The doctors that surrounded my bed were quite a surprise. I didn’t remember falling asleep. My glance at the window showed that it was dark out. My stiff limbs caused me to groan as I attempted to sit up. This stiffness reminded me of how I felt that first night after the accident. Had I fallen back into a coma? The doctors asked me a few simple questions about how I felt and what was the last thing that I remembered. How many fingers am i holding up and all those normal questions when the doctors are clueless about what’s going on. I kept my answers brief so they would hurry and leave me alone. By the time they had finished checking my eyes, ears, nose, throat, and breathing, I had answered all their questions. I asked for water, but none came. I asked what day it was, but no one answered. I asked where my umbreon was and no one even looked up.
After the doctors finally left, it was uncomfortably quiet. I contemplated getting out of bed but that seemed like a bad idea. The door opened and a nurse came in with a tray in her hands. I didn’t recognize her. She set up my tray, uncovered it and then left. “It’s late. Carmine won’t be at work this late.” I told myself as I inspected my late-night snack. I hope this was intended as a snack. My tray had a cup of milk and a cup of juice. My single plate held three flakey pastries drizzled with honey. Wait. . . that shape looked familiar. The pastries had a fruity scent and flavor but there was something else.
As I stared at the single pastry left on my plate, I realized two important things. First, I was eating a poffin and that was hilarious. Second, my meal was spiked with something. I recognized the euphoria and how my muscles refused to tense. Was it really a good idea to put muscle relaxers in the food of someone that has been in a coma? It might not be a muscle relaxer. Maybe it was just meant to help me relax and rest. Maybe I wasn’t actually in the world of pokemon but wait, I’m eating a poffin. Oh well. I’m better off just sleeping until Carmine comes back.
I woke to sunlight streaming in through my windows. Were the windows always that big? Another snack tray and my Dex waited for me beside my bed. These poffins also had some sort of calming medication in them. Despite my grumbling stomach, I ate only one and tried to check my messages. The app wasn’t working. I tried to tell the nurse who brought lunch. She nodded and said she’d inform someone about it.
Lunch was slightly bigger than breakfast. Milk, lemonade, a burger, and two mystery items. One item looked like a chocolate candy bar, but it didn’t taste like chocolate. The inside was like a cookie filled with honey and nuts. The nuts reminded me of walnuts. The second item looked like those colored pieces of taffy that came wrapped in thin wax paper. What were they called? Another time? Laters? Nowters? That all sounded stupid.
“The texture is softer than taffy, but each is a solid block. . .” I said to myself. Sometimes, talking to myself was the best way to figure things out. With a reluctant sigh, I popped the blue block into my mouth. They had a pleasant dry fruity flavor that reminded me of the chesto berries that Carmine had given Umbreon. I continued to eat my snack and browse on the internet until the sun went down.
Stolen story; please report.
The door opened and as a cart rolled into my room, hope blossomed in my chest. Had Carmine changed shifts? Behind the cart was a pokemon instead of Nurse Carmine.
The audino cooed out a musical greeting to me and I waved back in response. Audino was one of the few Unova specific pokemon that I remembered because it was a Nurse Joy partner. This audino was nice and had a cheerful attitude as it cleared away my empty lunch tray and set up my dinner tray. It even gave me a thumbs up and a happy cooing sound when it saw that I had finished all my food.
Dinner was milk, juice, a full plate of rice with a blue curry, and two large creme puffs on a small plate. The juice was definitely from a pecha berry. The blue curry tasted like chesto had been used to make it. The creme puffs had a citrus filling in them. It all tasted great! The audino had been tidying up the room while I ate so when I finished my tray, I decided to ask for seconds. The audino cleared away my tray and pulled another tray from her cart. This time, she also pulled a small bag of cookies from her apron and put them in my hand with a sly wink. Aww. She was giving me a secret snack. The package said Old Gateau in fancy red lettering. “Thank you.” I said as my eyes went a little misty.
I finished my tray quickly but put my special bag of cookies under my pillow for later. Carmine’s food was definitely the best but audino’s food was more filling that what the nurses had given me. I hadn’t noticed any euphoria from this meal which was strange. My lunch seemed to have something in it, I think. I had been in a constant haze since I woke up today and I kept falling asleep.
Audino broke into my thoughts as she beckoned me out of bed. I hadn’t gotten out of my bed much today, so my legs were shaky. Audino helped me steady myself and was trying to run me through some stretches, but nature called and walking to the bathroom and then to my couch was all I could handle.
Audino picked up a clipboard from the coffee table and tsk’d at the empty pages. Audino took a pen from her apron and put a few check marks on the page then handed the pan and clipboard to me with encouraging coos. I put my initials next to the checks. It looks like a list of exercises that I am supposed to do after each meal. I signed and dated it before handing it back. Audino switched to a red pen and started putting angry Xs on the other sections, with a final thump, she stamps the paper with a very official stamp. The stamp read Maxwell Pkmn.
“Is that your trainer?” I asked. Audino shook her head side to side and thumped her hand on her chest. “Oh, your name is Maxwell!” I said a little shocked. The male audino simply nodded and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Maxwell.”
Maxwell gave me a manilla folder to read and a pat on the head before going to clean up my bed. The cover read Flame River Oline’s Meal and Exercise Plan. I skimmed through it. Not much food, lots of sleep and I was supposed to stretch after every meal. What kind of plan is this? I need way more food than this. I wanted to be mad about the lite stretching but that might be all that I can do. I tossed the folder back on the coffee table as Maxwell came back to help me into my bed.
Which is your favorite food?
