Lost & Never Found (Part - 4)

Dr. Aldridge was in an excellent spirit since he got up from bed; he had no clue as to why his mood was uplifting. He just felt lighthearted for no reason. He was following his daily routine; wake up at 6, fast walking for an hour, and then meditation for 10 mins. After he reached home, he picked up a call from the institution that his odd patient was asking for him. He started feeling somewhat complexed, slight agitation; he had been waiting for this to happen since this guy was brought into the hospital and finally; it happened.

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He prepared himself to head out to the institution as hurriedly as he could; eagerness had set on him. Quickly getting to his desk, he pulled up the file of his odd patient; he remembered every detail of him from the moment he arrived, but yet glancing through the document in case he missed something. He called the ward boy and asked him if the patient was given any medication since morning. Then he called Dr. Finnigan to discuss his condition; according to him, Dr. Finnigan was a bright and talented specialist who could possibly get through to him, the odd patient, probably would get him to talk freely. Dr. Aldridge thought it would be best if he met with him alone.

The hallway was deserted; there wasn’t many people here to begin with but he noticed how vacant it was as he walked through the hallway to get to His room. The distance seemed to have grown exponentially, which was completely explainable as he was excited and rushing. He eventually got to His room and for some unknown reason, paused for some time, brushed his hands over his clothes and then knocked on the door. Walking in, even though he knew that his patient was ready to open up, it surprised the doctor to see his patient this way.

Dr. Aldridge: May I come in?
The Odd Patient: Yes, please, doctor.
Dr. Aldridge: How are you today?
The Odd Patient: Feeling as if I just woke up from sleep.
Dr. Aldridge: You were asleep. I’m glad you finally woke up. May I know what your name is? We couldn’t find any missing person’s report or anything that can tie you to your identity.
The Odd Patient: My name is Frank Matthews, and the reason that you couldn’t find anything is because I am an orphan runaway and no one is looking for me. Nobody has tried to find me; I have nobody.
Dr. Aldridge: I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like to discuss what happened?
Frank: You have a brief idea of what happened. But what you don’t know is that wasn’t the island I was stranded to. A hurricane threw me to another island and from there, I got to where the fishers found me. And it wasn’t just that box that made me lose my mind.

Dr. Aldridge observed Frank was quite afraid to speak up.

Dr. Aldridge: What happened after that?

After taking a sip of water, he faced the doctor.

Frank: I’m not sure, but, ah, I’ll say it how I saw it. After being locked in the cave for 2 days, I found a waterhole deep inside the maze. At first I didn’t want to walk towards it, but I did anyway. What choices did I have! I found a waterhole that saved my life. After drinking some water, I felt life within me; I could breathe. I fell asleep for a few hours, perhaps when a while woke me up. There was light in the water and I could see what’s beneath. The whole cave was lit. There was a doorway a few hundred feet away. I tried to open it, but it was solid shut. The door was stubborn; I rammed it, threw stones at it but it didn’t break down. I wasn’t a scholar, so couldn’t decipher any writings or inscriptions on the door. After a while I noticed a square shape carved in it that looked familiar. Then I realized it looked exactly like the base of the pyramid. So, I put the box in that shape but nothing happened; I tried a few times and still nothing. And I thought probably if I twist and align the inscriptions then insert the pyramid, it might open; and it did. The door opened, doctor. Then I saw it. I saw it.

Frank almost went hysterical; Dr. Aldridge could see what Frank saw on the other side of the door still rattled him quite a lot. Frank curled up on the floor at the side of his bed; shaking and crying. The doctor tried to calm him down.

Dr. Aldridge: Take a deep breath; it’s alright. Do you need some water? (Frank shook his head No). Okay, Let’s sit down on the chair. Shall we continue?
Frank: No Dr. That’s enough for today.

Dr. Aldridge could see the fear in his eyes; it concerned him a lot. He wondered what Frank could possibly experience that pushed him off the edge like that. As far as he narrated his story, Frank seemed like a level-headed person. Although, it is possible that starvation and dehydration could make him hallucinate something horrible, but all of that seemed very real to Frank; possibly too real to differentiate. The doctor was sympathetic towards him and now he felt pity too.