1-6. Mellow Yellow

Eileen leaned back leisurely against the wall, snuggled up to the young man with wavy light brown hair, beside her. The table in the center of the room seemed so far away and was a brilliant green against the gray backdrop of the wall. The green slowly melted into the gray, turning orange. Soft flower patterns emerged out of the wall only to flow together into a river toward the floor. She saw a woman with long flowing dark hair float into the room smiling. She leaned over to her friend, whispering, "Look at her, she's floating." He looked up, nodding his assent slowly. "Far out." he responded. Eileen watched the girl float by in front of her. There were sounds like waves of color streaming out of her mouth, the lips turned up in a smile. The girl spun slowly around. Her hair had a life of it's own, the strands intertwining across her back like ribbons of thin multi-colored snakes. Then, as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. Eileen lay back, lost in the rhythmic, pulsing patterns on the ceiling, and wonder at the miracle of the woman's disappearance. The pinks, yellows, and blues shone in psychedelic brilliance. A soft sound caressed her consciousness, "Be free, and fly." She turned to face the window, felt her body float toward the fresh air flowing in like a stream of consciousness, spread her wings, and flew gracefully out. She landed face down, two stories, to the sidewalk below. Her long straight dark hair and petite figure, clad in bell bottom blue jeans and a white, cotton, brightly embroidered, peasant blouse, splayed across the cement of the sidewalk like a broken doll. An ambulance siren squealed in the distance. ________________________________________________ A moan escaped her lips as she pulled herself out of the darkness into consciousness. She opened her eyes, blinking against the bright lights. She was surrounded by white and glass. A crisp clear beeping emerged from the corner of the room to her right. The nurse checked the monitor, her IV, her pulse, moving around the room briskly and efficiently, updating Eileen's chart as she went. "How are you doing, my dear? Feeling okay?" She asked warmly, as she placed her cool palm across Eileen's forehead. "Do you have a headache?" "No." replied Eileen, still in a state of confusion. "Your parents in Montreal have been notified that you're here, they'll be arriving soon to see you. They mentioned your Aunt and Uncle were coming as well." Eileen shook her head to clear it, and felt the soreness in her neck and on her face. She noted the scrapes on her arms. "What happened? Why am I in the hospital?" "You were on LSD last night and jumped out of a window. It seems you thought you could fly. An ambulance brought you here last night, unconscious. What on earth got into you! Do you have any idea how dangerous LSD is?" "I don't know what happened!", Eileen responded, shaking her head. "I was at a party with friends. One minute I was fine, then everything went freaky! Is that what it was? LSD?" "Yes, and you could have died last night, or been seriously injured! You're very lucky that you came through this with just a few bruises, scrapes and a mild concussion!" Moments later, a group of people rushed into the room and Eileen was overwhelmed with questions tumbling out from all directions. Her mother, father, brother Harry, and several aunts, uncles and cousins had burst in together. "I'm fine. I don't really know what happened. I just woke up. Please stop!" cried Eileen, bursting into tears. One figure stood back, on the periphery of the crowd, watching the activity, coolly, from a distance, and listening carefully, calculating his approach. His bulging eyes watched Eileen intently as she tearfully reiterated what she told the nurse. Slowly the furor died down and the room cleared out as people eventually went their separate ways. He signaled silently to the woman next to him to clear the room of Eileen's parents and brother, then stepped out into the hall. "Let's give Eileen a little break and go down to the cafeteria to get some coffee and snacks." Dotty suggested nervously, but with an air of superficial charm and false cheerfulness. "Thanks, Aunt Dotty." Eileen said gratefully. "Okay, we'll be back in a few minutes." Eileen's mother said as she gave Eileen a warm hug, then followed Dotty as she herded the others out of the room, and down the hall to the cafeteria. He slipped back into Eileen's room, showed her a picture, asking her if she recognized the woman in the picture ... had this woman been at the party. Eileen looked carefully at the picture. "I'm not sure, there was a woman who came in for a few minutes and then left. I guess it might have been her. I really don't know for sure." "Why?" He left the room quickly, not looking back, leaving Eileen's question hanging in the air, unanswered. 2007.06.03