Good days Bad months
“It’s 8:30 and he’s not back yet, I’m worried Pete.” Aunt may’s hands were twitching.
I was nervous too but I can’t let her show it, not now at least.
“Maybe we should call up Uncle Ben’s work!” I offered
May looked like she wanted to object, “You know how he is when someone’s worried about him.”
‘Oh boy did I.’
The man was the definition of ‘do as I and not as I do’ when it came to concern for others. He was old school like that.
“Alright we’ll wait for another five minutes then I’m calling his work.” I said with all the confidence I could conjure up. I'm sure my Aunt saw through the facade.
The chocolate cake was finished. His favorite.
The wind rustled the cheap golden decorations. He was supposed to be here by 7, why was he taking so long. Why today of all days?
I have a bad feeling about this.
‘What if he….’ The thought of Uncle Ben bleeding out in the street flashed through me again.
What if I was supposed to be Spider-Man and what if he was supposed to….
Waking up a week ago in Peter’s room was the best thing Vijay Prakash had ever done.
Did he miss his lavish flat, having sex with various women, working on his business and going on vacations? Yes. Yes he did.
However there was something about this life that was too appealing to him to care about his previous one.
The simplicity of it all.
Having a family, doing his homework while watching his uncle watch the Knicks game. The smell of his aunt’s cooking and now helping her with prep. Forget his superpowers and how it made him feel invincible, what really made this life fun was the people around him.
Today was supposed to be a perfect birthday surprise for Uncle ben but something wicked in the back of his mind whispered dark forebodings
‘Things were going too well. Did you really think these good days were gonna last for long?’
‘You live in a comic book world dimwit, you really think they’ll let you go ahead and make your own story!’
‘He’s gonna die because you didn’t want to wear spandex and fight crime; oh poor you!’
The intrusive thoughts didn’t stop their barrage, relentlessly tormenting my mind.
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‘With great power comes great responsibility, What the hell have you been doing with your great power. You’re selfish, rotten to the core.’
I tried to explain these thoughts away.
‘I can’t save the world by myself. I’m just a teenager, what can I do?’
‘Oh but you’re not just any teenager, you’re Spider-Man. Super strength and super memory, beating up his bullies left and right. When did you ever give a damn about others? You only care about yourself as you always have.’
The pressure was building inside me and my mind was ready to explode. My emotions are swelling up.
‘Stop. Don’t overthink it. Breathe in and Breathe out. Okay that's right!’
Calm down.
‘It’s probably nothing, he’s gonna be back anytime now. Just you see.’
As more time passed my confidence began waning. When what seemed like eternity went by but still no Uncle Ben, all my strength left me.
Looking at the clock on the wall though it seemed only fifteen minutes had passed.
Okay enough’s Enough.
Either something bad happened or it didn’t either ways no point in torturing myself like this!
So I walked towards the landline because there’s no cellphones here duh! (Can’t afford one even if I could have one.) As I was going to pick up the receiver, the old thing began ringing.
I anxiously picked up the white rotary phone’s receiver.
“Hello.”
“Hello, yes is this the residence of Benjamin Parker.”
“Yes, who am I speaking to?”
“This is from Queens General Hospital………..”
“I’ll be there.”
Dr Theiry Hall, Queens General Hospital, New York City.
“Mr Parker, how are we doing now?” The doctor asked the elderly man.
“Oh I’m good, it's the young miss that I’m worried about more than anything. Is she okay?” the genial man responded with mirth, ignoring the pain from his bruises.
“Thanks to you she’ll be fine Mr Parker. At least physically!”
“I knew those fellers were up to no good but to attack a girl that young. The world is really going to hell in a handbasket isn’t it doc?” The man looked with cloudy eyes
“Not when we have heroes like you, Mr Parker.” The doctor smiled sadly.
He was glad the man was there where he was and he wished he was here to simply laud the man for his heroism but he wasn’t here just for that.
“Heh i try to fight the good fight doc! I’m no hero, these old bones just try to be good here and there when I can! Set an example for my son…..i mean my nephew. He’s at a young age now. You know how kids are at that age doc. He has to decide the kind of man…he..wants…to, say doctor you alright, you don’t look good.”
The man’s concern for him was endearing but it made what was coming next even more difficult. Dr Theiry Hall hadn’t slept in two days and now he has to tell this good man some really bad news.
“Oh I’m sorry doctor i didn’t mean to…..uh look at me rambling again. May always says I need to take care to not ramble too much. I’m rude for it, she says. Oh Maybelle’s my wife we call her may-”
“Mr Parker, It’s not that….When we ran the basic checkup on you. Some of the results….it’s not good. Of course we’ll do the full diagnostics but the basic MRI showed a lump, it could potentially be a tumor.”
‘There did it. God it felt awful telling people that. It never gets easier.’ Dr Hall thought to himself. He could live in the operation theater for an entire week nonstop but telling people they might die soon was never Dr Hall's forte.
The look of surprise didn’t last too long on Mr Parker’s face, almost like he was expecting it.
Dr Hall waited for a response from the gentle old man and after some time all Mr Parker could muster up was a simple, “Oh alright.”