ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 𝟷,𝟼𝟸𝟷
Karen walked into the
bedroom. Plankton lay
on their bed,
face half-buried in
a pillow. His snores
rumbled through the
quiet room. She took a
moment to appreciate
his vulnerability before
she gently nudged him
awake. He groaned, his
eye fluttering open. She offered
a soft smile. "It's time,"
she whispered.
"You're fine."
He nodded.
The drive to the oral
surgeon's office was tense.
The brightness
of the day seemed to mock
his anxiety.
Karen's hand squeezed
his, a silent promise of
support. As they checked in, the
receptionist's smile was
practiced, but kind.
The exam room
surgeon, a man named Dr.
Musselwhite, came in.
He explained the procedure
once more.
The nurse began
preparing anesthesia.
"You're doing great,"
Plankton took a deep breath,
vision blurring. The
last thing he saw was
Karen's face before the
world went dark.
Karen watched the
monitors as Plankton's
breathing evened out. She clutched
his hand, her thumb
making small circles on
his palm. Plankton's
snores had been replaced
by the steady rhythm of
his breathing under anesthesia.
She leaned
forward to Plankton's still form.
Her screen traced the
IV line.
Plankton's mouth was open
Dr. Musselwhite peered into. Plankton
twitched slightly in his sleep,
but the doctor's hand remained
steady.
Plankton's chest continued
to rise and fall
steadily, oblivious to the
battle being fought within
his mouth.
Dr. Musselwhite finished stitching.
"It's done," he announced.
"You did it," she murmured,
voice cracking.
Plankton lay still, his breathing
even and deep.
The surgery was over, and he
was alive. Karen leaned down to
kiss his forehead.
The nurse smiles. "He'll be
asleep for awhile," she said.
Karen nodded.
The only sounds were the
whispers of medical staff
and the hum of machinery.
The nurse wheeled him into
recovery, and Karen followed, the
medication still working its
magic.
Plankton's features were
relaxed in sleep, a stark
contrast to the fear that had
been etched there just hours
before.
Plankton's chest rose and fell
in a steady rhythm, a silent
testament to the successful
procedure by the
deep embrace of anesthesia.
As he started to stir, the
nurse offered a gentle smile as he
began to come around.
Plankton's eye fluttered open,
his gaze unfocused and glassy.
He blinked slowly.
"Hi, sweetheart," Karen's voice
was a warm embrace.
"Whaa-...happen'd?" he mumbled.
"You're ok," Karen said softly.
"They took your wisdom teeth out."
Plankton tries to piece together the
fragments of his memory.
He attempted to speak. "Ow?" he
managed.
Karen squeezed his hand.
Plankton's head
lolling slightly against the
pillow. His mouth felt like a
foreign landscape. Karen helped
him sit up, the nurse
getting gauze.
"You're going to need to
bite down," she said,
handing him a piece of gauze.
"It'll help with the bleeding."
He pressed
it to his mouth, the pressure
sending a dull throb through
his jaw.
"Hold it there," the nurse instructed,
her voice a gentle guide in
his foggy world. "Keep the
pressure steady. It'll help
the bleeding to stop."
Plankton nodded, his movements
sluggish.
The nurse handed Karen an ice
pack. "This'll help," she said.
"It's ok,"
she soothed. "You're all
done. The hard part is over."
Plankton nodded again, his
brain still foggy from the
remaining anesthesia.
He looked around
the recovery
room, his gaze
wondering.
"Whath's thith?"
Plankton pointed
at a machine.
Karen chuckled, the
tension easing from
her shoulders.
"It's just monitoring
you."
He nodded, his
eye still filled with
wonder. He looked
down at his hand,
studying it as if it
was the first time he'd
seen it. "Thith...han,"
he said, his voice trailing
off as he wiggled his
fingers.
"Yes, Plankton.
That's your hand."
He's mouth filled with gauze
and drool slowly seeping out.
"Karen?" he mumbles, his
voice thick and groggy. "Wha's?"
He points to
instruments.
"They're just tools the
doctor used to help you,"
she explains gently.
Plankton nods, his curiosity
satisfied for the moment.
His eye drift to the ceiling.
"Why do the wight
hab funny shapes?"
Karen follows his gaze.
"They're just patterns,
Plankton. They help the
ceiling look nice."
He nods, the concept of
aesthetics lost on him.
The nurse returns to check
his vitals. Plankton
watches her with the same
curiosity.
"Whath thoze do?" He points
to the stethoscope around
her neck, his speech still
slurred.
The nurse chuckles. "It's how
we listen to your heart."
Plankton nodded, his gaze
following as she placed the
stethoscope on his chest.
"Ca-- heaw it?" He
asked, his curiosity
unquenchable.
"That's your heart beating."
Plankton's eye grew
even wider, the
revelation a spark in the
haze. "Wow," he whispered,
his voice a mere breath.
Karen watched
his exploration with a
mixture of amusement and
affection.
The nurse returned with
discharge instructions, her
words a blur to Plankton's
still-numb mind. Karen took
the papers.
"Alright, let's get you
ready to go home," she said,
helping him to stand.
Karen's firm grip on his
arm steadied him.
Karen helped him into the car.
The seatbelt
was a puzzle he couldn't solve
under the fog of the lingering
drugs, but Karen buckles him
in before driving out of the
parking lot.
"Loog ath the treeth," Plankton
mumbled. "They're waving
hewwo," he said with a
sleepy smile.
Karen glanced over, her
own smile growing. "Yes,
sweetheart. They're saying hello."
Plankton's gaze shifted to the
mirror in the car. He blinked
at his reflection, the gauze
sticking out of his mouth.
"Who thad?" He pointed at
his reflection.
Karen chuckled.
"That's you, with a
little extra padding."
Plankton nodded, his
thoughts a slow river in
his sluggish mind.
"Thith car...it moveths,"
he murmured.
Karen chuckled. "Yes,
dear, it's a car. It takes
us places."
"Wook ath the clowds,"
he whispered, his voice
slurred.
"Thath one...loks wike a...,"
"It's a cloud," Karen said,
smiling at his childlike
wonder. "It's just water
vapor that looks like
something we see in our
imaginations."
Plankton nodded, his
eye drooping. The motion
of the car and the gentle
hum of the engine lulled
him into a doze. His head
nodded forward before
snapping back up again.
"Tired?" Karen asked.
"Mm-hmm."
His head lolled back
against the headrest, his
eye slipping shut.
The car's AC whispered
a gentle lullaby, the cool
air playing with the
strands of Plankton's antennae.
His chest rose and fell in
time with the rhythm of the
engine, each breath a soft
snore.
They arrived home.
Plankton stirred, his
eye blinking open.
Karen helped Plankton out of
the car. She held him
close, his weight a comforting
reminder of his presence.
Spot, the amoeba puppy,
bounded over, his gelatinous body
shifting shapes with excitement.
"Spoth," Plankton mumbled. The
puppy leapedfrogged over, his
form morphing into a blur of
happiness. Plankton's eye
lit up.
Plankton reached
for Spot with a clumsy hand,
his coordination still muddled.
Spot nudged his palm with
his squishy nose.
"Wook, Spoth," Plankton slurred,
his eye wide with childlike
wonder. "I hav- a booboo."
Spot nudges him. Plankton giggled.
"Easy, Plankton," Karen
cautioned, her voice a gentle
reminder of his fragile
state.
Spot's eyes widened in
surprise, his little body
shivering with joy. He wriggled
closer, his gelatinous tail
whipping back and forth in
a blur of excitement. Plankton
laughed.
They made their way to
the couch, Plankton's steps
uncertain, each movement
accompanied by a little giggle.
Spot followed.
Plankton flopped onto the cushions,
his body a limp noodle.
Spot jumped up beside him.
Plankton leaned onto
by Spot, his head lolling.
The puppy's
a comfort.
Plankton's eye grew
heavy, the weight of
his eyelid too much
for his sluggish
body to bear, his body
going slack.
"Rest," Karen said,
kneeling beside him. "You've
been through a lot today."
His hand
remained on Spot, the
puppy a comforting
presence.
Plankton's breaths grew
steady, his snores once again
filling the room.
Karen watched him sleep,
his chest rising and falling
beneath Spot's gentle weight.
The house was quiet,
the only sound the occasional
snort from Plankton's nostrils.
He slept all night, only waking
up the next morning.
Plankton awoke with a
start, his mouth wet with
drool, his eye focusing
slowly. The gauze was
still damp from the night's
excess saliva. He sat up.
"Wha..." Plankton looked
around, the room spinning
slightly. The couch was
his bed, Spot his blanket.
He reached up to
his mouth, the gauze
still in place, the taste of
cotton in his mouth. The
memory of the surgery was
distant.
Karen's face swam into
view, her smile a warm
sunrise. "How are you
feeling?" she asked, her voice
a gentle caress.
Plankton's eye searched
his mind, looking for the
missing pieces. "I don't...
member coming hone," he
mumbled, the words slurred.
Karen nodded, her smile
soft. "You fell asleep in
the car, sweetie. I brought
you home."
But any
details were lost, a foggy
dream slipping away with
each passing moment.
"Thish mouth," he said,
his tongue probing the empty
sockets. The pain was
a dull ache, a reminder of
his body's battle.
Karen handed him a glass
of water. "Thank you,"
he murmured.
"You're not supposed to eat
solids today," she reminded
him, placing a bowl of
soup on the coffee table.
"But I made some nice,
soft scrambled eggs and toast
for you to chew."
Spot's eyes glued to his
owner, his tail wagging.
Plankton's jaw felt like
it was made of rubber, but
the food was a heavenly
comfort. Karen sat beside
him, her screen never leaving
his face, watching for any
sign of discomfort.
"It'th okay," he assured
her, his speech still slurred.
He took another bite, his
mouth working carefully.
The taste was muted, a distant
memory of what food used
to be. Yet, the warmth and
texture brought a sense of
normalcy to the post-surgery
haze.