orb 1.4
Below is chapter 04 from the, The Orb Evaluation – each chapter is separated into the following sections:
01. encounter
02. options
03. evaluation
04. decision
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“The patient’s awake!” says the nurse.
You sit up in bed. There’s an IV in your arm and a heart monitor next to you. The doctor storms through the door.
His eyes widen.
“Let’s make sure the patient’s stable before we run any tests. Luckily, it only lasted 3 days.”
The nurse approaches, laying you back down.
“Rest, everything will be ok. Don’t worry. Just breathe in.”
You follow her instruction, inhaling a huge breath.
“Just breathe in. Breathe out. Relax. It’s ok.”
The doctor walks to your hospital bed.
“Hello there. Don’t you worry. I’m going to let your family know you’re awake. Everything’s fine. You’ll be out playing in no time. So just relax, and we’ll be right back. Ok?”
Confused, but you nod yes.
Everyone leaves the room.
You glance at your arm, but something’s not right.
You lift your hand. It’s smaller than it used to be.
You flip off your blanket, leaping from the bed.
Your legs feel shorter.
“Saying it was all just a dream, is a bit cliche, but it’s the truth,” says a man’s voice.
You spin around, but the room’s empty.
“You’ve been in a coma for 3 days.”
Frigid air rushes over you. A burst of white light flashes. As it fades, the Orb emerges, floating towards you. Your legs try to run, but you collapse to the floor. Your limbs too weak so you crawl.
The Orb soars overhead, lowering before you.
“Believe it or not, I am here to help.”
“Help, what are you?—”
Hearing your voice, you tilt your head.
“Hello. What. What’s going on?”
Your eyes wide. Your brow contorted.
“My voice sounds. It—it sounds different. It doesn’t sound like me? What’s happening?----”
The Orb forms a floating mirror.
“Look for yourself.”
“No, no. That’s, that’s not me.”
You push yourself up from the floor.
“No—no, no, no, no. That’s. That’s someone else.”
Your face warms. Your heart races.
“That’s. That’s a kid.”
You walk closer. Your knees weaken.
“That’s me. Or. Was—me? What is this? What’s happening?”
“I know it’s overwhelming. Especially when I peer into your mind’s eye and see what you think you look like. It’s fantastic what you’ve conjured up while in a coma.”
“Coma? I wasn’t in a coma. What are you talking about?”
You stare at the mirror.
“How old am I?”
The Orb beams a red light, scanning you from head to toe.
“9-years, 243 days, 13 hours, and 2 minutes to be precise.”
“9-years-old again?”
“Not again.”
“What do you mean, not again?”
“You said 9-years-old again, but you’ve always been 9. You’ve only been asleep for 3 days.”
“But what about—”
“Your entire life since then? That’s the amazing part. Over the course of the last 3 days, your mind has constructed many years’ worth of living. You then accepted that to be a reality. However, the entire time, you were always 9-years-old. It was literally all in your mind.”
You shake your head.
“No, that’s impossible. I’ve done so much since 9. I didn’t just make it up.”
“Anything after 9-years-old, whether it be high school or college, jobs, friends, relationships. Whatever you think happened, never took place.”
“No—no, I don’t believe you. This can’t be real.”
“It’s very real, my friend. But you have a choice. And that’s why I’m here. I can help you.”
“I—I don’t want your help. I want to wake up from all this.”
“If I leave now, then this is how you remain.”
You peer at your reflection.
Your 9-year-old self stares back.
You look at the floor, confused and sad and afraid.
The Orb hovers closer.
“Would you like to hear your options?”
You want to speak, but silence intervenes.
You nod your head yes.
Option 01: Stay The Course
The Orb ignites a glowing purple.
“Your first option is as simple as it gets. Stay here.”
“What?”
“Just continue living as you are. The hospital will discharge you. You will reunite with your family, leaving behind your fictional life to discover what the future holds.”
“That’s not an alternative. That’s literally what’s happening.”
“This is true. But, to be clear, you can remain here.”
“It’s clear.”
“Now, if you want to return to your perceived life. Your second option will help with that.”
Option 02: Back To Dreamland
The Orb’s purple glow fades. An orange cloud explodes around the sphere. The cloud forms a floating holographic screen. On the screen, you see yourself sleeping. But it’s the person you remember, the dreamt version of yourself.
You smile, recognizing the image.
“Perhaps, it’s not that easy to leave behind what seems like decades of memories? With your second option, you can return to the coma.”
“I can?”
You’re excited. But it doesn’t last. Hundreds of thoughts flood your mind, drowning your smile.
“But, but if I do that? Then I mean. Then what? This is all so confusing.”
“Separating dream and reality can do that to a person. If you choose this option, I must induce the dream state again, returning you to the coma. You won’t remember meeting me or even waking up. This allows you to ‘live’ out the rest of your ‘imagined life’.”
“Then what happens to me here?”
“Since time moves differently in the dreamworld, the rest of your ‘imagined life’ will only take about a week to pan out. This means that once you ‘die’ in the ‘imagined version of your life’, you will die in real life. As a result, your comatose 9-year-old self dies in about a week.”
You exhale, glancing at the mirror.
“I can’t believe this.”
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The Orb hovers to your side.
“I know this is a lot, my friend. And very confusing. One moment you’re there, and next you’re here.”
You gaze at your hands.
“But if I stay here? I’m so young. I—”
You plop down to the hospital floor.
Overwhelmed.
Peering in the mirror.
“Or, you can return to your imagined life?” says the Orb.
“And that life feels so real. Even now. More real than this.”
“Take your time to decide. I froze time, so there’s no rush.”
The Orb lowers to the floor next to you.
Silence falls upon the room.
You close your eyes, remembering your imagined life.
Your loved ones.
Your friends.
The world you trusted was real.
You squeeze your eyes tighter, concentrating.
Thinking.
Debating.
Lamenting.
A few minutes later, you open them.
Your 9-year-old reflection stares back.
“I know what I want to do.”
“Please tell, my friend.”
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1 comment
I always have so many follow up questions for the orb – was the coma world in any way reflective of what could be in reality? Are the same people in my 9 year old world – or were they completely imagined…? Huge decision with little answers.