~ a short story
Bruce sat across from his doctor. A shuddering ache washed itself over his body. Bright lights rained on him and made him feel worse than he already did.
“I just feel wrong, doc,” he said. The man with glasses studied him intelligently, still trying to pick up the information.
“No pain,” Dr. Aya repeated.
“No pain, just a… lurking throb. Dull. I can… *feel* my bones.”
“And when did this start?”
“I don’t know. A year… No longer. It’s kinda always been this way.”
“This feeling of your bones. But it’s gotten worse of late?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why you are here?”
Bruce turned in his chair, rubbed his body in spots. “I’m just feeling more and more like a different person.”
Dr. Aya lowered his head a moment. Bruce awaited his answer, a diagnosis. Finally, he shrugged,
“You appear to be showing signs of skeleconsciousness.”
The trained man of medicine spoke the word matter-of-factly.
“…What is skeleconsciousness?” asked Bruce, starting to understand the descriptor and match it to the feeling in his body.
Dr. Aya took off his glasses as he spoke.
“Skeleconsciousness is the idea that you start to feel your bones like you can skin or muscle. But further than that, there is the prospect…” He paused. Bruce looked on expectantly.
“…that the bones gain in awareness. In consciousness.”
“What does that mean?” Bruce stammered.
“It means,” Dr. Aya said with finality, “that a separation is imminent.”
“A… separation,” Bruce breathed.
“Mr. Bowen, your bones want out.” ~
