OSCAR by Valerie Alston

There once lived a wonderful man, his name was Oscar. He was a doctor at the clinic where I visited once a month to get my blood work done. Oscar was a very funny little old man with a gorgeous head of white hair. His sultry voice was relaxing which made you feel slightly sedated under his care. His eyes were like crystal blue pools of water that sparkled, his dimple as deep as when he smiled, and he was cute like the Pillsbury dough boy on one of those commercials you'd see on the big screen TV. His nose was round and red like a cherry, and when he laughed, it wrinkled.

I sat in a wooden chair at the door and waited for the nurse to come in to take my vitals. She told me to stand on the scale, then wrote something down. She tightened my arm with a heavy grey armband then pumped until it was tight. My blood pressure was good, she told me, I was fine. I squirmed just a little while she took a little sharp thing and pricked my finger. She smeared some blood on a tiny glass plate to test for something. The thermometer under my tongue kept sliding out of my mouth and I tried to press my lips together to keep it in place and held it for less than a minute then the nurse said my temperature was normal. Before she left the small room, she told me the doctor would be in to see me soon.

As I sat and waited for Doctor Oscar Redwood to see me, I glanced around the room at all the colorful pictures on the wall. The anatomy of the human body always fascinated me. Each individual body part, every organ and its function, how the blood vessels transport blood from one connecting to the others which shows how it works. Oscar talked about my condition. He explained in detail the stages of my chronic illness and the effect it had on my life and body changes. He always made it clear that there was no cure, and eventually, it would stop bothering me.

I continue to see Oscar for another three years. We became close friends, on a first name basis and I could talk to him about anything that bothered me. But as Oscar grew older, I too grew older, and as I lost weight so did Oscar. I watched the foods I ate, I walked regularly, I took precautions on what I put into my body. But one night, I was awaken by severe abdominal pain with contracting muscle spasms throughout by body. My temperature was feverish, green foam started coming out of my mouth, the throbbing pain in my head ached as I began to tremble. So I called 911.

The flashing blue lights swirled on top of the emergency vehicle as they got there in time. Something covered my face, and everything went dark after that. Beyond floating in my head was the white light that shined brightly ahead, I was sucked into a powerful vacume of dry air then something spit me out into the open room where I lay in a bed with a lot of noise going on around me. The curtain was drawn but it sounded like a familiar voice in the bed behind it next to mine. I heard my name being called. Again, it was calling me. I screamed in agony. The nurse came in and gave me some morphine to quiet the pain I was feeling.

Three days later, I woke up in the same bed, same room. The hospital staff was taking someone out of the room and I looked over my toes to see what I could see, then I went into shock when I saw who they had taken out of the room.

It was two days later when I went to see Oscar at the clinic. I arrived on time.

I sat in the cushioned chair at the door and waited for the nurse to come in to take my vitals. I stood on the scale like I usually do, she typed something into the computer, then she tightened my arm with a heavy grey armband then pushed a button that made it tight. My blood pressure was good, she told me, I was fine. I squirmed just a little when she took an object in a white plastic case and clamped down on my middle finger. It didn't hurt a bit, not at all, it just took me by surprise. No more smeared blood on a tiny glass plate, new technology made it easier to test. The thermometer under my tongue was slippery, wet and kept sliding out of my mouth. Then the nurse said my temperature was okay. After that she told me the doctor would be in shortly.

All of the pictures on the wall had changed and I watched the computer monitor as the colorful lights flickered about the screen sending an unknown signal. A minute later, a tall lean man entered the room. He reached out to shake my hand and introduced himself as Doctor Brown. His youthful face let me know he was new to the staff but the stern look he had on his face and the seriousness of his character made it clear that Doctor Oscar Redwood was gone. I didn't ask any questions, but something strange made me feel I would never see Oscar again.