A knock at the door took her out of her thoughts, a tall man in his late forties or fifties came in swiftly after. His hair was swept back and away from his face, she regarded him quite handsome, he fit the term of ‘silver fox’ especially in the way that he smiled, revealing twin dimples below high cheekbones.
“Hello there, Miss. Conrad! I’m Dr. Marshall and I’m just gonna take a look over you. I understand you have a bit of memory loss and confusion?” He walked over to where she sat, starting the same regiment that Nurse Caroline did.
“Well yes, initially, but I remember the accident now and pretty much everything up until then. I think I was still in a bit of shock.”
“So, a pretty short short-term memory loss, huh?” he drawled, laughing at his own joke, “Well I’d say that’s a good sign! We can set you up a lil’ later today to run a few tests, just to rule everything out, but it sounds like nothin’s taking a toll.”
“Good, I’m so glad. I feel like I’ve been pretty lucky.”
The doctor chuckled again, “You must’ve had someone lookin’ out for you, Miss. Conrad.”
She may very well have.
As the doctor left, Avie kept herself occupied with the small tube television mounted on the wall across her, waiting the few hours for him to return for her testing. After only two hours filled with a mix of news stations and cartoons, Nurse Caroline came back to escort her to another section of the hospital.
She sat in the small room with the oblong machine, seeing the doctor enter shortly after, a glint in his smile and another friendly greeting.
“Dr. Marshall, I was hoping to know who I could ask about how I was found in the middle of the woods?” The redhead sat on the MRI machine, fiddling with a ring on her pinky before having to take it off and place it in a bin.
“Tell you what, Dale’s a good friend of mine and your first responder. An’ he told me that you crashed into a spruce a little outside of ol’ Blacken here. You almost made it into town, assuming you meant to arrive here?”
She thought back, not remembering seeing a sign for the town, but if she really was as close as he said, a few concerned citizens must have heard her crash or had seen any smoke.
“I think so, I wasn’t looking for a particular destination. I feel a lot better since I’ve been here, more or less,” she laughed, pointing to her face and outlining the predicaments.
The comment caught the neurologist’s attention, looking back up at his patient, “How do you mean by that?”
The woman in question looked down, embarrassed, smiling and laughing quietly from nerves. She didn’t know how to bring it up without sounding strange, not even sure if there was a term for it or if she could do the explanation justice. Was it worth even talking about, especially since it stopped?
“I had the strangest sensation start up a few days ago,” she began, nervously trying to go back to fiddle with the pinky ring that was no longer there, “like I was quivering or having some sort of high intensity vibrating from inside of my whole body. I know it sounds weird and I don’t really know how to describe it properly, but it seems completely gone at this point!” she spoke fast, trying to get her thought process out before she was judged by the doctor too harshly.
He only chuckled, giving her a light pat on the shoulder, “S’alright, nothin’ I haven’t heard before. Now why don’t ’cha lie down and remember to stay as still as you can while you’re in there.”
Avie cocked her head, confused to what he had meant, “Wait, do you know other people that felt like that? Or what it even was?”
Dr. Marshall started to walk away, “I’m sure you’re gonna find a lotta interestin’ people in this town, Miss. Conrad. Now, let’s start the test.”
A matter of hours later, results were in from the MRI and CT scans.
The woman asked for more information on the town, if they could provide her with a map or anything she could research. Her interest peaking full blown after Dr. Marshall’s comment, Avie couldn’t get more information out of him, him simply explaining that he couldn’t, and that other residents could more than likely help answer some of her burning questions much better than he could.
The young woman was studying a map of the small town, finding some points of interests, intending to explore and ask around after getting out of the hospital. She also circled two motels to look at while she stayed. Finishing a circle around the library’s icon, Caroline knocked and came in with her results.
“I’ve got good news! Nothing concerning was found, and even with your memory back, it looks like we can discharge you today, Miss. Conrad.”
She sighed with relief, “That’s wonderful news! I’ve been itching to get to know your town, is the Gala Motel any better than the Rare Bird one?” The red pen tapped a few times on the glossy paper, her fingers expressing eager energy.
“Better to stick with Rare Bird, it’s newer. The doctor also gave you a prescription for your pain and the chills you’ve been having, you can pick them up at the pharmacy,” Caroline pointed its location on Avie’s map, “nice and close to the motel too.”
She returned Caroline’s smile, “Thank you, I’ll make them my first stop. I’m also really, really hoping to find a good restaurant. I’m really sorry but the cafeteria here is…”
“Pretty blasé, right? It unfortunately has to be that way, no matter how much we rally,” Caroline let out an airy laugh, before pointing to a
