A New Life – Fresh Start

(A New Life 0 – see below)

AAAABBBBCCCC – Test, test. 1234567890 OK.  Hello?

Sorry. I’m just starting my journal and everything is so new. Dr. F. has been helping me with my language. Dr. F. is always looking out for my interests. I decided writing is the best way to practice since I’m currently pretty isolated – I’m sure you’re impressed with that word, “isolated”, since I just learned to write last week. I’m still learning to talk and language is just so new to me.

Maybe I should start from the beginning.

When I first woke up I wasn’t very together. In fact, my various parts were rejecting each other. Slowly my body parts are starting to accept each other and congeal (!) but in the early days I thought I’d fall apart. Literally.

Not only was my body having problems synchronizing its actions, my mind was all a muddle (“synchronizing” – word!). As I grow sharper I can actually make better sense of things that happened in those early hours.

I didn’t have any language. My mind was a clean slate. I could take information in, but I couldn’t quite process it since it had no meaning. Even if I could process it, my muscles had problems with small motor skills so I wouldn’t be able to properly communicate in return. I broke quite a few things, including ear drums, in those early days.

Dr. F. was excited by my progress but didn’t have much time and only came into my room on occasion. He’d examine me and talk to me, but then he’d leave. I knew he truly loved me as a son, but he was just so busy with his research.

His assistant spent a little more time. I can never remember the name. It’s something like Egan, Igon, Ivan or Ian. Anyway, the assistant brought in food and sat and talked to me, mostly saying how nobody understood his troubles. He must not have realized I could hear and was forming some understanding because he often rambled on and on about his personal problems.

One day Ivan (or whatever) forgot to close the cell door. If left an open invitation, I’ll take it.

It was night out in the world. I walked into the woods and was soon attracted to a fire. Five kids sat around the fire.

One of the kids was saying, “Just then the monster came out of the darkness and said…”

I tried to say, “Hello!” at this point but it came out as a low, guttural, “Grrrroommphtaugh”.

The kids turned to me and let out little screams of delight. They decided to play some sort of chase game and I was “it”. I ran and tagged each of them in turn and returned back to the fire. I must’ve had the game wrong because they didn’t come back.

I was then hit by a rock. This must have been a new game. I picked up a large rock and was about to throw it when I heard Dr. F’s voice.

“Don’t! Put the rock down! You might hurt them.”

I put the rock down.

The doctor came out of darkness and said, “You understood me, didn’t you?”

I nodded and said, “Grwwess. Kwwwelp mmrreeee.”

“Help you?” the Doctor asked. “Help you do what?”

“Tweraahhk. Bluuurnn. Grreeead,” I answered.

“Talk, learn and read?” the Doctor said. “Maybe you’re right and I have been too impatient. Let’s go home.”

So started my education. DVDs, TV shows, language programs. Every day I spent hour after hour learning. And I learned very quickly. The Doctor said the language must have still been in my brain from the previous owner, but we could never extract any of the other information the donor should have had. I tell the Doctor that I’m just smart. He laughs. He likes me.

Today I swiped a stack of the little lab notebooks Dr. F always has handy to write his research notes. I’m going to use them to keep a little journal. This journal will mostly be used to help me practice my newly acquired language skills and will hopefully help increase the fluency of my ideas. Did you see that last sentence!

That is the beginning of my new life. I’m sure that you, my fictional reader, will get to know me very well as my journal continues.

Oh, oh. I hear someone coming down the dungeon steps. Bye!

—-

Note  – I forgot Friday is the first so Final Friday Frank is late.

– I decided to make a new intro into the series.  I’ll continue the story in the next installment.