NaNoWriMo Prep

October 8th Contest Assignment Entry

         Leigh woke in the dark, gasping for breath as her heart beat in an irregular pattern. Shivering, she huddled under the blankets, mind racing to wake up and identify the symptoms. It took her a few minutes but then Leigh stumbled out of bed, staggering as quickly as she could across the freezing cold floor, her bare feet barely registering the cold.
         Her mind focused on one goal, getting to her father and quick. She stumbled through the blackened hall, going by memory only, to her father’s room. Reaching up, her hand shaking now as she gasped at the squeezing in her chest, her hearts beat now erratic she pounded weakly on the huge oak door. Her knock barely made a sound against the wood, and her fear licked down her back at how quickly this episode had come on. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she raised her hand again and pounded, this time the knock echoing through the hallway.
         The door swung open, yellow light spilling out into the hallway, as a figure towered over her.
          “What?!” Came the impatient tone of her father, until he saw her slumped against the wall next to the door.
          “Leigh, my God, it’s time, isn’t it?”
         Nodding weakly, Leigh allowed her father to gather her up in his arms and sweep her down the hallway, all the way to the lab in the basement. At 12, Leigh weighed little more than 130 pounds so it was easy for her father to carry her.
         Reaching the basement, Leigh was deposited securely on an operating table, where her father drew up the dose of anesthetic proper for her age and weight. The bright light of the operating candles burning narrowed as her vision started to go black.
“Father, hurry,”. She managed through her shivering teeth, her heart barely beating now.
         The sting of the anesthetic needle being plunged into her vein barely registered and she soon found herself drifting off to a deep sleep.
         “Don’t worry, honey. I will fix this. It’s just our normal surgery for your heart. Everything's going to be just fine.” Her father soothed, calming her down and allowing her to slip into that deep slumber.

         Leigh awoke suddenly, her chest aching, but her heart beating at a normal rhythm again. Sighing in relief, she realized the surgery had worked and her father had fixed whatever had been wrong with her heart.
         She slowly opened her eyes, the lights dimmed by black handkerchiefs covering them. She was back in her own room, in her own bed. Everything seemed normal, but of course it wasn’t. She wondered if this time, her father would explain himself and let her know what was wrong with her. He’d always dismissed it before, telling her that he would explain when she was older. Now, though, she was 12 years old, finishing her regular schooling and preparing for a career as a librarian. Surely he would tell her now.
         Sitting up slowly, the incision in her chest aching and pulling at the stitches holding the skin and muscles together, she glanced around her room. It was pretty simple for someone of her wealth, but her father had never been one to emphasize material possessions. The dark wood oak door sat slightly ajar, and just to the left sat her desk, made of cedar with iron legs, and iron sectionals holding her letters and writing utensils. Parchment and paper strewn about the desk reminded her that she had to clean it up.
         Glancing to the left was her bookcase, full of books on science and medicine, her two main interests. There were her schooling books as well and the volume that she would study to become a librarian. Her bed sat in the center with the window darkened by black shades. Finally the armoire holding her clothes stood open, as though someone had been rustling around through it.
         The darkness of the room bothered her, as she didn’t understand the black sheets or the black handkerchiefs. That was a tradition only saved for the dead, and she certainly wasn’t dead!
         The next thought came crashing through, sending a cold shock wave over her body. What if she had died?
         “FATHER?!” She screamed, her voice hoarse from fear.
         Her father bounded in, ragged and disheveled, with red eyes that lit up when they landed on her.
         “Oh, thank god! I thought I’d lost you this time!” He exclaimed, gathering her up in his arms forgetting to take care of her chest incision.
         “Ow!” Leigh shouted as a stab of pain ripped through her chest.
         “Sorry, Chase,” he said, immediately loosening his grip and allowing her to lay back down.
         Leigh shook her head to clear it, momentarily confused by her father’s statements and his use of her nickname.
         Finally collecting herself, she managed to ask, “What happened? Did I die?”
         Her father looked at her, ashen and nodded. “But it’s okay, you’re fixed. I put the very best work in on your heart. We shouldn’t have another issue for years now. Isn't that good news,” he was rambling and realized her questions were going to come. He had no way to get out of them this time.
         Impatient and scared, Leigh interrupted her father’s rant with one word. “Explain.”
         “Chase, dear, there’s no easy way to put this. I had hoped to explain when you were a little older but I see now that I’ve waited too long.” He cleared his throat and sat on the edge of the bed on her handmade quilt. “You were right. You died. But this is not the first time. See, your heart was weak when you were born, you know that, but what I’ve been keeping from you is the fact that you had a huge hole in your heart. See, you stopped breathing and I did emergency surgery, I couldn’t lose you too, not so soon after your mother’s passing, so I did the unthinkable. I operated on a newborn. Days old, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it but I had to try. When I opened your chest up and saw that your heart had that huge hold, I was devastated. In desperation, I drew on my mechanical abilities as well as my medical knowledge and fixed the hole using machinery powered by clockwork. Suffice it to say, I made a bio-mechanical heart for you. When it started beating, you came back to life, and I was never more grateful!”
         Leigh stared at her father, trying to process all this new information. “So I’ve died before? How many times?” She asked her voice strangely calm and serene considering her mind and heart raced with thoughts and emotions. Anger, wonder, fear, love, and disgust all flowed through her at a rapid and repeating pace.
         Her father looked at her solemnly, “Three other times since birth, but this is the seventh surgery I’ve had to do on your heart.”
         Three times! All her thoughts flew out of her head and she sat staring at her father blankly for quite some time.
         “I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you earlier because I was afraid, afraid of the emotions you’d have towards me. I know what I did was against all ethical considerations but I had to! I just couldn’t lose you, Chase. Not you.” He managed to get out before he was overcome with tears. Crying softly, he turned away from her.
         Leigh was stunned, her father was crying. The only other time she ever saw him cry was when they visited the cemetery to see her mother. Suddenly, the anger, fear, and disgust all faded and all that she was left with was love. Reaching out, she pulled her father into a hug as best she could.
         “It’s okay, Father. I understand.” She told him. And she did.


Serenity to you and yours!
Piratess Dawniebelle

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