As far as as he could remember, there hadn´t been a night as dark. Everything was complete silence. And the nauseating smell of blood, drying in the warm weather, rose from across the office floor, filling the room with a distinctive stench. Augie stayed still in his place behind the patient’s bed, wondering what had happened, to set this day so far apart from the rest.
Routine was always the same: the doctor came in at about eight every morning and greeted Augie with a smile and a quick hand gesture. Then, the nice lady came in and did the cleaning. Then, the patients. An endless parade of faces, voices, smells… occupied the doctor´s office every day. But not today. This day had been abnormally quiet.
What happened? The skeleton could not understand. For the first time, its tiny rubber bones ached mysteriously -a feeling he had never experienced before-. He never reckoned his shallow ribcage, but today it seemed so empty; as his entire existence. Almost four years in this world, and not a single reason for being. Always standing still in the same place. And this day seemed so tragic. Not because of the blood on the floor, or the absence of the doctor, but because of the chaos it brought along.
Time crept by so slowly. The morning came with faint light in beautiful hues of violet, pink and orange, all mixed with gray. And the silence… it was too much to bear. “Where did I go wrong?” The question echoed in Augie's empty skull, as he thought he perceived these words in a low whisper beside him. Augie turned slightly his head to the left, trying to see the person whose voice he seemed to recognize:
“Doctor!” The doctor responded with his regular greeting, only this time, he was genuinely surprised that someone could see him –even if that someone was a rubber skeleton model. Who felt lonely. Sad. Neglected.
-That blood, came from me?
The “bony” white little head jolted up and down in response. Augie is actually PVC and only 4ft. tall, but he identifies as an anatomically correct, beautiful human skeleton.
So... at last an answer. It was bleak and bleary, but nevertheless, an answer. And the memories began to flash back, from that ill-fated day:
-Arlena called me… I came to see her in the house we had shared. She said she wanted me back; I asked her to find a place of her own... we had breakfast together. I can´t really tell why, since I was supposed to go with my sister and niece that morning. However, I stayed in and ate with her. Then, she left for work; but I told her I would linger, in order to look for some books and x –rays I was needing to finish my paper. I was going through folders and documents in my old desk, when my stomach felt funny; a piercing pain radiated from my left side. I believed it was only bad digestion –funny how wrong my self-diagnose was. Then I decided to go to my office. I figured that I could take some remedy and lay down for a while… but soon after crossing the door, I collapsed. The pain went sharper. I gasped hopelessly for air. Blood gushed from my mouth and nose… And then: Darkness. Did I die?
Augie had been listening with attention; the doctor´s words gave some sort of explanation, somehow soothing the loneliness and despair, making things slightly clearer for both of them.
The maid came in, but not as early as usual. She had a latch with red carnations and a white rose, which she left on the doctor´s desk. She wasn´t wearing her uniform. She made the sign of the cross, as she began spraying watered chlorine to wipe off the blood with shaky hands and dripping eyes .
-I guess death is too confusing, too definite to make any sense at all... I should be alive! There are so many things I have to do… I am not ready for this... But, Augie: I´m afraid I´m dead.
