The other side of the island -Part 3 (story)

in #fiction5 years ago (edited)

Part 1 Part 2

Most of the time Frieda simply ignored the presence of the humans. If she ever took an interest in their comings and goings, it was only with a mild curiosity that she watched them. Like you’d watch a stray dog chasing its tail. In turn, the personnel at the mission kept their distance as she’d made it clear she was not interested in their company. Jonathan had tried several times to speak to her or at least he’d sat in front of her repeating simple phrases and gesturing abundantly. What she thought of the sounds he made or if she even heard them nobody knew. She tolerated his presence, but did not find it worthy of her attention.

Her crying had stopped. She just sat in her corner, passing her fingers over the silky cloth of the jumpsuit as if she were caressing the cheeks of a loved one, with slow, tender movements. Over and over again. Her expression did not change, but the pain coursing through her veins showed up on the monitors as an increased heartbeat.
She didn’t raise her eyes when Jonathan walked in, nor did she look up when he called her name. It was not her real name, obviously, but they did their best to teach her to respond to it. The moment Jonathan sat right next to her, he took great care not to touch the jumpsuit so precious to the creature, his hand inching its way closer to hers with an almost imperceptible movement. If she noticed his hand, she showed no sign. Maybe Jonathan did not even exist in the world her mind was lost. Did she dream of walks around the beaches of her home? Was she thinking of the nights they’d spent together on their ship? Could she still feel the touch of his cheek or the warmth of his skin?
Frieda’s skin was cold to the touch when Jonathan dared to place his hand on her arm in the universal gesture that says 'I feel your pain, I’m here for you'. Said out loud, the words would have been stupid and fake. Nobody feels another’s pain, not really, as for his being there, that did not change anything. Could he bring back the partner she’d lost, whatever he might have meant for her? Could he undo the tragic chain of events that had brought her there, a prisoner in an alien world she could never leave?
For once, Jonathan had stepped out of his role as a trained observer and sat there as a friend.
That was the first time that Frieda looked into his eyes. He felt a strong urge to avert his eyes, to look away, yet he willed himself to look back at the lonely creature.
It was his chance to establish a bond of trust between them. There were no tears in her eyes, as she couldn’t cry like humans. What he saw in her eyes was more than pain, there was consternation in her eyes, a stifled revolt against the fate that had robbed her of everything. A big howling 'Why?' There were many things Jonathan would have liked to tell her had he known how. Tell her he knew about loss. Tell her of the boy who missed the mother who never missed him, tell her about Helen, even.

The one who learned how to communicate with Frieda was Mary. The girl had come to the island as a nurse for a twelve months stay and never left. Jonathan sometimes wondered if it was on account of him or because of the strange silent friendship between her and the fragile alien being. Mary stood up for her one day and Frieda accepted her as a friend.
The day Jonathan behaved like an asshole, as Mary later put it. It was a cruel thing to do, Jonathan was well aware, but that day he decided they must take the damn jumpsuit away as Frieda was becoming obsessed with it and had lost the little interest in life she had. The alien let out those agonizing screams of hers, tried to fight the man twice as big as her and curled up in a ball when that failed.
‘How can yo do this to her?’ the young nurse shouted and snatched the thing from his hands.
What happened next was so unexpected and such a complete breach of regulations, Jonathan was left speechless. Mary did not give Frieda the jumpsuit back. Instead she kept it out of reach with one hand and with the other motioned the creature to get up and follow her. No words were spoken, but what she saw in the woman’s eyes was convincing enough for Frieda to stand up and take the nurse’s hand. Together they walked out of the room. No one dared to stop them as the two of them made their way outside of the building, taking the narrow path that led down to the beach, on the other side of the island. Since she’d been brought there, Frieda had never been allowed out, for fear she might hurt herself trying to escape.
That day they walked hand in hand all the way to the beach, while Jonathan and two guards followed at a distance.
Frieda seemed more alert than they’d ever seen her, stopping often to look at the trees and the little red flowers that grew pretty much all over the island. She bent down, then looked at Mary asking permission to touch the flowers and the woman smiled.
Terrible thoughts passed trough Jonathan’s mind - she might be allergic to pollen, there could be bugs or germs and he was responsible for the alien’s well-being, but before he could voice his concerns the two had picked up a small bouquet and continued their walk.
Frieda never learned to speak, but the two of them talked in feelings. A bright look in the alien’s eyes to Mary it read as ‘I’m happy’ or ‘Thank you for taking me to the beach’.
Frieda kept the jumpsuit in a clear plastic box beside her bed. Every now and then she’d take it out and hold it close to her chest, lost in thought, but she’d learned to live with her loss. It still hurt, but she’d moved on.

(To be continued)

Thanks for reading!

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Hello @marie-jay, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!

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