Are You Okay, Henry?

Laying on a jagged, thin bed, Henry awoke, eyes wide, springing up as if he had heard great news. He immediately noticed that he wasn’t surrounded by the usual toys and books scattered around his room. Instead, two nurses hovered over him, constantly analyzing screens with buttons on them and lines that Henry couldn’t make out. His vision was blurred, and he soon realized that he was laying in a hospital bed.

“Hello? What am I doing here?” asked Henry, remembering nothing. There was silence, and the nurses continued to check random screens and pages around the room.

“Can you guys hear me?” Again, silence devoured the recovery room. Henry was anxious and wanted to get out of the bed. All of a sudden, an astronaut in full gear came hopping into the room. Henry’s eyes widened as if he’d just seen a monster.

“Am I tripping?” Henry asked himself. His thoughts were quickly silenced by loud sirens in the distance: ambulances.

“Indeed you are,” replied the astronaut with his low, raspy voice.

“Who are you?” Henry wondered. “Get me out of here!” he screamed in efforts of escaping the nightmare.

“Are you okay, Henry?” asked the astronaut while examining his arm. Henry ignored the man’s question, and plugged his ears with his fingers. The sirens were getting louder.

“Close the door, will you. You’re letting the noise in,” Henry shouted. But the man continued to ignore him as he examined his arm. Suddenly, another man entered wearing red leather Papal shoes, a white robe, a gold chain with a cross on it, and a white hat on his head. A bright glow surrounded him, practically blinding Henry.

“Close the door, man,” Henry begged, “and by the way, nice chains.” Ignoring Henry, the man got on his knees and began to pray. He whispered the same question as that of the astronaut in Henry’s ear: “Are you okay, Henry?”

“No, I’m not okay. Can someone here please explain what’s going on?” Henry noticed that the astronaut and old man responded, though he was unable to decipher what they were saying. All he could hear were the blaring sirens getting closer and closer.

“Someone shut the door!” yelled Henry right as another silhouette appeared in the doorway. This time a massive bearded man appeared wearing nothing but underwear and boxing gloves.

“Here we go again…” The man approached Henry, and with every step, the ground shook. The man, like the astronaut and the priest, asked the same question.

“Are you okay, Henry?”

“I swear to God…”

The astronaut interrupted, “Henry, you can’t say that,” pointing at the pious priest who rose from his knees.

“I don’t care. Can someone please close the door?” The sirens resumed, and this time Henry couldn’t bare it.

“Help! Help! Somebody, please!” The nurses continued to check multiple screens, acting as if Henry was invisible. Henry got out of bed, shoving the astronaut, priest, and boxer aside, and dashed towards the door. As he was about to leave the room, the door vanished and was replaced by a thick iron wall. Henry looked around in horror, searching for another exit, finally noticing an open window on the other side of the room. He quickly ran towards it; it was his only hope to ever escape. He wavered around, and with every step the sirens thundered even louder. As he climbed to the window, he felt a force pulling him back to the bed. The sirens were relentlessly intense, and Henry began to feel hopeless. He layed in bed, plugging his ears and closing his eyes. At some point, the noises disappeared all together. Finally at ease, Henry opened his eyes once again, and in front of him stood two nurses.

“Hello? Where did everyone go?” This time the nurses acknowledged his presence, rushing towards him immediately.

“Are you okay, Henry?” they asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. Where did the astronaut, priest, and boxer go?” The nurses glanced at each other understanding that his delusional question was a result of the drugs in his system.

“You were in a terrible accident, Henry, and you broke your arm. The drugs we administered are probably why you’re hallucinating,” responded one of the nurses.

“So you’re saying that no one came to visit me in this room?”

“No one but your mother Henry.” The nurses helped Henry up and led him out of the recovery room. As they passed through the waiting room, Henry noticed on top of his visitor sheet, the signatures Armstrong, Francis, and Mayweather.






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