The Sheet

Act Two

On your birthday, one would expect to receive gifts, kisses, and all that comes with it. Ending up in a hospital bed because of a drunk and angry father, however, was not on the list, except for him: Thomas, a fourteen-year-old, the school's laughingstock, and the 'town fool.'

Apart from several bruises and a couple of missing teeth, everything was fine; at least, he had to stay there for a while, away from his peers and the man who had left him in that state.

He had company: during visiting hours, his entire family and friends had come to see him. They had to take turns because there were so many of them.

Leaning against the raised backrest of the bed, he watched as they slept, with the woman he had figured out to be his mother asleep in a chair next to her son's bed. But no one was there for him, nor would anyone come.

Sleep and sadness soon overcame him, and he sank into his nightmares...

"Hello, Thomas!"

He woke up abruptly and stared in alarm as an elderly doctor approached him. He glanced at the clock on the wall in front of him; it was almost midnight.

"H-hi," he replied with a hoarse voice.

"How are you?" the doctor continued. Tommaso looked at him more closely; he had hair and a beard the same color as his lab coat. Nothing unusual, but a moment ago, he had seen a strange glimmer in the doctor's eyes. It had lasted the blink of an eye, but it had unsettled him a bit.

"I-I'm better."

"Excellent," he exclaimed, displaying a jovial smile before lowering his gaze to rummage in his pockets for something.

"Do I need more tests?"

"What? Oh no..." he replied without looking up.

"But where... ah-ha!" With a triumphant air, he pulled a white envelope from his pants and handed it to the boy. "Take it; it's yours," he said.

"Huh?"

"Isn't it your birthday today?"

"Oh, yes, well..." what should he say? "Thank you, but you don't have to..."

"Don't worry, my young friend," he replied in a friendly manner.

Given the doctor's insistence, he eventually accepted the strange gift.

"What's inside?"

"Anything you want," and suddenly, everything went black, and he saw and felt nothing more.