I was concerned for a friend, and wanted to drop by and check on kir. But instead of walking up to their door, I walked into a science lab. A large containment unit with clear glass walls barely seen behind white metal sheilding was along one side. A bank of instrumentation was next to it, with tubes connecting the monitoring systems to the unit.
A short man in a white lab coat was running about. He had a lot of instrumentation to monitor and no automated means of doing so. I was going to quietly leave but he called out for me to stay. He finished his check and came to me all flustered.
“Glad you’re here! Yes! Very glad!” He looked up with a full white beard and a youthful face and grinned happily at me. “We can’t help directly, but you have an area effect! Would you stand next to the containment unit, please!” He didn’t wait for an answer but ran back to the instrumentation panel and started twiddling knobs and flipping switches.
Amused and still greatly concerned, I went and stood next to the containment unit. The metal shielding dropped into the floor, exposing the glass walls and what the unit contained.
A human heart, larger than I am tall, was beating inside the containment unit. Huge tubes were connected to the aorta and vena cavas, but they were opaque and I could not see if blood was flowing. The heart was beating vigorously and appeared stressed.
I placed my hand on the unit, and the glass felt warm and familiar under my touch. I realized I was looking at the heart of my friend.
“Yes! Please stay there a while! If you don’t mind! The numbers are dropping already!”
I thought of so many things I wanted to tell my friend. How I wish I could be of more help than a username on a screen. How great a comfort it is to know kir closely and what a valuable treasure ke is even if we do butt heads and disagree. Especially because we butt heads and disagree. Because we are open to each other that we can butt heads and disagree and still be good friends.
The beating of the heart slowed. I counted beats per minute and noted it was at the low range of what is considered Resting. The muscle improved in color, and the movements were strong.
“Ah. That’s it. Perfect! Excellent! Some readings are still on the high side, but the worst of it is over and the heart will recover well now. Thank you so much! I wish you could stay further, but I have to get you out of here! If you’re caught here, we could both be in so much trouble! You’re not authorized to be here, after all! So many protocols broken just by you walking in the room!”
I nodded. My randomness placed me in the Wrong Place at the Right Time. Again. I shook his hand and made for the exit.
“Oh. One more thing!” I stopped and turned around. Something like light washed over me. I blinked and realized I had forgotten certain things. “Forgive me, but you know a little too much. Can’t risk you saying the wrong thing to the wrong person! If you knew the entire story, you would understand. Please, believe me, for the good of both of you.”
I looked at the heart and realized I couldn’t remember whose it was, only that it belongs to someone close to me. I almost burst into tears. The short man’s face was full of sad apologies and nervous hope.
“Will… will everything be okay?”
“It should. Now. You helped. You really did.”
“Okay. I… don’t remember. But I see the heart is beating strong, and healthy, and is not stressed. So, I’ll take that on faith that things will be okay.”
“Thank you. Quickly, leave! I’ll erase what few traces you leave behind.”
“And if I write this?”
“That’s why I had to remove some things from your memory. You can write what you know, but it won’t be enough to cause trouble.”
“Thanks.” I looked again at the heart. “Annoy you later.”, I whispered to the heart, knowing I would not be heard.
I left.