sometime in 2000 . . .
the hospital
I was off living in another place--not going to school or working or doing anything, really. I had a roommate there, though I only saw him in the morning and at night. But there was a problem with having a roommate there--when two people lived in the same place, there were good chances that one of them would be
abducted. this didn't mean anyone would necessarily kidnap them, they might just disappear.
afraid that my roommate might be in danger of
abduction, I called some other people I knew who were also new to the area. I asked the guy who answered the phone if they had had any problem with this. the guy who answered the phone, however, had some kind of severe mental problem--however clearly I tried to explain myself, he just couldn't understand me.
another aspect of living with other people in this place was that if someone's health improved, the other's would deteriorate.
an old woman and her daughter shared an apartment, and the daughter had a cut on her arm that was almost healed. the daughter walked happily past the kitchen table, where the mother was seated, her head resting on her arm--on her arm was a scab that seemed to be getting worse.
later, the daughter was somewhere else, and went to a phone to call her mother. she told her about a set of new, thicker teeth that she had put in. it was difficult for her to speak clearly with her new teeth, but she was excited to tell her mother about the operation.
back in the apartment they shared, which was now a dark blue room, the mother was still seated at the table. the phone reciever was resting on the table with her daughter's voice still audible and still excited. the mother was covering her face with her hands, quietly moaning. when she removed her hands, I expected to see her with no teeth, but instead, I saw only black rings under her eyes.
I found myself out in an area of green fields, with grassy hills stretching out in all directions. some of those hills were very high and very steep. I had to get back to my apartment quickly, but I couldn't see any direct way into the cluster of buildings beyond which was city was located. a wall surrounded the buildings, extending up to the edge of a cliff. I knew that I would be lost in the city if I tried a route around an unfamiliar side of the wall, but I had no other way in. I entered through a barn, and I sensed that some people were after me. I left the barn and wandered, lost, until I found a familiar building, the hospital. from there I knew my way to the city.
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