by Sean Clark
He feels her hand touch once again his scalp, now covered in the slick gel. Something is rolled close to his bed, and he feels the wand of the ultrasound start to make passes against his scalp.
“We don’t have a CT scanner or MRI, so this is the best we can do.” The nurse explains. “An ultrasound doesn’t give the best image through bone, but I will be able to see any irregularities on the surface of your brain, like damage from trauma or stroke.”
Cecil lays still the best he can as the wand is passed slowly over his head. His fingers twitch involuntarily. He purses his lips to hide their trembling. The wand finds its way to the front of his skull where it stops, right where the worst of the throbbing is located. He wishes silently for the whole experience to be over.
The movement of the wand stops, and the nurse pulls it away. “I’m going to wake up the doctor Cecil, don’t move.” She hesitates. Cecil mouthed something like he wants to respond, but is unable to form any words before the nurse’s footsteps fade out down the hall.
He waits. The wounds on his hands sting, and his head feels cold. The minutes seem to drift by at a snail’s place. “Markus?” Cecil calls out weakly.
“I heard, buddy. I didn’t want to kill the moment with some smart-ass comment like usual.”
Two pairs of footsteps rush in heavily. Before Cecil can say anything, the wand was once again placed on his scalp. “That is an irregular growth, right there on the frontal lobe.” The male voice of the doctor sounded vaguely concerned. “Ruiz, are you with us? There is a high probability that this could be… well, a brain tumor. Something like this… it needs to be operated on. Otherwise, you could suffer irreversible brain damage. I’m afraid though… we don’t have the means of dealing with something like this.”
Cecil’s heart sinks, beating heavily in his chest. “Do what you must.” Cecil replies, defeated.
“Understood.” The doctor continues. “Best case scenario… we can put you under cryonic hibernation here and put you on the ship that’s headed back to Earth. There’s no use having you die here.” He explains firmly.
Cecil gives a weak nod. “Send me home.” He chokes back tears.
“It’s decided. Nurse, start prepping him. I will have to inform Cassius so he can get Ruiz on that ship, ASAP.”
The doctor’s heavy footsteps take him out of the med bay. Ceil feels the nurse taking a damp cloth to his head to wipe off the gel from the ultrasound. She proceeds up pull the IV from his arm and place a bandage over the area.
“I know we… Agrippa and myself… always said that it would be your decision to whether you head back or not.” The nurse sighs. “I’m sorry it has to be like this.”
“No… I’ve made up my mind.” Cecil announces. “I’m ready to go home.”
“I’m glad for you, Cecil. Get better.” She says, leaning down to give him a weak hug. “For me… and for all of us.”
Epilogue
Cecil awakes. Grogginess overtakes him, but the bright lights shine into his vision. He reaches up to wipe his forehead, where he feels a series of bandages wrapped tight, covering a deep indentation imbedded in his skin. He attempts to shift his body around but is stopped by various leads on his chest and head, and an IV sticking into his arm.
He lay quietly in the unknown place. A monitor of some sort beeps away at a steady rhythm. After a few minutes, he is able to pick up the sound of a door latch clicking and hinges squeaking as someone enters the room.
“Ah! Welcome back to the world of the living, Mr. Ruiz.” The voice is unfamiliar.
“Where am I?” Cecil responds in a hoarse voice.
“Johnson Space Center Hospital, Houston Texas.”
“Earth?” Cecil questions.
“Earth.”
“How long have I been here?”
“About two weeks. We extracted you from cryogenic hibernation with instructions to perform an operation on you. We ended up removing a sizable tumor from your frontal lobe. The fact that you’re awake and talking to me right now is proof that it went well. We’re confident that it was all removed. It’s been a good week since then… I can surely say that I’m glad that you’re still with us. You’ll probably experience some minor loss of memory, some issues with coordination, but otherwise we’ll hope to see you on the road to recovery soon. Keep in mind, your muscles have atrophied from your months in hibernation and being in the reduced gravity of Mars.”
“I don’t even know what to say.” Cecil mumbles, struggling to keep his eyes open.
“A while ago, we received a letter for you via the space agency from Mars. I think it should help you cope. Would you like me to read it to you?”
Cecil nods and he hears a piece of paper being unfolded. The man starts to read aloud.
“From: Agrippa
To: Cecil
Dear Cecil,
It’s been several months since you left. I figured sooner or later you would be on Earth and be up for your operation. If you make it through… I just want to make sure that you know we haven’t forgotten about you and your contributions here.
Markus healed up just fine and is back to work. Cassius is still bitter that you finally got to go in the way you did, but I think the real reason is that we lost you and your expertise.
The generator has been running without issue for the last month or so, and we have been able to wean ourselves off solar power. Our systems are running more efficiently as a result. The installation down below has even been fitted for proper living. Martin is now running that place with several others.
The pool was drained without any issues and the water put in storage for treatment sometime in the future. We hope to have our systems prepped to expand when the water is deemed safe. Honestly it all went according to plan, quite boring actually. I’m still not sure what to make of your experiences here. I asked Maria the nurse if a tumor can cause you to hallucinate or play tricks on your senses. Who knows? Even Tulia tried making sense of the readings she got, but nothing stuck out.
I’m sorry that I never got to say goodbye to you. I never told you this, but after the accident I was there by your side while you sat in a coma. It reminded me of watching my partner wither away before he eventually passed. When you woke up it birthed a new hope in me. Your positivity and drive, despite your disability, helped us all. I would say you were like the son I never had, but that just seems too cliché.
One day maybe you can return here to Mars and help us take even bigger steps towards the future and the continuation of mankind.
With much love,
Agrippa.”
Cecil feels a small tear form in the corner of his eye. He tries to lift his hand to brush it away. His arm seems to resist each movement, feeling heavy and weak. “May I keep that letter?” Cecil whispers.
“I don’t see why not. Anyways, we’ll be monitoring you for now. We’ll start rehabilitation when you think you’re ready. Just let us know if we can do anything to make your stay here more comfortable.”
There are footsteps towards the bed, and Cecil feels the letter placed in his palm. He wraps his fingers around the edge and traces the crease from where it had been folded, rubbing the tip of his thumb across the faint bumps of the letters printed on the page. The man quietly exits the room without a word, closing the door with a click behind him. Still holding on to the paper, Cecil closes his eyes.
The End