Artificial Heart

They released her soon after, all her tests clear. The pains in her stomach and chest remained a mystery. And as to the cause of her collapse—they eventually put it down to stress, exhaustion and menopause.

In other words—they had no idea.

But Prisha had an idea—and so did her sister.

‘What the hell did he do to you?’ she murmured on their drive home.

Prisha didn’t answer, staring through the windshield as she tried to think.

‘I want to stay with you today,’ her sister said.

‘No. You need to rest. You shouldn’t have stayed, Nay. It was a waste of time. And what about work?’

’I’ll cancel work for the day. You’re more important.’

‘I’ll be fine. The doctors said so.’

‘Only because they don’t know what’s going on.’ Her sister rolled her eyes. ‘Menopause. They blame everything on that. You should have told them the truth.’

‘Are you kidding? They’d throw me in the psych ward!’

‘But someone needs to know about this,’ Renee said as they pulled up at her house.

They got out of the car. Prisha shook out her keys and opened her front door. The sun was rising, glaring through her kitchen window. She pulled down the blind, head throbbing.

‘We can’t just let it go as nothing,’ Renee continued. ‘See another doctor. Get someone who knows about this … kind of thing to give us some answers.’

Prisha snorted. ‘Tell who, Nay? You’ve already tried the police.’

’I’ll go online. Find somewhere. Someone.’

‘Find a cult group, more like. And a quack.’

‘It’s better than nothing!’

‘Could you just let me handle it please?’

‘Like collapsing on the floor again?’ They glared at each other. Her sister sighed. ‘I’m just worried about you, that’s all. This is terrifying.’

‘I know.’

‘Do you think your heart’s really gotten better?’

They both sat down at the dining table. Prisha folded her hands together on top of it. Renee leaned back in her seat, forehead creased with worry.

Prisha pressed a hand to her chest. ’I think so. I haven’t had a single palpitation since I got back. I’m sore too. Right here. Like I said. It’s like he’s … it’s like he’s gone in there.’

Her sister stared at her.

‘No scar, though.’ Prisha shrugged and gave an embarrassed laugh. ‘I’m probably just full of shit. Why would he bother fixing me?’

‘Good point.’ Renee looked over at the blanket folded up on Prisha’s living room cabinet. Her face brightened. ‘I forgot all about that.’

‘What are you doing?’ Prisha said a little too sharply as she went over and touched it.

’But we do have evidence. Something extraterrestrial.’ She picked it up. ‘We could hand this in—and then they’ll see. They’ll see everything we said was real!’

‘No! I mean … no they won’t. It just looks like a typical space blanket. You know—the ones they use to keep people warm when they’re sick? They won’t even try. They’ll just laugh at us.’

Her sister’s forehead puckered. ‘You don’t want to send it in.’

‘It’s just like I told you, they won’t believe …’

‘No, that’s not the reason.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Prisha frowned.

’Prish.’

’Nay.’ Prisha held out her hands. ‘Give it back.’

Her sister took a step back, shaking her head.

’Give it back. It’s mine!’

‘Is it? You took it, remember? We have to hand it in. We need answers.’

‘Hand it in to who?’

‘I don’t know!’

Inexplicably, hot tears filled Prisha’s eyes. ’They’ll take it and I won’t get it back. It’s the only thing I have of the greatest adventure of my life and you want to take it away from me.’

‘I want to help you, Prish,’ he sister said quietly. ‘What if something bad happens?’

‘Like what?’

’I-I don’t know. Anything.’

Prisha held out her arms. ‘Give it to me,’ she said in a voice that didn’t sound like hers. Deep, almost growling.

Her sister held it out and Prisha took it. Prisha clutched it to her chest.

‘I’m worried about you, Sis.’

Prisha sagged. ‘I know. But I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.’ Prisha glanced towards the door.

‘O-Okay. Right.’ Renee got the message. ’I see I can’t convince you. But just … just call me if anything … you know … happens, goes wrong, whatever.’

‘I will.’ Prisha smiled.

‘And don’t do anything stupid.’

‘Of course not.’

Her sister narrowed her eyes. ‘I’ll call every day. You’d better answer.’

‘I’ve got a life, Nay!’

Her sister wrapped her arms around her. Something hard swelled in Prisha’s throat as she hugged back.

‘I’ll call you tonight,’ her sister said. She gave a wan smile, then turned and left. The door clicked shut behind her.

Prisha looked down at her blanket, already feeling guilty about her plan the following Saturday. She loved her sister but there was no way she was going to miss out on another encounter. Unravelling the blanket, Prisha wrapped it around herself. You’re cold. The stars. The thrill. The terror. The amazement that had carved a tunnel through her stomach into somewhere deep down in the core of her. How could she just go back to her normal life?

Prisha’s chin sank to her chest.

The week moved with agonising slowness. It was hard to work. It was hard to think. It was hard to fall asleep. Her mind wouldn’t give her a rest. All she saw was that startling helmeted figure. That awesome spaceship. The blackness of space.

The only thing she could do, other than lie in her lawn chair all evening staring up at the stars, was exercising. It was the only thing that could direct her mind and energy elsewhere effectively. The pain. The gruelling nature. It was what she needed. And she threw herself into it. It was why she was puffed when she answered her sister’s phone call late Thursday evening.

‘Why are you panting? What you doing?’ she asked suspiciously.

‘Just working out.’

‘Are you eating enough?’

‘Of course I am!’

‘Sleeping?’

‘Jesus, Nay. Leave me alone.’

Like she’d promised, her sister had been calling her every day. And just like Prisha didn’t promise, she lied. But there was no way she was going to tell her the truth. That she’d had another collapse again—this time for only a few minutes. That she was eating surprising amounts of food. That she was waking up in the middle of the night multiple times with nightmares and restless legs she couldn’t control.

She tried to convince herself it was menopause. Her period was all over the place. It wasn’t supposed to hit her for another two weeks—and it was heavy. But it didn’t answer everything. Her hot flushes were actually getting better. Her face had cleared of pimples. And despite not sleeping properly, she had more energy. Another reason why she was exercising more. Her palpitations remained non-existent.

Nothing made sense.

Was she going crazy?

She finished tying her swag onto her backpack and picked up her hiking sticks. She opened the boot and tossed them inside. It had been bright and sunny earlier but now ominous clouds were gathering. She’d checked the weather forecast. It was supposed to storm tonight. It wouldn’t stop her.

Nothing would.

It was a few hours before twilight by the time she reached the hiking trail. She’d parked as close as she could to the clearing but it was still going to take at least three hours to get there. A rain drop hit her head. Ignoring it, Prisha shouldered her backpack into a more comfortable position, gripped her hiking sticks and went on her way.

She was fast. It was easy. Prisha was already a fit woman but she felt even stronger than usual. The simple lure of adventure would entice anyone to walk faster, she supposed. Her mind was already far ahead, in time and space, leaving her body behind. The time swept away.

Her heart was racing.

She reached the clearing thirty minutes early. It was raining. She wore wet weather gear but she could still feel her shirt sticking to her back. She could make out the sun still hovering over the horizon, a glimpse of red peering through the branches. Her heart was thudding at the thought of the red beaming light of the spaceship.

Prisha set up camp, trying her best not to get everything soaked. At least it wasn’t windy. She went directly down to the clearing, boots slopping through the mud. It was empty. Even as the sun sank behind the horizon, it remained empty. Prisha wiped the tears from her eyes, annoyed at herself. It was worth it. She had to see. She knew it was a long shot. An impossible shot. Why would he return? He never said he would. She was just one human amongst eight other billion. Why should she be special at all? He might even be out exploring somewhere else. Out abducting someone else. Prisha felt a rush of jealousy. This was her adventure. Not theirs.

And what if she missed him last week/ She’d promised him—and broke it. Maybe he’d been waiting and now he wasn’t going to return. The thought left a sickly feeling in her stomach.

What if she’d missed her only chance?