It's quite remarkable actually! I've never seen anything like it!
The neurosurgeon leaned back from the table, hand extended. He could try to describe in words what he was seeing, but he was sure the slides would help his patient to visualize the metamorphosis taking place in her brain.
"So, that?"
"Is your brain."
"And it's falling apart?"
"It should be, but as you can there is a very complex, delicate, intricate, unusual- " Dr. Phage stopped mid-sentence. He had never seen anything like this. It was breath-taking and exquisite, dangerous and most definitely fatal.
"And it's killing me."
Dr. Phage had always been admired for his bedside manner. He had the ability to comfort the most tragic victims in every situation, so it shocked him that he should speak so abruptly now. "It will."
"Alright." The patient moved the microscope away from the edge of the desk without touching it. She merely willed it to move with her mind, and it slid forward.
The surgeon's eyes sparkled with child-like astonishment. "Astounding!" was the only word that would come.
Telekinesis was only one of the abilities she had gained. She gave him a dose of another.
"Yes. It is," she transmitted the thoughts directly into his mind. He heard them as clearly as if her mouth had been moving. "It is astounding and cruel."
For the first time, the doctor's mouth turned down at the edges. He had been studying her day and night, night and day. She was a marvel beyond any imagination, but the reality finally broke through his wonder. "I'm sorry, Claire. Of course, this must be unfathomable for you. We can stop the treatment immediately, but I fear that the tumors would come back just as fast. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do."
Closing her eyes, she turned her sight inwards. She didn't know why her body had reacted with the treatments this way, but she had felt the change inside her very quickly. She felt healthy. No, she felt more than healthy. She felt more alive than she ever had. This radiating light was almost too much to contain. It wanted to be released from this mortal shell, and return to wherever it had been born.
She projected her own internal images to Dr. Phage, and heard his gasp of delight. His glass slides of the finest slice of her brain tissue had been marvelously detailed, but nothing could prepare him for the way she moved his consciousness through her body. It felt like soaring through the universe, one galaxy at a time- each more beautiful than the next. He couldn't help to express his awe; she agreed, it was spectacular. Every cell had been eaten away to a mere trace of what it was. A thin, gelatinous membrane was all that was remained. The silky-fine network of neurons were now an iridescent spider web of connections, and each nucleus had been consumed by-
"Light." The doctor whispered the end of her sentence as a prayer. Her brain was beyond the natural. It was the only trace of the supernatural he had ever witnessed. He felt as though he were in the presence of divinity.
"No. I'm still very much mortal." Claire said aloud, with a sigh. "I can feel that the tension pulls and strains each day as the light grows."
Dr. Phage sighed deeply. "What should we do, Claire? Tell me what we should do."
"Accept that gifts are not always understood completely. Embrace that our circumstances provide us a rare opportunity to live. Safely?" She inhaled, filling her lungs with the oxygen that she could now feel altering her blood cells and energizing her muscles. "No. Life is rarely safe, Dr. Phage. But fully. I'd like to live fully. I might have a bit longer if we changed course, but I have a feeling it would be accepting a sort of death, sooner."
He leaned his head into his open palms, knowing that his own decision to continue treatment with her would be held under scrutiny. His mind was whirling with the implications. There might be irreparable damage to his career. What about his family? Their home? His life?
"Goodbye, Doctor."
Her voice broke his inner dialogue as he looked up to apologize for his rudeness and to say goodbye. But the sound had only been in his mind, as she had already exited the building.
I saw these beautiful images on @phage93'spost, and immediately a story sprung to mind! Please do go to the post to see more. You'll be amazed at the skill in how they were captured! Thank you @phage93 for allowing me to give them a second life! I named the doctor in the story after you, in honor of your inspiration. I hope that this fiction helped to let you see them in a new light 😅
I like stories like this, stories that dives into the human conditioning with a slice of life's complications, what we control, what we don't. The decisions we make and the ones almost made for us. This story handles these parts brilliantly.
I definitely look forward to see what else you have in store for us,
Thank you for this comment. I enjoy when my writing can make a reader feel, think, and postulate.
Per your comment, any use of the word "brilliant" to describe something penned will make a writer blush. We hardly admit to this, naturally. And I certainly would deny any color creeping into my cheeks. However, I have heard tales of such instances happening. :-) One can only guess. I just wrote another flash fiction, and if you would be so inclined, I'd love another review from you. :-)
Dr. Phage XD
!discovery 35
Had to give you the honor of that :-)
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Thank you for continuing to encourage my writing! :-)
You present a story which seems to have no resolution, and yet you offer a resolution. In a nutshell, you present us with the challenge of living. We all make bargains to stay in life. Claire is given a stark choice, which is not much of a choice, but still a choice. The doctor thinks it's his choice, but it's not. Claire leaves the building and the decision is made.
An interesting story with a not cheerful premise. Yet, despite the extraordinary circumstances, it is after all about the human condition and mortality.
Thank you for posting this story in the Ink Well community.
I loved the way you summarized this. I feel like I can't even add to it because you captured the essence of it!
We all have a choice as to how fully we will live our lives - and how far we are willing to extend ourselves beyond our comfort level to experience that "fullness".
Definitely not a cheerful premise, but a real one. Thank you for the visit :-)