The Decision

His brother had gotten him a female therapist. Her name was Clara. The irony wasn't lost on Luis. It was like his accident drew him closer to the female gender. Maybe there was something about them the universe wanted him to learn with the way they kept pushing them in his face.

Luis had a little chat with his brother earlier that day. He couldn't believe his brother had left him in the icy presence of their mother all by himself. He didn't know how to deal with her. He felt like he had been thrown as a prey to a pack of wolves and all that was left dead for them to devour him.

True to his feelings, he felt like a mass of bones and flesh when his mother was done with him. She put her foot down and stood strongly against him, moving back to Spain. Eduardo had chuckled when he relayed the experience to him. He had described their mother as a feral cat. A hunter. She was resilient. Luis groaned at the comparison.

First things first. And right now, the first thing was his physical strength. He was expecting his new female therapist today. He called his brother again to make sure the woman was still going to show up. He had reminded his brother to warn the doctor. He was going to give her hell, unapologetically.

Eduardo had asked him to behave himself, but he was having none of that. "I'm going to get her running towards the hills and screaming." That had been his reply to Eduardo's warnings. And without a proper goodbye, he hung up on his very busy brother, who had taken time out to talk to him. He would not feel guilty about that either. It was his consolation towards the female therapist.

The doorbell rang out and Luis' ears perked up. He knew it could only be a therapist. He was expecting no one else, but there was no way he could answer the door. He didn't need to worry. The door opened, and he heard footsteps flitter through the house.

A knock sounded on his bedroom door. "Come on in." He commanded, and the door swung open. A young woman who looked to be in her late thirties walked in wearing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Her feet were clad in a pair of white Nike shoes.

"Who?" He asked, looking her up and down, and acting like he didn't know the business that brought her to his living quarters.

"Your therapist. Clara. Nice to meet you, Mr. Ortega." With little ado, she took out her notepad and a pen and began scribbling. Luis had seen a lot of those the past few months of his indisposition. He wondered what she was writing. She had done no checkups yet.

"I've looked at the CT scans of your injuries and I assure you that there's a lot of hope in making you walk again. As long as we are consistent in our trainings."

"When do we begin?" Luis asked.

"Well, right now. If you'd like."

Oh, wonderful. Luis thought. His brother did promise to get him the best doctor after all. His earlier apprehension towards her gender seemed to dissolve at once. He nodded immediately, giving her his permission to begin.

"Let's begin." Clara walked back into the room with a knowing smile. She must have overheard his conversation with his brother. Luis kept a straight face and sat up. She took out a needle from her purse and sat at the foot of the bed where his feet lay.

"Can you feel this?" she asked and pricked him. Luis winced at the sharp pain but could not withdraw his leg. Clara nodded knowingly.

"This is good. It means you haven't lost sensation in your legs and that your muscles haven't atrophied either. Soon you'll be able to stand on your feet again. I'm guessing that's enough for today." She stood and packed her tools.

"Wait, what? Is that all?" He asked, looking paranoid. Clara smiled and nodded. "What happened to making me walk and all that talk about me not having difficulty with walking again?"

"Slow and steady wins the race, Mr. Ortega. Have a nice evening." Clara stated and left him behind. Luis looked on speechless. He didn't understand how the world worked. Maybe it was just the amnesia, but he was seeing the world in a different light. Everything worked backwards. Or maybe his brain worked backwards.

The urge to pick up his phone and call his brother one more time was so great, but he resisted it. He had a lot of things to say to his brother, but that would wait a while.

~~~~~~

It's been two months already. Luis had come a long way with his therapy. Today, he was going to take a long walk round the perimeter. Eduardo had come along to watch his performance. Today was supposed to be his last physical training, and he would be a free man.

Clara had been like a drill master for the past two months. Drill master was an understatement. Luis thought of her as his personal slave master. But he accepted it all in good faith, knowing it would all end one day. After all, life had a way of giving us the prize, but only after you've suffered a loss.

Eduardo stood off by the side with a proud look on his face while Luis walked around, flexing his legs. He was alright. He couldn't be up on his feet for more than a few hours, but he could finally be useful to himself. He didn't need those meddling nurses anymore.

"We've come to the end of your sessions, Mr. Ortega. From now, I'll just come for a few checkups once in a while, and don't cannot report to your brother or me if you notice any discomforts. Physical therapy can be tricky." She gave him a big smile and shook hands with him before turning to take her leave.

Luis was all smiles. He loved he was back on his feet. He felt powerful and like he could conquer the entire world. Like he could do whatever he set his mind to.

"You've done marvelously well, little brother." Eduardo congratulated him and clapped his shoulder. He led him to the sidewalk, and they took a seat. Louis could feel the pain throbbing in his hips. He grimaced and tried to hide it from his brother. He was lucky for the seat Eduardo led him to.

"Congrats, man." Eduardo congratulated him wearing the biggest smile, like he was the one who had gotten back his ability to walk. Luis knew his joy was infectious. They took their seats on the long bench and settled into a comfortable silence, but just for a few minutes.

"Next plan?" Eduardo asked. Luis smirked.

"Since I have my legs back, I'll be pushing through with my initial plans." Eduardo gave him a reassuring nod.

"How's father doing?" Luis asked. During the past weeks of his therapy, his father had suffered a chronic heart failure and had been bedridden ever since. Eduardo had been the one to see to their needs, while Luis was charged with being focused on getting better.

"There's really b en no improvement. But he's conscious now. Mother must be so worn out looking out for him all by herself." Eduardo explained. Luis nodded.

"Take me to them." He announced. Eduardo pursed his lips and studied his brother carefully. Then slowly, he shook his head, refusing Luis' request. Luis was taken aback by his refusal.

"What's going on?" He asked, feeling confused.

"You're only going to burden them with all these talks about returning to Spain. They don't want that, and I don't think you telling them, especially now, would bode well for them. Might I suggest you give it a little thought and maybe wait a while till we see some positive changes in father?"

"Whose side are you on, dear brother?" Luis asked, feeling anger bubble inside him. Eduardo opened his mouth to speak, but Luis cut him off, not wanting to hear what explanation he had.

"I'm not asking their permission to live my life, Eduardo. I'm just going to tell them just so they can be aware. I don't care if they oppose my plans, it doesn't make a difference. I've made my decision, and that's what I'm going to do. Enough time has been wasted already." Luis hissed, staring Eduardo straight into the eye. If he didn't feel so much pain on his hips, he would have walked away from his brother after that speech. But he still needed his brother to get to the car.

"I just don't want you to break their hearts any further than it already is."

"Come on. I'm thinking you should take me to see them right now."