Can You See Him

The day Hannah woke up from her sleep:

It was like a dream; she was in a dream. The darkness, quietness, and suffocation all were making her overwhelmed. Breathing was hard, like someone ran a marathon, only it wasn’t her. She could sense it near her ear.

Pressure started to build on her chest, little by little it felt like a heavy rock on her body. What was happening to her? Trying to reach the burden on her chest she tried to scream. She wanted to scream but nothing came out.

Looking around in that darkness she wanted to find a source, a little hope that could help her, take her away from this torturing dream that seemed like a reality. She was tired, very tired.

A small dot of whiteness caught her eyes. That could be it right, the hope she was looking for. She leaped for the dot, trying to get a hold of something. The dot became wider as she took her steps towards it but getting near she gasped aloud. He was there standing just in front of that light. His silhouette had that glow of the light coming from its back. She stopped and took a step back. The figure had no feet, it was floating on a spot.

A cry, she heard made her look at her back opposite to the light, a cry that was resembling her son. She felt a shiver when a thick voice laughed a little, a snicker maybe. She turned around to the light and saw the figure shaking his head. A smile must be adorning his expression from the way the snicker came out of him.

She felt helpless when again the painful cry of her son reached her and made her heart hurt but at the same time, the laugh of that rude and cruel figure was making her shiver. All those voices combined were making her insane, she wanted out of that place, she wanted to be held in a strong grip that can take the pain away. She was overwhelmed, having her boundaries of patience getting crushed she screamed at the top of her lungs.

….

A man in the wheelchair was waiting in the corridor, waiting for the nurse to finish her entry of the day in the register at the reception. Fifteen weeks ago he was admitted to the hospital due to his accident in a road rash. He was disabled, not able to walk on his own.

She rushed to him, apologized to him, and held the handles of the wheelchair to push. He was taken to the examination room for his weekly check-up.

“He will be here shortly, please wait, Mr. Adam,” she said while patting his shoulder which he shrugged rudely.

“like he is here on time for all my meetings” he commented with sarcasm. She rolled her eyes at him. It was already a stroke of bad luck to deal with such a patient. She pleaded and nearly begged the administration for a change of the duty hours to avoid Mr. Adam and his old rude ass.

The examination took almost forty-five minutes after the late arrival of the doctor. He wasn’t fond of his patient either but duty is duty.

  Mr. Adam wished to be in his bedroom alone and the nurse was so much happy to do so. He refused the garden time he had on his schedule. They both passed through the corridor when that horrifying scream of a woman was heard. The nurse flinched and rushed towards the door of the ward she heard the scream from. Mr. Adam rolled his eyes at her overdramatic-ness and rolled his wheel to get in his room by himself but her cries were making him intrigued.

Hannah was not being controlled by anyone, she was terrified that much was visible. She was being held down on the bed when Roy entered with concerned expressions on his face. He also tried to reason for her to calm down but Hannah wasn’t listening. Roy gave up and asked the nurse to prepare the anesthesia. The nurse proceeded with the order but stopped when Hannah started crying. She was vulnerable and it was a hurtful sight.

She was awake after a long time of two weeks. They didn’t want to again make her sleep but her heart rate was going feral at the moment. Doctor Roy came towards her and rested his hand on her shoulder from which she flinched. She looked at him trying to make him understand what she was scared of but the painful cries of her son were ringing in her ears.

“I don’t want to stay in this room……..please let me out of here please” she sobbed uncontrollably with hiccups following her each word.

“Mrs. Williams please, you need rest. Try to understand…..you need to eat and sleep after taking your medicines. Your mind needs peace.” Roy said in his professional tone not wanting himself to melt at that beautiful woman crying her heart out.

“please …” she whispered with her light big innocent eyes. And that did for Roy and he looked away

“fine……..you can go to the garden but before that, you have to calm down, your heart is beating very fast,” he said to her and turned to the nurse. They made her drink water and checked her vitals before she was permitted to leave the room.

“take her out please and make sure she is calm., bring her back within an hour, we have some tests to run and call her family to inform them about her” he instructed and left the room but stopped seeing his old patient.

Roy looked at Mr. Adam sitting there outside the room and watching Hannah. He knew Mr. Adam from when he was assigned the patient a few weeks back regarding his stress and depression, not a very good experience but oh well.

“Hello Mr. Adam, how are you doing,” he said trying his best not to offend the rude man. He didn’t get the answer as expected, Mr. Adam ignored him purposefully which was clear in the roll of his eyes.

“very well,” Roy said and left the corridor while muttering something about being a gentleman at least.

..    

He watched how Hannah was taken out to the garden in a wheelchair like him and made his decision. The nurse came back to him and apologized again.

“Sorry Mr. Adam you had to wait but I am here, now let’s take you to your room,” she said happily, finally being over with her duty. It was going to be lunchtime soon anyway.

“I want to go to the garden,” he said looking straight.

“But you didn’t want to when I asked before,” she said annoyed

“I changed my mind, take me to the garden,” he said grumpily.

Ass

 She sighed annoyed and helped him out in the garden.

………..

Hannah was sitting on her chair in the fresh air outside, the wind was cold after the little rain in the morning and it was feeling good on her burning skin. She was breathing in and out to make her calm. The nurse assigned was happy to see her exercising for her betterment. Hannah looked around trying to find something that can take her attention and she found one but that something was going to haunt her again. She locked eyes with that small child standing on the ground. The child was nearly two or three years old but he was staring at her with a cold stare. She was about to ask the nurse but the boy smiled at her and that smile made her freeze on her spot. He was not the child but a disguise. She was being warned wordlessly. She was being threatened wordlessly. And wordlessly her tears made their way out of her eyes.

“crying is never a solution” she heard a voice near her and that child seems to get serious at the words too. He stared at her again and left without looking back. Hannah looked over her shoulder seeing a man in his fifties sitting in a wheelchair and looking at her. He had brown eyes and long white hair. He also had a white beard but it was not long. He was wearing a hospital gown and had a permanent scowl on his face.

“I can’t do anything more than that,” she said and looked straight again.

“you can if you want to,” he said and looked at the nurse behind him. “can you leave us alone for a moment, you can have your lunch by then,” he said and waited for her response. She thought for a while and said.

“I can’t leave you alone here, but I will be back in a minute. Just let me get my lunch box. Don’t go scaring people Mr. Adam I am warning you” she said with a stern voice. He dismissed her with a swift move of his hand. Both nurses went to get their meal, leaving Hannah alone with the man.

“Why did you send them away; they could get in trouble you know,” she said looking around feeling alone all of the sudden

“I know what I did, she is rude anyway. But I sent them away mainly because they won’t be getting what we will talk about and maybe think that we are insane for accusing a child of haunting” he said casually looking at Hannah as her eyes widened with his reply.

“can……..can you se..s.see him,” she asked tears welling her eyes. She looked so helpless that Adam wanted to take her pain away.

“I can, I know he is scaring you but it Is not the sole purpose. What does he want?” he asked while diverting his eyes to the grass below.    

“he Is after my son, he is after him, wants to take him away. He killed my cat a….and he is so..so scary he..” Hannah told him everything, also explained the night she saw him in his empty home, what she saw and felt. Small events in their house, whispering, nightmares, and that black figure that appears from time to time, by the time she finished she was crying.

“it’s going to be okay, he won’t do anything don’t worry,” he said patting her shoulder. He mumbled some prayers that made her calm down.

“I don’t know what to do… h..he will kill him, m…my s..son…” she said desperately, Mr. Adam caressed her hand and tried to make her relax.

“he won’t kill your son, if he wanted he would have done that long ago,” he said with a thinking face and blurted the next words without thinking “he wants him, maybe for something else.”

Hannah wasn’t ready for such an announcement; she didn’t want to think about the worst case ever so the reply of Mr. Adam made her eyes wide. Mr. Adam knew he did not use the filter but the fact Is the fact.

“you should marry him off” he advised looking at her.

“he is only eighteen but I am trying. I have this boy, and he loves my son.” She said thinking about Ethan.

“so what is stopping you, marry him off it's better for him,” he said not getting the problem

“The problem is Julian; he won’t let it happen,” she told him about the events that occurred whenever she tried to talk about the marriage.

“don’t worry he won’t do anything, I will have to come with you though if it’s okay of course,” he said while massaging his temple.

“Of course, you can come, please just help me with this.” she pleaded with teary eyes, holding his hands. He was thinking something when Hannah noticed a sad smile on his face, almost regretful. She wanted to ask but couldn’t.

“I will help you, don’t worry, I also have lost someone precious to me in this kind of drama before, so maybe I can give justice to them by helping your family,” Adam said with sorrow in his tone

“I am sorry,” Hannah said when a tear dropped from her eye, thinking about her family

“Don’t be, I was weak then, but now I am strong, we will protect your son, I am with you in this,” he said determinedly.

“thank you” she whispered.

“Alright, Mr. Adam time to go to your room” the nurse chirped ending his sad mood and bringing out the grumpy man she was assigned with.

“you were gone for getting the box, seems like you ate half the canteen for the time you took,” he said and turned away from her

“now come on…push here so I can rest inside my room,” he said while pointing at the handle of the chair. She was fuming but didn’t say anything and pushed his chair with a huff.

“Mrs. Williams, I hope you are okay now, can we go inside….your lunch time has already started and the medicine is ready.” The nurse with Hannah said and smiled warmly at her calmer demeanor.

“yes please, I am ready to go in” she replied while leaning her back on the chair and closing her eyes.