"Alright, Karen," Dr. Sands
said, “Plankton’s surgery
went smoothly. He’s in
recovery. You can
sit with him."
Karen hurried down
the sterile hallway.
As she pushed open the
door, she saw him
lying there, his face
swollen yet peaceful, eye
closed.
She took his hand. The
nurse looked up and offered
her a kind smile. "You can
talk to him," she said. "He’ll
wake soon."
Karen leaned in,
whispering, "Plankton, it’s
me. You’re ok. You’re in
recovery."
A faint twitch of his
brow was the first
sign that he was coming
around. His hand
squeezed back. Karen felt
relief as his eye slowly
opened. "Karen,"
he mumbled, "Whath...
happened?"
She explained, "You had your
wisdom teeth out,
sweet. It’s
over." His eye searched
hers, hazily.
Plankton tried to sit up,
but the nurse gently
pressed him back down.
"Take it easy," she
soothed, "you’re still a
little groggy." He looked
around with the
wonderment of a child
seeing the world for the
first time, his gaze
flitting from the
monitors to the IV bag. Each
detail seemed to fascinate
him as he whispered,
"Whath aww thish?"
The nurse chuckled. "That’s
meds," she
explained, pointing to
the IV. "It'll help you feel
better."
Plankton’s eye grew
wide, his curiosity
unfazed. "Thish ish weeeird," he
slurred. "I wook wike Sandy,"
he said.
Karen felt a tug at
her heart. "You're not
Sandy, you're my
handsome husband," she
teased, brushing his antennae. He
managed a lopsided grin
before wincing.
"How's the pain?"
she asked. Plankton
thumbed through the air,
indicating a moderate level.
The nurse took this as a
cue and injected more
medicine into his IV. He
sighed and his body
relaxed a bit more.
The world grew a
little less blurry around
the edges. He pointed
at the beeping monitor.
"Whath doe... does that
make the noithes?"
Karen chuckled. "It's
keeping track of your
heart, love," she
explained, as
his eye grew glossy with
fascination.
The nurse offered him
some water, which he
sipped greedily. He
looked at the clear
liquid in the cup, then
back at Karen, his expression
inquisitive. "An thish
keeps me...keeps me
alive?"
Karen nodded, smiling
tenderly. "Part of
it," she said, "but mostly
it’s the doctors and
nurses, and the love of
your family." Plankton
gazed at the bag of
saline hanging from the
IV pole, the clear fluid
traveling through the
tubes and into his
arm. "Wike magic," he
whispered, his voice filled
with awe.
The nurse laughed
gently. "In a way, it is,"
she said. "Your body's
own magic, with a little
help from us." Plankton
was mesmerized by the
simplicity and complexity
of it all. He had never
thought much about the
workings of a hospital
before, but now it
fascinated him.
He looked around the
small room, his eye
catching on the tray of
instruments used for his
procedure. "An whath
bout theesh?" he asked,
his speech still slurred but
his curiosity unbridled.
The nurse picked up a
cotton swab, demonstrating
how it was used to clean
his mouth after surgery.
"It's like a tiny magic
wand for your teeth,"
she said, earning another
weak smile from Plankton.
His gaze drifted to the
ceiling, where a grid of
tiny lights cast a soft glow
over everything. He squinted
as if he could see beyond
the surface. "How do thees wight
know when to turn on?"
he asked. Karen and the
nurse exchanged glances.
The nurse leaned over
and flipped a switch,
illuminating a panel of
buttons and dials. "This
is how we control the lights,"
she said. "But it's the
electricity that makes them
work."
Plankton's antennae
twitched with excitement.
"Whath’s dat?"
The nurse followed
his line of sight to a
heart monitor beeping
steadily beside his
bed. "That's keeping
track of your heart,
sweet."
Plankton's gaze
latched onto the
machine, his eye
lit with curiosity.
"It's like a little
alarm, telling us you're
still with us," Karen
explained.
He nodded slowly,
his mind racing with
questions. "How doe...
does ith know?"
The nurse, who had
seen this kind of
curiosity before,
explained, "It's
because of the sensors
we put. They send
signals to the machine,
and it reads your pulse."
Plankton nodded, his
eye still glued to the
monitor. Karen watched
as his gaze drifted from
the lights to the
various tubes and
wires connecting him to
the medical equipment.
"Whath do aww theesh
do?" he asked, his voice
slightly stronger now.
The nurse took a
deep breath. "Well, the
tubes are like tiny
highways, carrying air
and medicine to help you
feel better. The wires are like
electric fingers that
talk to the machines
about how your body's
doing."
Plankton’s eye lit up
at the thought. "So,
thees awe wike my
body’s besht fwends?"
Karen nodded, her
smile growing as she
saw his mind working,
trying to piece it all
together. He
reached out a hand,
his gaze fixated on a
tangle of wires that
disappeared into the
wall. "Whewe do thee...
do thee go?"
The nurse
explained, "Those
wires connect to a big
machine outside, like a
magic box that makes
sure you're ok." Plankton
tried to follow her
finger as it traced the
invisible path of the
wires through the
wall and into the
distance.
He looked at the
various tubes and
cords with new
interest. "Whath's theesh?"
he slurred, pointing at
the IV line. Karen took a
moment to think before
answering, trying to
simplify it. "It's like a
tiny straw that gives you
medicine to take away
the ouchies," she said.
Plankton nodded,
his antennae waving
slightly with the
realization. "An thish
makesh me sleepy?"
"That's right," Karen
said, her voice soothing.
"It's part of the
medicine to help
you relax."
Plankton's gaze
wandered to the
suction device. "Whath's
thish for?"
The nurse picked
it up, demonstrating
how it worked. "It's
like a little vacuum
cleaner for your mouth,
helping to keep it nice
and clean," she said,
turning it on to show
the gentle whirring.
Plankton's antennae
twitched with excitement.
"Can I thry ith?" he
asked, his voice a
mixture of anticipation
and hope. The nurse
laughed and gently
shook her head. "No more
today, Plankton," she
said, "You get to
go home with Karen."
They began the
process of unhooking
his IV and removing
the sensors. Each
motion was met with
his sleepy protests, as
his curiosity about
his new environment
was still piqued. He
watched as the tubes
were detached, the
beeping monitors silenced,
and the magic lights
above him dimmed. Karen
helped him to his feet.
The journey to the
car was an adventure
for Plankton. He took
in every detail of the
hospital's inner
workings, from the
whirring of the gurney's
wheels to the soft
hum of the elevator.
He pointed at the
ceiling, his antennae
twitching as he
observed the cobwebs
of wiring above. "Wook,
Karen, ith wike Spider-
Man's web!" he exclaimed.
Karen chuckled,
supporting his arm
as they moved slowly
through the corridors.
"Careful now, Plankton,"
she said, guiding him
around a corner. His
eye widened at the sight
of a janitor pushing a
large, industrial
vacuum cleaner. "Whath's
thath?" he asked, his voice
filled with a mix of
fear and awe.
The janitor looked
up and smiled at the
odd question. "It's just
for cleaning the floors,"
he said before returning
to his task. Plankton
stared at the machine,
his antennae waving
frantically. "Ith’s a floor
monster," he whispered to
Karen, who couldn't help
but laugh.
As they approached
the exit, the bright
sunlight beckoned from
beyond the double doors.
Plankton squinted, his
sensitive eye not yet
adjusted to the glare. Karen
helped him into the car,
movements slow and
measured.
On the drive home,
his head lolled against
the headrest, but his
eye remained open,
taking in the passing
scenery. Trees and buildings
drifted by like a
dreamscape, each detail
seemingly more intricate
than the last. "Karen, whath
ith that?" he asked.
"That's a tree," she
replied, glancing at
his reflection in the
rearview mirror,
seeing the childlike
wonder in his
swollen face. "You know
trees, Plankton."
He nodded, but his
antennas didn't stop
waving. "Buh why doe...
why do they move?"
The car's motion made
the world outside seem
to sway and dance, and
his curiosity grew.
"It's just an
illusion," Karen
explained, "because we're
the ones moving." Plankton
considered this for a
moment, then
mumbled, "Buh whath if
the treeh woke up and
started to move?" Karen
smiled at his whimsy,
glad to see him feeling
better despite the
lingering grogginess.
The car pulled into
their driveway, and
Karen helped him out,
his legs still wobbly from
the anesthesia. The
ordinary sights of home
now held a new kind of
enchantment for him. The
mailbox looked taller, the
grass greener, and the
ocean bluer than he
remembered.
Walking through the
front door, Plankton took
it all in, his antennae
twitching at the
unfamiliar sounds of
their home. Karen led
him to the couch and
propped a pillow under
his head, tucking a
soft blanket around him.
He sighed, sinking into
the cushions, his body
finally giving in to the
comfort.
The TV flickered to
life, and the nurse’s
words came back to him.
"Thish ish like my
body's besht fwends," he
mumbled to himself, his
hand absentmindedly tracing
the line of his now
removed IV.
Karen sat beside
him, her hand in his,
watching his eye slowly
drift closed. "Rest now,
love," she whispered,
kissing his forehead.
Plankton’s grip tightened
slightly before relaxing,
his breathing evening out.
The quiet hum of the
air conditioner and the
muted TV became a
soothing lullaby. Karen
couldn't help but feel
a sense of pride at
his newfound fascination
with the world. Despite
the pain, he had found
beauty in the mundane, a
testament to his resilient
spirit.