The tram arrived at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, so Alex headed to the main reception, found where he was meant to go and, after catching a lift and traversing some corridors, arrived at the neurology department.
Alex said he was there to see Rose Volez and a receptionist showed him to her room, then bustled off. He knocked on the door and opened it to see Sean sitting beside Rose’s bedside. Rose was attached to a drip, but otherwise looked healthy. They had both been sitting in silence, looking away from each other, and as Alex entered, they both turned to face him.
Sean had a new crease in the middle of his forehead, and he looked worn down. Alex wondered if he’d slept at all the previous night. Rose just stared at him blankly.
“Hi.”
The silence lingered uncomfortably for a moment until, with a visible effort, Sean pulled himself together and said, “Hi Alex, thanks for coming.”
On hearing Alex’s name, Rose gave a broad, exaggerated smile.
“Thank you for coming Alex, how has work been?” she pronounced each syllable distinctly, with a pause between them. She spoke with a weird accent that Alex couldn’t place. Alex found that bizarre, Rose was from York and had had a broad Yorkshire accent before the coma.
“Uh, no problem, it’s great to see how good you’re looking.” That sounded flirty, which he hadn’t intended. Feeling flustered under Rose’s stare, he glanced towards Sean instead for some reassurance. Sean scowled at him. The whole situation, mixed with the heat of the hospital was making Alex start to sweat.
“I mean, it’s good to see you looking so much better. How are you feeling?”
“Different,” was all Rose said.
There was another silence, then Rose asked, “Sean, can I speak to Alex alone?”
Both men responded at the same time, Sean to agree, and Alex saying he’d prefer it if Sean stayed.
“Please.”
Alex looked at Sean who nodded, keeping his face set in a neutral mask, only his moist eyes betraying his inner turmoil, as he headed to the door.
Alex had to step aside, as he was still standing just inside the doorway and there was an awkward moment as they both stepped in the same direction to get around each other. After successfully navigating past each other, the door swung slowly shut behind Sean and Alex approached the bed and sat in the seat that Sean had just vacated.
“How has work been?” Rose repeated.
“Uh, fine thanks, how are you?”
“Different.”
Alex smiled nervously as Rose continued to look at him, expressionless. When she wasn’t speaking he noticed that her face seemed unusually still, she didn’t blink, she barely seemed to breathe.
Alex plucked up the courage to ask: “Look, we never really talked about work before,” We never talked before, “Why did you ask me to come today Rose?”
Rose smiled, “Actually, work is precisely the reason I asked you to come today, Alex.
“I wish to ask you to do something important, something that will change your life forever if you accept. But first, I must tell you something. Alex, can you keep a secret?”
“Sure,” he said.
“I would like you to complete a project with me. It would mean traveling to extraordinary, faraway places.”
The whole time she spoke, Rose’s eyes never left his face. Each syllable was emphasised, her body eerily still.
“It would be a very long journey. You would have to say goodbye to family and friends. You would not be going on this journey with Rose, who is just a messenger. You would be going on this journey with someone else. They would show you the way and teach you to use the technology that is far advanced beyond your own.”
Alex was dumbstruck and after her speech Rose simply stopped talking and her face sagged into itself.
Different ways he could respond flicked through Alex’s mind and in the end, he decided to focus on Rose herself, rather than her bizarre request. “Rose, you’ve just woken up from a coma, you must be feeling … odd. You never mentioned a journey to me before; we barely even know each other. Sean never said anything …”
“You should know something else. I am not who you think I am. Since the coma, I am different.”
There was that word again. “So, you’re saying it’s affected who you are?”
“No, I am saying I am not the same person. I must explain to Sean first. It’s kinder that way.”
“Rose, does it have to be now? Why don’t you take some time to recover and talk about it then? Spend some time with Sean, he’s been devastated. He was delighted when you woke up … just be with him will you? It’ll make him so happy!” Alex’s voice became a plea as he spoke.
He’d known Sean for over a year and knew he loved Rose deeply. To have his hope restored, only for Rose to do this, it just seemed cruel. He wondered if Rose had lost her mind and while part of him wanted to help, he also didn’t want to get caught in the middle of a crazy delusion.
As if to confirm her insanity, Rose said, “I want you to come with me on an adventure, to travel to other worlds. Tell an important story. Create peace. Your visualisation will reach dozens of planets, hundreds of millions of people, far more than you could ever reach here on Earth.”
Alex looked at her sadly, sitting in her hospital gown, looking so earnest. Poor Sean, he thought.
