To Light and Guard (20 page)

CHAPTER 4
2

             
Dr. Donald Baker rushed out of his office as soon as he got off the phone.  His patient, who had been in a coma for the last two days, just woke up.  It was a good thing that he decided to go to work today and that the hospital was adjacent to the medical building. 

While running down the hallway, he saw a
teen-aged girl enter the elevator. “Wait.  Hold it open,” Dr. Baker said in a loud voice.  If he had to wait for the next elevator, it may take him another five minutes before the elevator made it back to the tenth floor.  

As he ran, he saw a hand stick out from between the elevator doors
, holding it open.  Dr. Baker slipped inside and pressed the button to the lobby even though the button was already lit. 

“Thank you,”
he said to the girl as the elevator doors closed. 

The girl smiled, “No problem.”  Then, the girl
opened her army green messenger bag and pulled out her phone; she started fiddling with it.

Inside the elevator, Dr. Baker tried to catch his breath.  He still cannot believe that
his coma patient, Wyatt Mason, just woke up. He was supposed to be brain dead, which had been confirmed by two independent doctors. The last time he saw the boy was just yesterday morning, and he was still brain dead, just like he had been two days ago after he failed to recover from his brain surgery. After more than twenty-five years as a brain surgeon, Dr. Donald Baker thought he had seen it all. 

Remembering something,
Dr. Baker slapped his hand on his forehead.  He had just advised Mrs. Grace Mason this morning to consider other options, such as withdrawing Wyatt’s life support because her son was legally dead.

“Your son’s a donor,” he had reminded
Wyatt’s mother, “and you have to make your decision soon.”  He regretted the words now. 

Dr. Baker wondered what legal ramifications there were for a situation like this
, and he made a note to consult with the hospital’s in-house attorney to find out.  He looked at his watch.  It was only two in the afternoon. The hospital’s attorney should still be in his office.   

When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, he looked at the girl
standing next to him again.  She really was quite beautiful.  The girl smiled at him and raised a hand in goodbye - but it wasn’t really a goodbye; her middle finger and her ring finger were split in the middle forming the letter V. 

“Goodbye,” Dr. Baker said to the girl
.  He thought that her goodbye was a bit odd, but he didn’t have the time or the luxury to analyze the idiosyncrasies of teenagers.   Dr. Baker ran out of the elevators and made his way to the hospital building next door.

             
Dr. Donald Baker rushed towards room two-twelve as fast as he can.   He was not a young man and running up and down the long corridors of the hospital was not as easy as it used to be.  He was sixty four years-old and very close to retirement.  He certainly did not need this.  As he ran towards room two-twelve, he didn’t know if he truly believed that Wyatt Mason was really awake.  

Closer to room two twelve,
he heard screams.

“Paige!  Paige!  Paige!” 
Wyatt Mason was screaming as if his life depended on it.

Dr. Baker opened the door and saw three men in
green scrubs trying to hold down a very confused nineteen year-old boy on the hospital bed.  The white bandage wrapped around Wyatt’s head was stained with blood. 

Dr. Baker
pulled out a syringe and a bottle from his pocket.  He poked the bottle as quickly as he can with the needle.  He tapped it three times and walked towards Wyatt.  The sedative in the injection would surely knock him out. As someone held the boy’s arm, Dr. Baker pushed the needle into his skin.  Wyatt looked at him, his deep blue eyes widened in confusion.  After several seconds, Wyatt stopped struggling.  Dr. Baker leaned him back, guiding his head gently towards the pillow. Dr. Baker watched as Wyatt’s breathing became normal and even.  Finally, he closed his eyes.

“Paige Harper,” the boy
mumbled groggily. “I need to find Paige Harper.” Then, he fell asleep in a sedated slumber.

CHAPTER 43

              When Wyatt Mason opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was an older woman who was sitting in a chair next to his bed.  The woman appeared to be in her fifties, and she was clutching a cardboard cup to her chest.  Her light brown hair was pulled away from her face in a tight bun.  She was smiling, but he could tell that she must have been crying earlier because her eyes were still puffy and red. She got up quickly and kissed Wyatt on one cheek.

“Who are you?”
Wyatt asked warily.

The woman looked confused
, hurt even, and she looked at the gray-haired man standing behind her.  The man was older, and he was wearing a white doctor’s coat over blue scrubs; his nametag read - Dr. Donald Baker.

“You
were in an accident,” Dr. Baker said with a frown, “and you may be suffering from some memory loss.” He looked at the woman uncomfortably as she slowly sat back down on the chair. 

Tears fell from the woman’s face, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of one hand.
“I’m Grace,” she said, “I’m your mother.”  

Wyatt
flinched.  There was something definitely wrong here.  He cannot, for the life of him, remember ever having a mother. Somehow, the idea of having a mother was preposterous. Wyatt looked at the woman again and tried to search his brain for a memory.  Wyatt shook his head.  “I don’t remember,” he said with a frown. “I’m sorry.” 

The woman looked
devastated, and Wyatt immediately felt bad.  He didn’t want to cause her any more pain.  Somehow, he knew that she had been through enough, and it was very obvious that the woman cared deeply about him. “You look familiar, though,” Wyatt lied, hoping that his words will give her comfort.

“Memory loss is normal in
a head injury,” Dr. Baker said.  The doctor looked very distressed as if something was definitely wrong, and he kept looking at his watch.

“Who am I?”  Wyatt
asked. “What’s my name?” The woman on the chair started trembling, and she continued to cry.

“Please don’t cry,” Wyatt said. He didn’
t want to upset anyone, especially her.  He just wanted some answers.

“Your name is Wyatt Mason,” Dr. Baker said. 
  

Wyatt
touched his head, wincing.  His head was wrapped with some sort of cloth, and he could feel his head throbbing. 

“You fell off a three-story balcony and hit your head,” the woman said. 

“Do you have a mirror?” he asked.

Nodding, the
woman reached for the purse that was hanging in the back of her chair.  With one hand, she pulled out a compact, opened it, and handed it to Wyatt.

Wyatt took the mirror and stared at
his reflection. Beyond the large bruise on the entire left side of his face, he saw deep blue eyes framed by light brown eyelashes and eyebrows. There were stubbles on his chin. Wyatt touched his face and wondered at its rough texture.  The face was unfamiliar, just like the woman sitting beside him, but he saw the resemblance between them; it was the same nose, and maybe the mouth… and he looked young. 

“How old am I?”  Wyatt asked. 

“Nineteen,” his mother replied.

Wyatt chuckled.  His age was perfect; perfect for what, he wasn’t quite sure, but it made him happy to be this young. 
He tilted the mirror up, and he saw a white bandage completely covering his head. 

“You were in surgery for eight hours
two days ago,” Dr. Baker explained.   

             
Wyatt handed the compact back to the woman and took a good look at her.  She was still clutching the cardboard cup to her chest, and her hands were still shaking.  Some of the liquid spilled on her hand, but the woman didn’t even notice.  Somehow, he knew that he was everything to this woman, and he was glad that he was here.

             
“Here you go, Mom,” Wyatt said, smiling at the woman.  He didn’t know if that was what he was supposed to call her, but that was what Paige called her mother.  That much he remembered. 

             
“Oh, Wyatt,” the woman said as she got up and hugged him tight.  She kissed both of his cheeks while being very careful not to touch his head.  “Welcome back.” 

Dr. Baker coughed and mumbled something about another patie
nt.  “Well, if you need me, please call me.  Otherwise, I’ll be examining Wyatt’s head in an hour.”

             
Mrs. Mason let go of her son.  She pulled out a tissue from her purse and wiped the tears from her face. 

             
Looking around, Wyatt saw a basket of cookies, three vases filled with flowers, and a silver balloon tied to a plant that said ‘Get Well Soon.” 

             
“Mom, who are those from?” he asked.  The word ‘mom’ was getting easier to say.  A few more tries and it should come out naturally from his mouth.

             
“I brought your favorite cookies, the flowers are from your friends, and the plant is from our neighbor,” Mrs. Mason said.

             
“Are any of them from Paige?  Did she visit?”

             
Mrs. Mason looked at her son uncomfortably.  “I’m sorry… I don’t know who Paige is.”  She hesitated. “Who’s Paige?”

             
“Paige Harper,” Wyatt said, touching his bandaged head.  “Did she call?” 

             
Mrs. Mason didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to disappoint her son who just miraculously came back to her.  He was still so weak.  When Wyatt continued to stare at her, waiting for a response, Mrs. Mason reluctantly shook her head.

Wyatt was disappointed, she could tell. It was in the slump of h
is shoulders.  Earlier, she was informed that he was screaming a girl’s name when he woke up. Paige Harper.  Whoever this Paige Harper turns out to be, it doesn’t matter.  She was determined to find her soon.

“I’m sure we’ll find her
,” she said.  “I’ll call your best friend, Alan, and ask him.”

             
Wyatt smiled weakly.  Unfortunately, he didn’t know anyone by the name of Alan; the name didn’t even sound remotely familiar.  “That would be great.  Let’s call Alan.”  He sat up straighter on the bed and rubbed his hands together.  “Now, can I please have some chocolate?” 
Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate milk, chocolate anything.  He’ll take anything with chocolate.

CHAPTER 44

             
Since he came out of his coma seven days ago, Wyatt had to stay at the hospital. It was very difficult for him. It wasn’t just the pain on his head, or the battery of tests he had to endure.  He found that hated being indoors.

He was also losing his patience. 
It seemed like everyone who knew him came to visit – well, everyone except for the one person he wanted to see the most… Paige.  In the last seven days, he learned how to brush his teeth, take a shower, shave.  He even learned how to use his cell phone and iPad, but wherever he looked, there was no sign of Paige. She wasn’t listed as a contact on his cell phone or email. He couldn’t find a picture of her anywhere.
Where was she?  What was she doing?  More importantly, why didn’t she come to visit him? 
Something was definitely wrong, and Wyatt was desperate to get out of the hospital to find her.

Wyatt
wasn’t sure what she was to him, but he could picture her clearly in his mind. When he closed his eyes, he could hear her voice - hear her laugh.  He even remembered holding her close and smelling the scent of strawberries on her hair.
Was she just a dream?

A few days ago, his friend, Alan, had come to visit him at the hospital.  Although it was mentioned a few times, Wyatt had a hard time thinking of Alan as his best friend.  He didn’t feel a kinship with him, and most times, he had a hard time talking to him.

Unfortunately, Alan didn’t know who Paige was either, but he was kind enough to try and help Wyatt find her. 
Alan told him that they went to college together at U.S.C. and suggested that perhaps, Paige was a student there. 
Maybe they had a class together?
It was driving Wyatt crazy.  It was as if Paige Harper was never a part of his life. 
How was this possible when all he could think of was her?

When Wyatt was discharged from the hospital, the first thing on his mind was to locate Paige.  When he sat at his mother’s car and saw the navigation system, he grinned; he knew that he just found a way.  

Wyatt looked at the map showing Los Angeles, and there it was.  He pointed at the screen in the general direction where he knew Paige’s house was located.

             
“It’s right here,” he said.  He looked at his mom with growing excitement.  “Can we stop there first before we go home?”

             
“Paige’s house?”

             
Wyatt nodded.

             
“Sure.” 

Thirty minutes later,
standing in front of Paige’s house, Wyatt felt very nervous.  It looked similar to every house in this street, but instinctively, he knew this was
the
house; it was
her
house.  He looked back at his mother, who was sitting inside her car.  She was parked on the curb, and she was patiently waiting for him.  Wyatt hesitated. 
What if Paige wasn’t home? Or worse, what if she was here, but didn’t want to see him? 
 

Wyatt fixed the baseball cap on his head, making sure that the bandage on his head
couldn’t be seen.   Then, he rang the doorbell and knocked on the front door three times.   After a few seconds, a young girl with long, dark brown hair opened the door.   With his heart pounding, Wyatt stared at her in silence.  The girl was very beautiful, and she had the same features as the girl he was looking for… but the eyes were slightly different, and her lips were a little bit fuller.

Just then, a
small, ugly dog came out running; it jumped up and down in front of him.  Without thinking, Wyatt picked it up in his arms and scratched the dog’s head.

             
“Hello,” Wyatt finally said to the girl.  “I’m looking for Paige. Is she home?”

             
The girl smiled, and her face lit up in recognition.  “You’re Bruce Wayne, aren’t you?”  She giggled.

             
“No. I’m not. My name is Wyatt Mason.”

The girl giggled
again.  “It was a joke,” she said.  “You know… Bruce Wayne… Batman…”

Wyatt was utterly confused
, and he shook his head. His memory was still in shambles.  He didn’t quite know who Bruce Wayne was, but it was as foreign to him as the name they said was his. At the hospital, they kept calling him Wyatt, and he let them.  His mother showed him his driver’s license; it appeared that Wyatt Mason was definitely his name.  

“You don’t know who Bruce Wayne
is?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“Ummm.  No.  Am I supposed to?”

“And you’re looking for my sister?” she asked.  Her nose crinkled. “Do you even know her at all?”

Wyatt didn’t know how to respond.  He didn’t want to talk to this girl
; she wasn’t Paige Harper.

“Well, you do have t
hat Batman vibe going on, but seriously, you do look more like the Green Arrow,” she said.  “Have you heard of him?”

Reluctantly, Wyatt shook his head again.

“Ugh...,” she said.  She reached over and took the dog away from him. “This is going to be very interesting.” She looked over her shoulder and yelled very, very loudly, “Hey Paige,
your
Bruce Wayne is at the door!” Then, the girl walked away, leaving the door wide open. 

Wyatt
heard the sound of footsteps running down the stairs, and he braced himself.  Then, he saw her. It was her, and his heart started beating a wild rhythm inside his chest. She was the person who he’d come here to find - the person he had probably been looking for all of his life. 
Paige Harper.
 

Wyatt watched her, soaking in
her every graceful movement.  Wyatt clenched and unclenched his hands, forcing himself not to run towards her – not to hug and kiss her.  Paige approached him slowly, cautiously, and Wyatt sensed that something was very wrong.  It was the look in her face.  She looked very disappointed.  It was as if she was hoping it would be someone else waiting for her at the door.

Wyatt
took a deep breath and forced himself not to panic.  Not yet.