Dad was confused about the blood tests as the doctor said that they showed strange results. This made me think how could blood be strange? Was my blood not red enough? Did it show that I had some fatal disease? I think the test results worried Dad a lot as he paced back and forth asking himself what the problem could be. He must have asked me several times if I felt any bit better. I do not think that I ever did see Dad as worried as he was now. I tried telling him that I did not feel as bad as I did before, so this must have been a sign that I was slowly recovering.
I was sent to my room as mom and dad had to have an adult talk. This was no normal talk as I heard them raise their voice at each other. I heard Mom tell Dad that he should not worry while dad was asking mom how could she not worry. My parents started arguing with each other. It did not help that Dad was in a state of panic and mom seemed to be relaxed and wanted to talk about anything except my health. It was quite strange listening to them argue, as I never heard my parents argue before. I heard others complain at school about how much their parents argued, but this was a first for me. I did not like that they were arguing about me and at the same time, it showed me that my family was as normal as the other ones. We were not a hallmark family!
I was happy that I was starting to feel a lot better. I no longer had problems with breathing or dizziness. My ears were constantly itchy as well as my back. At times I had a lot of energy and could run quicker than I ever wanted. I would run and leap on the way home from school. This made me so happy and feel so free. I hated when I was sick, but I felt as if I was now becoming stronger than I ever was. It would be great if I was not as itchy or had pains. I consoled myself that this would stop and my life would return to the way it was, except I was more athletic.
Dad knew that I still had pains and itches, and the results of the blood tests worried him. He announced at dinner one day that he wanted me to go and see a specialist. Dad was sure that the specialist would find out what was wrong with me. I was unsure what I thought about this. I imagined it meant more tests and needles. Besides this, I was sure that I was getting better. I tried begging Dad not to do this and tried to persuade him that I was feeling better. Dad would not listen and told me that he wanted to hear it from a specialist. I knew that he worried about me and loved me. I just wish there was a better way than having to do and see some specialist.
Mom looked pale when Dad mentioned a specialist and told dad that she did not think there was a need for it. She said that I was much better than I was and she believed I was on the road to recovery. Mom went as far as to excuse the blood tests saying that they must have been corrupted in some way. This led to mom and Dad arguing once again. They could not agree on if I should see a specialist or not. Dad accused mom of not taking my sickness serious and thought it would not do any harm taking me to a specialist. I felt so bad that my parents were shouting at each other. I did not like when they were arguing about me. It would be better if they argued about anything else. It was as if it was my fault. I felt my eyes water up as they continued. Mom had the last word when she said she was my mom and her decision was final. I would not be seeing any specialist.
Mom was worried about something. You know when your parents get worried as they have a special look on their face and act all weird. Once when I was finished with a bath, I noticed a small bump on my back just above my bum. When I showed mom, she started pacing back and forth talking to herself. She was telling herself that this was not possible. It could not be true. When I asked her what she was saying, she just hugged me as tight as she could. The hugging was so hard that it was hard to breathe. The only thing that mom told me was that she loved me and hoped I would forgive her. I did not know what to say. I did reluctantly agree when she told me not to show Dad the bump.
It was as if mom knew something that we did not know. She announced that I would be homeschooled from now on. I would not be allowed to see my friends. Catherine was still allowed to visit me. This made me sad, as I liked school and I liked when I was with my friends. Now I would be kept home as if I was some prisoner. I was confused at how mom reacted to a bump in my back. Why was she so worried? Was she afraid people would see the bump or was mom afraid I would give others some disease? Maybe if I was let out in society, the whole human race would end up having bumps above their bum.
The itches were no longer as bad as they were. I did get pains in my ear and around the bump, but the medicine I got meant it was not that bad. I noticed that the bump seemed to be growing out. I had some strange disease and I started to worry more and more about what it could be.
I started having thoughts that I was dying. I wrote a will and hid it in my sock drawer. Catherine would get all my toys. It made me sad that I would never get old and experience things like driving a race car or jumping out of a plane on a parachute. I would be in heaven. I wondered what heaven was like. I bet the angels did not play the music I liked and there were no pizzas or burgers. I would have to wait for decades before Catherine or anyone I knew would come.
One Day I asked Dad while we were eating popcorn and watching some film if I was dying. He nearly choked on the popcorn and after he thought about it, he assured me that I was not dying. Dad tried reminding me that I was feeling a lot better every day. Then he went quiet. I did not know it, but he was also thinking about how mysterious this sickness was and worried about how it would end. Maybe this is why mom warned me not to talk about the bump on my back. She knew how worried Dad was. He would freak out if he knew about it.
A week went by. I was still kept at home but I no longer had pains. The sickness changed me. I could smell a lot better and my hearing improved a lot. It was as if I could smell things I never could before. I knew when Dad was close as he had a certain smell. The same with mom. I could also hear noises I never heard before, especially high pitched noises. I could hear insects outside or even when someone was outside. All in all, my senses were much better. This could be annoying. It was all so new and disturbing. At times the new experiences made me feel as if I was going crazy. I hoped I would get used to it.
I knew that my parents were worried about me. I was also worried. I did not know what I should worry about. I knew that the bump in my back. I even started calling it a tail because it looked like one. Mom told me that I should not worry. Both her and Dad loved me so much, that they would not allow anything bad to happen to me. She promised me that she knew that I would get better and that I definitely would not die. Mom assured me that she would get an answer on what was happening to me and what could be done about me. All this meant that I had to trust mom and Dad. I will be honest, at times that at times this was hard when they had so many fights about me.
Catherine visited me a lot. This was something that I was looking forward to. I could keep no secrets from her, so she knew about the tail that I had. It was now a few inches long. I suspected that it was not a tail, as I could not wag it. Catherine did not think that I was weird. She told me that it did not change the person that I was. She asked me what the matter was with my ears. I said nothing was the matter. Then we both looked in the mirror where she told me that they looked bigger. We looked at an old picture of me, and it was true. They were starting to look like elf ears. I could not help but look at the picture of me and what I have seen in the mirror. I was beginning to look more like Spock in the Star Trek movies. Catherine tried to say how cool it was and cheer me up. The only thing that I could think about was what was happening to me? Who was I?
I was changing. I measured my ears and tail every day and they were growing. I also started to get more choosy in what I ate. I could not eat food that was salty or spicey. If I ate vegetables, I would just get sick. In the beginning, I thought that this could all be because I finally was starting puberty. I no longer believed this. I was most likely infected with a new virus that would change me into some alien. Dad also saw the changes and was becoming more and more determined I should see a specialist. He argued that it was not normal that a boy's ears grew the way that my ears have grown. Mom agreed and told us that she would take me to a specialist.
So after a few days, Mom told me that we were going to a specialist. I did not expect that this meant a train ride to a small town in the middle of nowhere. Mom rented a car and we drove through an area that I doubted many people have been to before. I did enjoy the drive as it was in the woods on very small roads. It hurt with the extra sounds and smells. Mom must have noticed my discomfort as she turned the radio up. She was also trying to assure me that everything would be OK, as this was the best place in the world.
We finally arrived and I was surprised. We had to go through several security checks. I started to think that this was no ordinary specialist. We had to go in an elevator that went underground. What specialist has his office in some bunker? A lot of people were walking around in white doctor coats. I could also smell and hear animals. Everyone looked so serious. We were finally in a small waiting room. I wanted to ask mom what sort of place was this. But I could see that she was worried.
An old doctor finally appeared. He smiled at me, but I did not like the way that he was smiling
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