CHAPTER 2: MENTAL RETRIEVAL
“Let me go!” She screamed as she leaned over the balcony. Someone held her just in time. The girl was saved by her dad. She was in love with a neighbour boy who had just told her that he's moving far away.
The exploit was imminent. Regina had a mental breakdown. Being a teenager, she had no control over her emotions. After being struck by Simon's words that they were moving away and then meeting him again within a week in the hospital struck her mind with an outburst of all negativities and sadness she could never confine and possess. They hauled her away into a prison of imaginative freedom. She had only one thought in mind before jumping off. It was to meet Simon again and forever. His face was painted red in her mind when she saw him being taken away in the hospital as his toe held a label, "expired". When Simon was moving away, the only hope Regina had was from the future. It was a dark one now.
"This is going to be a long series of such activities. This was the probably the first one." Sighed Grandpa. "I hope we do not leave anyone behind because most of us are going through things, things we never thought of that would happen, things that are still happening inside us and they will continue to happen if we do not make people believe".
"That is truly a hard one to figure out", said John, half-asleep, locking the gate as they moved back inside after the melancholic feat was over and Regina was made to sleep with her parents.
The next morning was anomalous. Everyone stayed quiet at the breakfast table. Everyone lingered around at home and whimpered with an undead fear. It was the fear of Andrew and his family. Nobody was alright. The stillness inside was haunting and the noise outside was too great a nuisance.
John looked eagerly at his mum's door which stayed silent. Mum had not opened it since last night. He steered away to see his children. Their incognizance was thought provoking. John felt jealous. He wanted to unlearn whatever had happened. He too wanted to be a jovial goofball and play around. Comprehension was hard to learn when it was childhood. Trying not to comprehend was harder when it was adulthood. It had become automatic. It felt like life was a downhill road after an age. It only had perplexity and misery ahead.
He went outside for a walk in the afternoon. The sun was choosing for a mountain to hide behind. The atmosphere had started losing away its fever as the wind began to bring along moisture from a little lake nearby. It was where John wanted to go. He needed a plunge away from reality. He dawdled around the trees, throwing rocks into the lake seeing how many pebble jumps could he score. He sat on a rock and let his feet to lax inside the water.
The still movement of the lake drew many thoughts on his mind. Why did Dad have to leave so early? If he were here, he would probably know what to do. How would he console mum now? Andrew is most probably ...missing, Mum is still not comprehending ahead, Alice has her own journey of recovery, nobody can be contacted after the signal tower slammed on the ground. How do I control this situation. How do I become as worthy a son to father as Andrew was. But all I have been going through is just a series of unreal episodes. I can barely feel this as much as a dream. Ever since Dad left this world, I have been staying stuck in an order of glimpses. How do I make myself feel this scenario subjectively. I do not even know if I am even a part of it. Do my children feel this? Does everyone else feel the same? Probably not. Everyone is going through stuff, like Grandpa said. I hope I can think of a way to be resourceful.
Water gathered in his eyes as it saw the lake it had longed to meet. The drops could not wait any longer, for they desperately wanted to meet their kin and feel their warmth. Similar was the exhausting drainage John had been feeling everyday after Richard Vince was killed in Naraba.
His hazy vision saw a figure appear out of the woods at a distant edge of the lake. He rubbed his eyes to see Regina had draped a shawl on her shoulders and looked at the water in an utter dismay. John's intuition showed him his own state of oblivion inside her. He got up to talk to her.

The cracking of dry leaves behind her startled Regina. It was John.
“What are you doing here?”, inquired John.
“Listening”, began Regina "I have been hearing strange voices lately", ending it ironically.
This unexpected answer had John thinking and before he could say anything, Regina resumed, "Do not worry. I am not here to drown myself". She was displaying a facade but John knew how teenagers are with their forceful energy. She was embarrassed and afraid of coming out after her scene last night.
To that, John replied, "I have been too. And you know, mine speak of dreadful things". "What has left you in such a state?". "Well, to be honest, I am not sure either".
Regina interrupted, "Neither am I. Like I understand what I did last night was wrong. But to top it all, everyone expects me to get over the things that have happened recently so soon that it is super hard to contemplate."
John smiled and nodded. This took Regina into confidence and she went, "I understand people go through things. They change during those times. How was I supposed to know it would be times like these. No one has come since morning asking why did I do it. All everyone keeps asking is what am I doing. Nobody is here to listen. They just don't want me adding any more drama".
Her view was understandable. Teenage love was a memorable thing. It was the time where you would find that one person in front of whom your face would flush, your palms would be sweaty and your legs shaking. Every other crush throughout life is just masks and compromises on that exact person because you could never make your way to that person's heart. It was why people always remember their first crush. Regina, here, made that possible. That person loved her back too but sadly, he died. His face would stay forever imprinted on her mind.
"You know, people always come into our lives for a reason. When that reason is fulfilled, no matter how much time has been spent together, people always leave. Our destinies collide and then diverge too for the greater good”. Regina listened carefully. "It was tragic how Simon left your life. But think if the earthquake had not come, you would still have cried as much. It is what we humans do. It is how we express. Crying is a language. Whether distance or death, his time was over in the part he played in your life and for that, he will always be remembered. He died loving you".
John felt awestruck of when the poetic stance developed inside but it was helping. Regina was opening up. She looked down at her feet to see a young pretty face with hazel eyes. Her long blonde hair made her a suave, elegant damsel.
Maybe she did get so much absorbed in her loss that she did not even notice people losing more.
"It is lovely to mourn. But when we become the audience, it is only then when we are introduced to comparison and gratitude fills our hearts. You may have lost Simon but everyone in your family is here with you. Look at our side. Dad left three months ago and nobody has come out of the trauma yet and we are faced with another dilemma. Andrew is missing and we have no idea how to react to the situation." Regina gave his words a thought and figured she could have stayed in strength before giving people even more worries.
Far away, cries and wails rang in the man's ear. His eyes opened wearily to a bright tube light. His one eye was still getting accustomed and was still hazy. The other was vividly clear and was cold; it felt odd. He noticed that there were plenty of leads and wirings attached to many parts of his body. He could see healthy uniform graphs on a huge screen.
Just as he tried to get up, a stingy pain ran up all over his body. His leg was fractured. Slowly, he pushed himself up in the bed so he may raise his head. A robotic arm appeared from the metallic table nearby. It had a full injection that it emptied into the normal saline bag. The little camera on the wrist looked around in 360° and zoomed in on him. At once, the hand went aside and disappeared into the table.
Within a minute, a nurse arrived with a doctor at his bedside.
"Where is the patch?", said the doctor in a plain look at the nurse. "This is the newer version. The doctor who did the operation wrote special advice on not covering it for the next three day as the eye would need time to adjust to his body".
The doctor turned towards him. "Hello. How have you been feeling? Do you remember what has happened to you?". The man was too weak to speak but just mumbled "I remember a big concrete floor coming at me and now I am here. Its a bright blank view. I can not see much in the middle." "Well luckily, you are a survivor Mr....Andrew", said the doctor looking at the little screen in the wall above Andrew's head. "What is this place?", asked Andrew. "You are in the Grand Hospital of Naraba. You were brought here unconscious. Let me give an analytical profile of your account".
He detached the wireless screen from the wall, held it towards Andrew and began clicking and swiping on the screen. "You see, this is a picture of when you were brought here. This one is after your rods installation for helping your tibia and this is after your bionic eye installation". Andrew did not get much but understood something was wrong with his eye and leg. "What do you mean bionic eye?", interrogated Andrew. "This is the newest artificial robotic eye. During the crash, your bony orbit was crushed, a splinter had pierced through your retina. Time was short. This eye was installed and the wirings were connected to your dying nerves." Andrew was shocked.
The doctor began comforting, "you are in real good shape. The crash got so many people to such a bad condition that further life is a hell and death would have been an escape. The psychiatry department is the one having the most trouble after surgery. All the simulation rooms are filled and people have been forcefully made to wear the equipment to be stabilised in a virtual story that is designed to instil motivation."
Andrew felt gratitude cheering up his neurons and was relieved. "So about this eye?", said Andrew wanting to know further. "Oh this is the latest one. Its the B-eye-onic version 5.5. Don't you worry, the government has taken care of all your expenses. With it, now you can zoom in and out for a three times normal. It also has heat vision installed in it already. Tell me by covering each of your eye simultaneously and observe in which one can you see better". Andrew did so and realized the cold left one was rather clear.
"For now, you are stable enough to survive. You will be sent home to your loved ones with all the necessary medications and painkillers. Be extra careful with your leg as it is fractured. Never in history have we ever faced such a monstrous number of patients to look after. The ambulances will be bringing new survivors soon. I am going to make out your discharge form", said the doctor turning away.
"But wait!", Andrew held out his hand, "where are my daughter and wife? Do you not have any persons by the names Samantha and Gretchen? You must have them". Andrew began sobbing in his tone.
"I will send the nurse go check it in the catalogue", said the doctor calmly.
Back at home, Mum came out of her room at night. She was in a bad shape. Her eyes were showing dark circles and had a dishevelled coiffure. It was a pity to see her state. Left alone to fulfil the duties of a mother and a father now, she lost her son so easily in months. She was a failure. Why did she allow Andrew to go away for his stupid job. He could have earned here even if he had no progress. He would have been alive at least.
A sharp ringing distracted her thoughts to the present. Her phone was ringing. The communication had been set up. She hurriedly ran to pick the call.
“Hello, is this the Vince’s number? I am from the Grand Hospital of Naraba. May I speak to someone in charge?”, said a voice on the other side. Mum’s heart found pace and tears filled her eyes as she readied herself for the expected news. “Yes, this is Mrs. Richard speaking. Go ahead”, she snivelled in paralysis.
“Well, I would like to inform you that Mr. Andrew is a survivor. He is stable now. Sadly, his wife and daughter could not make it. We will be sending him over to your address today”, said the voice cutting the call in a hurry.
Mum felt a manic rush of emotional upheaval that slammed even faster to the ground as her legs began to shake and the euphoria lead to a gloomy dejection. Her little princess Gretchen had left. Samantha too was no more. How will Andrew react to all of this. She fell to the ground, fainted.
As she stepped inside, Regina rushed to her dad's room. Alex Stark was up in bed and watching the news. She went over to lay at his side and hugged him with loose gestures. His body was too bruised and fragile for regular hugs.
"Where had you been, dear?". "Out for a walk", said Regina cheerfully. Her dad felt relaxed seeing his daughter turn on a happy smile on her face. "I met your friend, Mr. John. He gives great advice". "Really? What did he say then." "Well, we spoke little. But it was pinpointed exactly at what I needed".
"That's great you've met John. He is a great person. When we were kids, Mr. Richard gave us great advice too. It's like some motivation tips run in that family". "Dad! What happened to Mr. Richard?" Alex turned away as his face dimmed in show.
"Richard Vince was a loving man. He was a philanthropic person. He left his job at the Naraba National University as a research scientist and began social works to help the needy. He stirred a lot of brilliant minds after providing education commonly. He soon made enemies too. It was hard for them to control people who could think individually and critically. The leader of the Azizi clan named Hamidi got tired of him".
"But at what cost? What harm did he do to him?", pleaded Regina. "You see, the Azizi clan is a clan like no other. They own the greatest area outside Naraba. They are people of nature. They still believe in the orthodox ways of life and live simply. As plain as they can be appearing, they are really hard people to deal with. They have a system of their own. They have their education system, economic matters and free sovereignty. When Richard began educating them with our concepts of education, Hamidi took him down for inciting revolt against him. With Richard out of the way, Hamidi had no hard time turning down the negative pressures that were beginning to rise".
"That's so sad and evil. Those people are the worst. Everybody has a free will to live. I wish the earthquake smashed them for their deeds", said Regina enraged. "I can not be sure much about that. They have a deep connection to nature. If something was going to happen, they would have heard to sounds the ground was making or the birds chirping high up in the sky or the trees letting down their leaves in a certain pattern that they would have known. Those people are competitive and skilled. They are not dependent on technology like us...and they never make huge buildings like us as they have plenty of land", explained Alex.
"But then, if they might be alright and at hard times like these, are we not vulnerable to any attack? Won't there be a fight over scarcity of food?", asked Regina anxiously. "Wow, my baby has got a lot of thoughtful drama going on inside her head. Everything is going to be alright", said her dad, kissing her on the forehead.
Regina got up and was about to leave the room, when the news channel interrupted with a breaking news. "The leader of the Azizi clan has been found dead during a site digging. We have gathered news that he was inside Naraba for a business meeting of the clan when the earthquake came and unfortunately, he too has left for his eternal abode", said a loud anchor, going again on repeat.
Regina felt happy the most amongst a mixture of emotions. His death was never a deserving end but John could at least have some relief for the sorrow he went through innocently. She waited anxiously for the night to pass soon to see the look on John's face tomorrow.
The night had settled still. The stars shone bright, giving out hope to any one who was looking above for a sad answer to the voids inside. A cruel siren shattered the scene and stopped an ambulance at the Vince's door. Everyone rushed at it.
Regina watched all from her window. Wailing loud, Andrew met his family. She could her their sad calls shiver her spine as she grew empathic towards John. She did not want to appear glee to her new friend anymore. She could not.
"What do you suggest ahead?", asked John from Grandpa Vince, in a complete blank state of mind. He was not the type to handle the forefront.
Grandpa said in a low, dejected tone, "You will be needing more strength than this if you want to overcome these situations. Sometimes life is like a dark tunnel and you have nowhere to go. But, if you just keep on moving you will come to a better place". This soothed some parts of John.
"What about Andrew? The doctor said he is in a state of PTSD. As his eye is new, it may receive back some negative signals from his brain in a malfunction if his stress was left unattended. In malfunction, it might begin showing him memories of Gretchen and Samantha. Those hallucinations may eat him out alive", said John worryingly.
"What about your lessons of compromise? You had the idea. Everyone is either naive or too old. You have to ignite the fire of living ahead in everyone at home and around". John looked determined but hollow. He knew he had not developed the potential, but he must.
The next day was a bright one, telling the tale of healing had begun. Regina met John early morning as they went out for a walk. John too was new to the pressure. He too needed someone to discuss things with.
“That’s amazing!”, said Regina cheerfully. John felt hope but saw Regina as much pragmatic as he was.
“You know we could start early at around that part, and we certainly can not miss the great spear building. This time, I want its tinted glass to be emerald. It would be exactly how I used to draw it in kindergartens”, said Regina, hopping wobbly side to side. They knew the task of renewal would be hectic, but worth it. They both looked at each other sheepishly and smiled.

© unexpressed