after the interaction, after returning to his office. And then, again, after Rain was discharged. There was no reason to keep her at the hospital. She was healthy. She was fine. And whatever questions he needed to answer, he could without her having to remain at the hospital. He was quite sure it was better for her to be home, at a more familiar environment. Anyway, he had seen the video, and hadn’t seen anything that could be a cause for the kind of worry Carmina was displaying. 

“You didn’t see it?” She asked, disbelief dancing on her face to deafeningly loud music. 

“See what?” He asked. 

“Let me show you again,” she said. Rewinded the video a few minutes. And hit play. 

*

“Then, it happened again. And I don’t know what to make of it. It’s what you used to say, right doctor? What happened once, can happen again. And what happened twice, will most certainly have a third. I guess, I’m now all about the third. And I don’t know how to feel about that. Does that make sense?” 

“Yes. It does. Strangely enough, it makes perfect sense.”

*

“See it?” She asked again. 

His blank expression was all the answer she needed. 

“Let me show you,” she said, again. 

*

“I guess, I’m now all about the third. And I don’t know how to feel about that.” 

*

She hit pause. Brought her finger to the monitor. Pointed at the Rain’s shadow. 

“See that?” 

He nodded. 

“Keep watching, right here,” she said, and hit play. At 0.5x speed. 

And he saw it. Didn’t believe his eyes. It wasn’t possible. This was reality. Not a movie. Not some stupid show on tv. Such things didn’t happen in the real world. Such things didn’t exist in the real world. 

“Must be some trick of light,” he argued. “Something with a very normal explanation. We just can’t see the answer right now, because it’s not within our expertise. That’s all.” 

“Maybe,” she said, nodding as he spat out weak arguments. “Look at it again. At normal speed.” 

She rewinded, and hit play. At normal speed, it was so much scarier. 

Rain’s shadow was nodding, as Rain spoke without moving. And then, the shadow looked into the camera. Actually looked out through the monitor. At the two of them. And then, Johann could swear to it, smiled. Eerily. 

“Did you see that?” He asked. 

“See what?” She asked. 

“It smiled.” 

He felt a chill when he said it. And one look at her confirmed that she felt the same. They were terrified. This was beyond them. 

He grabbed the mouse. Shut the media player. Breathed hard, to relieve the excitement. Avoiding the cheerful wallpaper on the monitor. 

“We won’t talk about this,” he said after a while. 

She nodded. That was a suggestion she was more than willing to accept. Especially after what he said last.