My Vampire Heart, Part 1

“Good morning sleepy head.  Time to get up Edward, we have a busy day today.” Edward’s mother said softly.  Edward rolled over in his bed with a big yawn and stretched lazily about.  “Come on, its time to get up.  We have to go visit you Aunt Marie and wish her a happy birthday.  Don’t you want to see your aunt?”  He did, but he didn’t say anything.  He simply stared back into his mother’s warm dark eyes.  For a boy of 16 he was very quiet.  Many kids his age were very loud and boisterous; however Edward found it much better to remain quiet.  Finally he got up, with great effort, and went over to get dressed.  His mother remained on his bed and continued to talk to him through the now closed bathroom door.  “Its unfortunate that we won’t be able to see your aunt on her actual birthday, but I’m sure she will be happy to see us all the same.  Maybe just the sight of you will make her perk up a bit today,” she said with a smile.  Edward too smiled to himself.  He highly doubted that anything would come close to making his aunt perk up.  She had been very sick for some time and the doctors had no idea what was wrong or how they could possibly treat it.  All they could do for her was dull the pain and see what was to come, though they admitted the future looked rather grim for her.  Edward had always connected deeply with his aunt and so when he heard of this news he was deeply saddened by it.  He had since come to terms with the inevitable and forced himself to remain strong and not let it tear him apart.  He had so many great memories with her; spending countless nights at her house, watching TV with her late into the night, drinking all the chocolate milk he could manage just because it was fun to make with her.  He had a great time growing up with her and he had always connected with her more than anyone else, including his parents.  His father had died of cancer when he was a very young boy and he would often ask his aunt questions about him.  After all, his father had been her brother and they did grow up together.  She would always relish in these moments and smile brightly as she described the many fun adventures they had together.  Soon afterward, she and Edward would go on their own adventures out into the woods of his aunt’s house. 
“Almost ready sweetie?”  His mother’s voice snapped him back to the present.
“Yeah, just about.”  He responded. He quickly grabbed his money, just in case, and stepped back into his room where his mother was still sitting on his bed with her hands folded neatly in her lap.  Her expression seemed somewhat saddened to Edward, but she quickly threw on a smile and jumped up.
“Alright then.  Let’s get going, shall we?”  They stepped into the early morning sun and Edward furrowed his eyes.  He had always hated the daylight.  Nighttime proved to be much better to him.  They got in their small car and, after a little negotiating, got it started and were on their way.  His aunt’s house, where she insisted on staying despite her condition, was located about 10 miles north of Edward’s house in a much wooded area.  The car struggled up the long driveway to the large Victorian style house.  Edward stepped out of the car and looked around.  He loved being in the woods simply because it was so quiet and so peaceful.
Inside the house was just as calm as Edward and his mother entered.  His mother led Edward up the large staircase to see his aunt’s bedroom.  She was laying there in her massive bed looking just as forlorn and frail as ever.  “Nancy, is that you?” came her old dusty voice from somewhere within the folds of the bed.
“Yes Marie, Edward and I are both here.” His mother responded.
“Oh! Edward too?” her voice seemed to brighten slightly.
“Yes, I’m over here.” Edward said and moved slightly closer to the bed.
“Oh, come over here and let me have a look at you.” His aunt said.  He obeyed and moved to her side.  She seemed to be even frailer than he ever remembered.  It was so hard to believe that it was the same person from his memories.  Her eyes looked dark and tired as she took Edward in.  She really didn’t look like she could manage to stay awake much longer.
“Edward,” she whispered to him, “I know I don’t have much time left here and that soon it will be time for me to go.  But I am so happy to see your face again.  You will turn out to be a fine young man someday.  Take care of your mother; she can be quite a handful sometimes.”  She chuckled roughly to herself.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’m going to be just fine.”  Just then a doctor came in through the open door with a small case in his hands.
“Alright Marie, it’s time for you medicine.”  He said, opening his bag and extracting some select instruments.  His aunt looked too tired to even resist the treatment, though something in Edward made him think she didn’t want it.  He knew it would come to this, though he hated to see it.  He had to accept the fact that his aunt, his favorite person in all the world could not stay with him much longer.  He bent over as the doctor was rummaging through his case and gave her a kiss on the forehead.  “Goodnight.”  He whispered.  He stepped back and walked back over to his mother who had remained at a distance.  She seemed to troubled to even talk let alone comfort him, so he sat roughly in a nearby chair. 
Before he knew it he was being carried by his mother back out to the car.  He had evidently fallen back asleep in the large cushions of the chair.  “It was nice of you to come with me today Edward.” She said looking over at him.  “I think she really enjoys your company.”
“I know,” Edward said, “I enjoy hers just as much.”  There seemed to be a deep sadness in his voice, even to him.  His mother continued driving and seemed to be trying not to bother him with any of her comments.  Eventually she changed the subject to something she considered to be a bit more cheerful.
“So, what do you think of this new doctor in town.  What’s his name? Dr. Hawkes I think?”  She was of course referring to a new doctor that had only recently come to live in his small town and was already making quite an impact.  No matter where he went all he heard about was how amazing Mr. Hawkes was and how all the girls wanted so desperately to meet him.  Personally it made him sick to think of.
“Oh, uh, I don’t really know.  I have never met the guy.”  Edward said. 
“Oh,” his mother continued, “well from what I have heard he is really good at what he does.  Of course it doesn’t hurt that he looks as good as he does.  Edward rolled his eyes.  He had better things to do than listen to his mother talking dreamily about someone he had only heard of. 
His mother decided to take a small detour on the way home and they stopped for some food at a small shop in town.  This was not exactly the highlight of his day because he rarely felt like eating much other than what he had to, but he managed to put up with it.  After their meal his mother decided it would be a good idea to go shopping.  “I want to get everything I can in before that silly storm hits today.”  She had said.  Edward had already heard mention of it.  Evidently there was some kind of large storm brewing up to the West and it was scheduled to hit their small town in Michigan within the day.  Personally, Edward really didn’t mind much.  He had always kind of liked the storms.  So his mother went around looking for things they would need for the upcoming week and Edward amused himself by walking around and looking in random windows.  He eventually came up to the hospital and stopped to look over his shoulder.  His mother had told him to meet her in two hours at the grocery store and they could head out again.  He could already see the large clouds building up in the sky.  It was a very interesting sight to behold.  Once again his thoughts flicked back to his aunt who was probably lying fast asleep in her bed by now thanks to her medication.  The two of them had always stayed out together to watch a storm coming in and even enjoyed being out in them from time to time.  It was one of his most cherished memories.  He turned back around and faced the hospital.  He had walked all the way to the edge of the small town where the two story hospital stood.  It seemed fairly quiet and dull so he decided to go look around inside seeing as he had nothing better to do. 
Inside the hospital was pretty subdued.  A few people glanced up from their magazines in the waiting room as he entered.  Not having anything else to do, Edward plopped himself down in an empty seat in the corner and pick up a random magazine.  It seemed to have something to do with politics; something Edward had almost no interest in.  He put the magazine back and just sat there.  At the very least it was a fairly quiet and relaxed place for him to think.
“Hello, I don’t believe we have met.”  A velvety voice said from somewhere above him.  Edward looked up to see a fairly tall man looking down at him with eyes unlike any he had seen before.  They were quite striking and took him slightly off guard.  “My name is Dr. Hawkes,” the man continued.  “I am the new doctor in town and I do not believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet.”
“Oh, uh yeah,” Edward stumbled.  Something about his voice seemed to be making him lose a grip on his senses.  “My name is Edward.  I live a little ways outside of town.” He said.
“Ahh,” said Dr. Hawkes.  “Well Edward, it is very nice to meet you and I’m glad it is not under worse circumstances that we do meet,” he said with a sly grin.  “Feel free to look around wherever you’d like.  But you must excuse me; I have some patients to attend to.”  He flashed Edward a large smile and was off and across the room before Edward registered what he had said.  He seemed to have moved effortlessly and with unimaginable speed to the other side of the room.  Edward shook his head; he was just acting crazy.  “So that is the great Dr. Hawkes,” Edward thought to himself.
Edward glanced up at the clock.  He had about fifteen minuets to get to the grocery store so he decided he had better get going.  With one final glance around the room Edward walked out the door.  The wind had picked up outside and was now blowing a chilly draft from the West.  The clouds had advanced ominously and now threatened to loom over the small town and swallow it whole.  He got to the grocery store just as his mom was getting out the door with an arm full of bags.  He rushed over to her and helped her carry a few to the car. 
“Ahh, what good timing you have,” she said to him.  “Hmm, I thought we would have a bit more time before the storm hit.” She said glancing up at the ever darkening sky.  “We will have to hurry home.”  As soon as they got loaded into the car with all the groceries it began to rain; softly at first, but then it began to pour.  His mother started the car and then they were off.
“So,” she said trying to stop her now obvious growing fear of the weather, “where did you go off to today?”
“Well I walked around a bit and wound up over by the hospital.  I got to meet Dr. Hawkes.  He seems like a pretty nice guy.” He responded.  This evidently was a bad thing to say because it got her started on what a great guy Dr. Hawkes really was.
“Yeah, he is just such a great doctor.  I have been told that he came highly recommended from somewhere near Phoenix.  Although I have no idea why anyone would want to go from that to this,” she said motioning at the weather outside the car.  Edward smiled to himself thinking that he much preferred this weather over any of that sunshiny junk that was bound to be in Phoenix.  A few moments passed in silence.  Then it really began to rain.  It got to a point where the windshield wipers on the car could go no faster and they still could hardly see where they were going.  Edward’s mother decided to turn on the radio.  “How about some music,” she said.  The radio crackled to life.  It was on some country music station and was just barely audible over the now pounding rain.  Edward glanced down as his mother reached over to fiddle with the dials to change the station.  At that moment everything around the car got extremely bright.  He looked up in time to see a pair of headlights only what seemed feet away and headed directly for them.  He didn’t even have a chance to scream.  He thought he vaguely heard a scream escape his mother’s lips but the next thing he knew everything seemed to stop.  Nothing moved or made any sound.  He lost all sense of direction and had no idea where he was.  An instant later there was a hair raising shatter of glass as the windshield fell inward.  Lights where everywhere, blinding him.  Then there was nothing.  Everything went black and there was nothing.     


For a moment Edward thought he was dead.  That moment, however, was sadly short lived because pain unlike any he had ever known flooded his body.  He couldn’t even seem to take a breath.  It felt like the world and everything in it was collapsing in on him.  He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to respond.  In fact every part of Edward’s body seemed to refuse to respond to his thoughts.  He couldn’t even scream in the pain that held him.  Somewhere in his collapsing world he heard a familiar voice.  A voice like velvet seemed to be dancing around at the very edge of his senses.  “..finally.  Get more anesthetics…bad hit…amazing he made it.”  The voice seemed to be blending in with itself.  It became very hard to make out anything now.  The focus it took to listen to the voice was draining him.  He felt himself slipping again.
When he awoke again the pain was less but still uncomfortably there.  He managed to weakly open his eyes.  This, he immediately realized, was a bad mistake.  He was nearly blinded by the bright lights that hung in the ceiling above him.  He tried again, opening his eyes slower and with more determination.  He slowly came to realize he lay in a hospital bed.  He was back in the town.  He had no idea how he had gotten there.  Then he remembered how it had happened.  The radio, the rain, the blinding headlights, and the scream that seemed so real.  Then something else came to his head and he almost sat straight up but realized he could not.  His mother.  Where was she?  Was she alright?  He had no idea what to do.  There didn’t seem to be anyone around.  He tried to speak, to make some kind of noise, but nothing came out.  He noticed a small controller in his hand.  He pushed the red button and almost instantly it seemed Dr. Hawkes was standing by his bed. 
“Edward.” He said.  “You took quite a hit.  How do you feel?”  Edward could not even make a sound.  “Mom” he tried to say, but nothing came out.  “It’s alright.  Take it easy.  You are very lucky to even be alive right now my young friend.  Perhaps I spook a little too soon this afternoon when I said it was good we met under such good circumstances.”  He gave Edward a small, resigned, smirk and turned around to confer with the instruments that littered his bedside. 
“Someone happened to be driving by and saw the accident.  From what they described and the condition you are in it seems miraculous to me that you are still able to live.”  Something in the way he said those words made Edward feel slightly uncomfortable, almost as if he knew something was not being said.  “Your car hit a larger truck head on.  The truck tried to swerve out of the way, which turned out to be a mistake, because it ended up off the road and down a ravine.  I am sad to say that no one in that truck survived.”  His voice was somber the entire length of his explanation yet his eyes remained fixed on Edward’s.  “We got an ambulance out there as soon as we could.  You had lost quite a bit of blood.”  He paused for a moment and Edward could have sworn he saw the man’s eye’s flicker and change.  However as soon as he noticed it, it was gone.  “We got the two of you back here as quickly as possible.  You were both unconscious when we arrived.  Your mother was sent immediately to the operation room.  She had quite a bit of internal bleeding.  Edward, I am not sure how to tell you this.”  He paused once again and took in a breath.  Edward could scarcely believe what he was hearing.  He could not accept it.  There was simply no way he could lose his mother just like that, not now.  “Edward, your mother is alive,” Dr. Hawkes said, seeming to read Edward’s mind, “but she is in very critical condition.  It is, well,” he paused, “it is at this point unsure as to if your mother will make it through the night.”  He looked Edward straight in the eye.  Edward had no idea how to feel.  His head was spinning.  The room seemed to be moving around him.  “I am afraid I have more bad news for you.  You also had great internal bleeding and, although you may feel slightly better now, you are still in a very critical stage.  I am legally obligated to tell you this now.  Your mother is in no condition to hear it so it must fall on your ears.”  He paused again.  He seemed to be turning something over in his head.  Then he shook his head and said with a sad smile, “Why don’t you try and get some rest Edward.  You need it.”  And with that Mr. Hawkes left.
Edward did have any idea what to even think.  His head was swimming.  He had not only lost his aunt, the one symbol of his childhood and the one person that meant so much to him, but now he was in very serious danger of losing his mother too.  For the first time in a long time Edward cried.  He fell into a very uneasy sleep filled with violent nightmares of car accidents and death.
When he awoke Edward realized he was surrounded by many doctors and nurses, Foremost of which was Dr. Hawkes.  Every one of them looked sad and forlorn.  Dr. Hawkes wore a very grim expression that was accented greatly by his eyes that seemed to have changed color over night.  They now seemed to be a very dull shade of the gold they had been the previous day.  The man looked rather frustrated and tired but looked down upon Edward kindly all the same.  It was almost as if he was trying to apologize for what he was about to say.
“Edward,” he finally said, “I have no idea how to tell you this.  Your mother died late last night.  There was nothing we could have done for her other than ease her pain.  She did not suffer any more hurt or trauma.  She did however tell me to make sure that you know that she loves you with all of her heart and she was extremely sorry for all of this.  Edward I am so sorry.”  Edward was crushed.  He somehow knew it was coming, somehow knew that he would have to deal with these words, yet it was not any easier when they came.  He cried harder than ever before.  There was nothing more left for him to do.  He had never felt so empty, so alone.  For the second time he fell into a difficult sleep.

Edward awoke to the sound of many people rushing around.  It was mid afternoon at the hospital, though it was hard to tell due to the endless clouds that seemed to cover the sky.  Edward sat up and looked around.  There was evidently a new patient coming in to the space next to him.  It was causing quite a commotion and Edward tried not to pay much attention to it.  Eventually the nurses left and Edward looked over to his new roommate.  It was a boy who seemed far to medicated to know anything at the moment.  He was young, perhaps about 10.  The boy looked over at Edward and smiled but didn’t say anything.  Then the boy unexpectedly fell asleep and began snoring loudly.  Edward felt good that he now had someone else in this room with him, even if he had no idea who it was; at the very least he was not going to be locked up in some hospital room all by himself.
By the time Edward’s room mate woke up it was getting to be late in the evening.  The boy seemed to have recovered from whatever medication he had been on in the previous hours and now looked over to Edward and gave him a smile.  “Hi,” the boy said.  “My name is Alex.  What is yours?”
Edward looked at Alex for a moment.  The boy seemed rather scraggily and rough looking, but smiled pleasantly all the same.
“Edward,” he finally replied.
“Oh, hello Edward.  They put me in here for some silly reason.  I really shouldn’t even be in a hospital; I’m not in that bad of shape really.”  Alex said.  He then went on to explain how he had suffered from a rather severe asthma attack late in the night last night and his mother had rushed him here as soon as she could.
“Well at least I will have someone to talk to.” the boy said with a smile.  For a moment there was a silence in which Edward thought Alex had fallen back to sleep.  Alex quickly proved this wrong though.  “So what do you think of this Dr. Hawkes?”  He asked.
Once again Edward was unsure what to say or even what he felt about the man.  “I’m not really sure.  He seems like a pretty nice guy to me.” Edward responded.
“Yeah,” said Alex, “he does.  I have heard some pretty interesting stories about him though.”
“Oh?” said Edward, “Like what?”
“Well, I have it on a few sources that say he moved here from Phoenix, which is completely believable, but I have also heard that before he moved there he loved in a very small village in northern Wales.  So my question is how did he become such a great doctor if he lived in such a place as that?  Surely the area in which he grew up in could not have given him this kind of experience.”  The boy had evidently given this subject much thought.
“Well,” said Edward, “perhaps he just got his training in Phoenix and then decided to move up here.”
“No,” the boy quickly said, “he was only in Phoenix for about a month before he came here.”  This news was very surprising to Edward.  He had never really considered this fact.  He had also heard that Dr. Hawkes had only been in Phoenix for a short time, but he never really questioned as to how he had become such an experienced doctor.
“Are you sure he never went anywhere else besides Phoenix?” Edward asked.
“Oh yes.” Said Alex.  “He lived in that small village in Wales for all of his life until he came to Phoenix.  It’s pretty weird isn’t it?” the boy asked.
“Yeah,” said Edward, “that is pretty odd.”  He sank back down into his bed to think this information over.  Why was Dr. Hawkes such an acclaimed doctor if he had lived in a village all of his life?  It didn’t make much sense to Edward, but he really didn’t have much more time to think it over.  At that moment a woman entered the room and rushed over to Alex’s bed.  Edward tried to remain as oblivious to it as he possibly could, but it proved to be rather difficult due to the commotion the woman was now making over her son.
“Oh Alex,” the woman cried, “I was so worried about you!”  Alex seemed rather embarrassed by this brash display by his mother.  “How do you feel?  Are they treating you alright?  Have you been getting enough food?  Oh, look at you.  You’re such a mess.”  The endless flow of questions and comments about Alex continued on for several minuets before Dr. Hawkes came into the room.
Without glancing down at Edward, the doctor moved effortlessly across the room, now scattered with equipment, to Alex’s bedside.
“Ah, hello there.  You must be Mrs. Wiggen.  Alex has been doing just fine, in fact we were just about to tell you he is in great condition and ready to go whenever you are.” Said Dr. Hawkes.
“Oh,” said Mrs. Wiggen, clearly taken aback by what she saw as good looks in the man. “Well then, I guess we can get going sweetie.” She said, slowly, almost reluctantly, returning her attention to Alex.  “Thank you very much doctor, it really means a lot to us that you took such great care of him.”  Dr. Hawkes flashed her a smile and wished Alex a safe trip home.  He then navigated his way to Edward’s bedside and sat down.
“So how are you feeling now?” he asked, hesitating slightly.
“I’m alright.” Edward replied.  The truth was he was still very sad by the chain of events that had occurred the previous day and was having great difficulty getting over it.  The doctor seemed to pick right up on this and quickly changed the subject.
“So what do you think of Alex?” he asked in a hushed voice and looking rather amused by his mother’s blatant show of affection for her son.
“Oh,” said Edward, “he seems like a pretty nice kid.  Is he going to be here much longer?”
“No, he will probably be out of here before the night is over.  His mother seems quite determined to take care of him herself.” He said with a sad smile.  “Well,” he continued, “I better get back to work.  We have quite a few new patients thanks to last night’s storm.”  He gave Edward a quick smile and was out the door.

By the time Edward woke up the next afternoon Alex was gone and Edward was once again left alone in the hospital room.  He had still been feeling very upset over losing so much.  His dreams had been very upsetting lately and made him not want to sleep much, though he knew he would have to. 
Edward got up out of his bed, for the first time in quite a while, and walked over to the window that overlooked the small town.  It was overcast and wet looking outside, just like the typical day there.  Despite the looks of the outside world, Edward decided to go out and sit on the small balcony just outside his room.  He sat in the chair and looked out over the town, thinking back and remembering the times of his life that he had cherished so deeply.  Soon he was once again running through a large field with his mother and chasing moths through the weeds.  Then his mother grabbed him and picked him up and whirled him around in circles and they both fell to the ground laughing.
“Where’s daddy?” Edward had asked her.
“Your dad went away a while ago.  He loved you very much but unfortunately he could not stay.”  Edward remembered now that her face had become very sad, as if she was recalling a very troubling memory.
“Is daddy ok?” Edward had asked.
“He is perfectly fine now” his mother had said with a smile.  “And I am sure he misses you very much.”
“What did daddy look like?”
“Well,” his mother said, “he looked a lot like you actually.  He had short dark hair like yours and deep brown eyes like yours too.  People would often say you could get lost in his eyes, and I believe that was pretty true.”  A small smile crossed her lips.  Looking back on this memory now Edward seemed to think she had been hiding something or just not telling him the entire story.  He could not quite place it, but it seemed like there was more to it.
“Hello Edward.”  Said a deep voice from somewhere behind him.  He immediately snapped back to reality to realize that Dr. Hawkes was now joining him on the balcony and sitting in the chair beside him.  “You know,” he said slyly, “I don’t think it is very wise of you to be outside right now.  Your immune system isn’t as strong as it normally is and your body is probably very tired.”
“I don’t feel that tired.”  Edward said.
“Fair enough” Dr. Hawkes said with a smile.  They looked out over the town and watched the few cars go up and down the streets.  “I really am very sorry about your mother.  We did everything we could to help her.  We simply could not contain the extent of the damage.  If there is ever anything I can ever do for you Edward, please do not hesitate to ask me.” The doctor said.
“Thank you” Edward said.  He felt only minimally better about that statement, but he knew the doctor’s intentions were good and true.  They sat in silence for a few more moments before Edward thought of something.  Perhaps he could divulge a little bit about this mans past.  He really had nothing better to do.  “So did you ever know your father?” Edward asked.
“Hmm,” Dr. Hawkes replied.  “I knew him very little.  I grew up in a very small village in Wales.  In fact it was even smaller than this one.” He motioned towards the town in front of them.  “My family, which consisted of my mother, father, younger brother, and me, all grew up in a roughly built cottage that was quite drafty I must say.  We lived there for years.  We rarely ever went anywhere outside the village because we really didn’t need to.  When I was about your age and my brother only a year behind me, an epidemic hit our little village.  Now, I had always been fascinated by the study of medicine and treating people with illnesses and had become somewhat of an unprofessional doctor in those days.  This epidemic however was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  It spread through our village very fast and proved to be quite deadly.  All over the village people were dying of this illness.  Not even the trained doctors in the village could figure out what was causing it.  I knew before long it would have to hit my family as well, and it did.  My father fell ill first.  He got very sick and fell into a deep fever.  We had him rest most of the days and remain in bed.  Still the sickness coursed through his body.  Not long after that my mother fell ill as well.  Her case was even more extreme.  She had a very high fever that refused to come down and was put in bed rest right away.  So it was down to my brother and me.  We both were very fearful of the illness because we knew there was nothing we could do to fight it.  My mother stayed with us for nearly a week after she fell sick.  She had died in her sleep.  My bother and I laid her to rest out in the family graveyard.  My father had managed to hold on for nearly a month.  He was quite a fighter really.  Most people were lucky to live as long as my mother did.  He brought my brother and me in to see him near the end because he knew he was not going to live much longer.  He told us both to carry on the family name, to move away from the village and find a better life.  That very same night he died in his sleep.  We both felt good in a way that he had died in such a way, the sickness was terribly painful and so we happy to know our father did not have to deal with quite as much pain.  We laid him to rest right next to our mother. 
Soon after that time my bother and I decided we needed to move away and follow our father’s wishes.  We packed everything we owned, which was not a lot, and managed to find a ship sailing across the sea.  Before we left, however, we were hit with yet another misfortune.  My bother had contracted the sickness just before we left the village.  He fell ill just as our mother and father had.  He was still set on having me sail across the sea however and refused to let me stay behind with him.  So I sadly boarded the ship and set sail.  I arrived here, in the United States, and moved myself all the way over to Phoenix.  It was there that I studied medicine and got to the point I am at now.  Not too long after I got my degree I moved up here and I have been here ever since.” 
He turned to look at Edward and gave him a somewhat distant smile.  All during the story the man had been staring out into the town. Edward now realized that what Alex had heard was evidently true.  The man had an amazing past, though it may have been quite rough.  Edward felt glad to know that he was not as alone as he originally thought in this though.
“Wow,” Edward said, “that is quite a sad story.  I’m really sorry you had to lose your family in that way.  I barely knew my dad.  He was never there and my mom was sketchy on the details about him when I asked her about it.  She always told me he had to go away and that he missed me very much and loved me.  I had always figured he had died long ago and she was simply afraid to tell me.”
A knowing smile crossed the doctor’s face.  “I know very well what that is like.”  He said. “There is one part of the story that I did leave out however.  I find it to be the most interesting of all.”  He seemed to be having a bit of fun, almost as if he was teasing him.  “You see, as I was progressing through my studies in the medical field I was obligated by the courses to take tests on myself.  They were simple tests really; designed only to get the general knowledge of it.  While I was conducting one of these tests I found that my body tested positive for the very same disease that had killed nearly my entire village.  Yet I was somehow immune to the effects, either that or they were acting on me differently.  This was very interesting to me and I started to get curious.  It turns out that the pathogen that is responsible for the sickness remained dormant in my body for all of those years.  I did not want to tell anyone of my discovery for fear that they might try to isolate me or stop my education.  So I secretly ran more tests and managed to find a way to active the virus, only doing so in such a way that it would not take the deadly effect on me that it did to everyone else.  I figured in this way I could eradicate this virus once and for all and be done with it.”  The doctor paused.  It seemed he had just reached a fairly crucial point in his story and was now unsure of how he should continue.  “I did manage to activate the virus.” He continued.  “However, it took a bizarre effect that I had not counted on.  This virus had mutated somehow during the years it lay dormant and now was completely changing.  It,” he paused for a moment, “made some very interesting changes to my body.”  The doctor looked back out over the town.
Before Edward could question him further about what these changes might be his pager beeped loudly bringing the painful reminder back to Edward that he was still at the hospital.
“Ah,” said Dr. Hawkes, “if you will please excuse me.  It appears we have a new guest this evening.  I would be more than happy to continue this talk and to hear more about you later on though.  Remember, if you need anything please don’t hesitate to ask me.”  He flashed Edward a quick smile and was gone before Edward could respond.  Edward had a very hard time processing the information he had just gotten.  All he really knew for sure was that Dr. Hawkes knew very well the pain that Edward felt and that made him feel a lot better.  Edward could not quite place it, but there was something about that man that seemed strangely comforting.  This new information about his old life also proved very interesting.  It was absolutely fascinating to Edward to learn about the doctor.  He really was looking forward to knowing what these ‘interesting’ changes may have been.  He wondered to himself if perhaps those changes included being a magnet for any girl in the town but then quickly chided himself for being so silly.  He walked slowly and regretfully back into his room. It was now getting to be that evening hour again.  Edward was curious where the time had gone.  The days seemed to be passing by now without much effort at all.  He lay down in his now neatly made bed and looked up at the ceiling.  He thought more of the life that Dr. Hawkes must have had growing up and then found himself drifting back into his dream world of being with his mother.  This time however there was someone else there, someone Edward did not recognize, but he felt like he knew him somehow.  The man was watching at a distance as the boy and his mother played in the bright sun.  He stood under the shade of a big willow tree.  Just before Edward drifted into complete unconsciousness he saw the mans eyes.  They seemed to sparkle and glisten; almost as if they were diamonds, despite the fact that he did not stand anywhere near the sunlight.  This was the image that Edward last remembered before he fell into yet another night of very odd dreams.