It was the end of October and a young boy named Sean was in the hospital. He should have been picking out a Halloween costume and enjoying himself with his friends, but instead, he was stuck in a hospital, waiting to have his tonsils removed.
His parents spoke to the receptionist and a nurse-led them down the hallway to the room where Sean was going to be staying. The lime-green walls were all decorated with orange and black streamers, white skulls, and paper cut-out pumpkin heads.
When they reached the hospital room, they heard a big commotion. There was a boy lying in one of the beds and he was screaming “I’m not Martin! I’m not Martin! ”675Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVJ0csGjpw
Two other nurses were trying to calm him down. One held a big syringe and the other prepared his arm to give him an injection. They pulled the curtains around his bed.675Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKoFzZZWjG
The screaming gradually stopped and when the nurses opened the curtains again, the boy was lying unconscious in his bed.
Sean was curious and asked the nurse what was wrong with the boy.
“He’s having his left leg amputated in the morning,” she said. “The poor boy is so nervous about it that he is trying to convince us that he’s not himself. He thinks if he says he’s not Martin, he won’t have to have the operation.”
“Are you sure you have the right person?” Sean asked.
“Of course,” replied the nurse. “His name’s Martin. It’s right there on his chart.”
Sean’s parents left and he sat on the edge of his bed, reading a book. Another nurse came around with a trolley to serve dinner, but he could only stoach a few mouthfuls. The hospital food was disgusting.675Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxajzWJtHwd
He lay on the bed for a while, staring at the ceiling. He was bored out of his mind. Just then, he noticed that Martin was waking up.
“Hey Martin,” he said, “My name’s Sean. I’m your new roommate.”
“I am not Martin,” the boy groaned as he rubbed his head.
Sean tried to have a conversation with him, but the boy was irritated and didn’t want to talk. He just sat there, silently brooding.
At 10 o’clock, a nurse came in and told them it was time to go to sleep. She said goodnight to them and turned off the lights. Just before the lights went out, Sean noticed the other boy staring at him with an odd look on his face.
He soon dozed off, but his sleep was haunted by strange dreams.
When Sean woke up the next morning, there were two doctors leaning over his bed.
“Let’s go, Martin,” said one of them. “It’s time for your surgery.”
Sean was confused. “What? But I’m not Martin,” he replied.
“The nurses warned us about you,” the other doctor replied. “They told us you’d say that.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” Sean insisted. “I’m telling you, I’m not Martin!”
One doctor reached out and checked the medical chart at the end of his bed.
“Of course you are,” he replied. “It says so right here on your chart.”
“That’s not right,” Sean screamed. “Somebody must have switched them!”
He started to struggle, but the doctors held him down and put him in a straight-jacket. As they placed him in a wheelchair and took him away, Sean was still screaming, “I’m not Martin! I’m not Martin!”
The last thing he saw as they wheeled him out the door was the smiling face of the real Martin.
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