See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 10 (Final Part)
After the surgery, like always, Neil throws up. He doesn’t have time to take out the lenses, so he vomits with his eyes closed. If he sees the cells in his stomach, he will definitely throw up again.
Neil slowly stands up, takes out the lenses, and walks out of his office. The hospital’s hallways look orange in the sunset. Dr. Umar stands in front of a big window. She is crying and smiling. And talking to a news reporter. A cameraman points a large camera at them.
Dr. Umar notices Neil and waves to him. “Neil!” she calls. The cameraman turns toward Neil, and Dr. Umar tells the reporter, “This is Dr. Neil Kalkan. He just finished the cancer surgery with me.”
The reporter waves her hand, asking Neil to come closer. She holds up a microphone. “How does it feel to use such an amazing piece of technology? The lenses, I just…” she sighs excitedly, “can’t believe this is possible!”
The reporter pushes the microphone closer to Neil’s face. Neil is not wearing the lenses, but he imagines the germs on the microphone. Neon pink slime might cover the top of the microphone, even brighter than the reporter’s lipstick. Green spikes might swirl around the handle. Some of the reporter’s yellow breath might float toward Neil’s head. Dr. Umar’s shirt sleeve, covered in tears, might drip with purple and gray germs.
Dr. Umar’s tears flow down to the corners of her mouth. They might be filled with disease. But they are filled with joy. They are filled with life.
Neil breathes in deeply.
The world will never be the same. It will always be filled with spiky, slimy, moldy germs. People will always be weak, always be followed by sickness. But there will always be joy and hope.
Neil grabs the reporter’s microphone, stepping closer to her. “Using the lenses feels…” Neil cannot finish his thought. He grabs the microphone tightly as his eyes fill with tears. Through his tears, the orange sunset, Dr. Umar’s white coat, the reporter’s worried smile, the blue hallway tiles, the green patient chairs, his gray shoes–they all blur together.
-THE END-
Fun for Fluency! 