'So this large friend of yours carried you on his back all the way?'
'No doctor, only in here, I was mostly resting on his push-cart. That nice lady on the desk let us see you first, because she thought it was urgent.'
The overworked doctor raised his eyebrows. 'From the way that piece of bone is sticking out of your leg sonny, it is urgent.' He turned to the larger boy, 'Put him down on that paper-covered couch, and never mind his dirty shoes. How did it happen?'
. The big lad stretched his friend out on the couch and only grunted, but the young lad spoke up brightly, 'My bicycle on that muddy patch near the village pond caused it. My front wheel skidded and I fell off, when we were having a race. I'm sorry to be so much trouble. I did what I could to mend it, but I had to get Joey to bring me to you. I couldn't manage it by myself. I'm not strong enough.'
The doctor finished the examination, looking puzzled. He sat down on the side of the couch, saying, ‘I should set that broken bone right away but the lower part of it, inside your leg, seems to be partly covered over with new skin. I've never seen anything like that before. It'll be in the way if I try to set the two ends together here. I must call for an ambulance.'
'I’m sure you can fix it, if you cut that new skin away first.' The boy protested.
'Now look sonny, I can't do that here… safely!' the doctor replied testily, offended at being told what to do by a child. 'You need to go to hospital, for some X-rays before and after the operation.'
'Please doctor, I'll be in enough trouble at home for damaging my bicycle. If you could just put that bone back in now… I'll do the rest.'
The doctor was shocked. 'What do you mean, you'll do the rest? How could you do anything?'
'Well, once the bones are back, I'll mend the break. Then if you hold the edges of the skin back together, I'll get them to seal up properly.' The boy grinned.
'What are you talking about sonny? How could you possibly do that?'
The boy smiled again. 'I do it often, I'm always cutting myself or knocking pieces off. I often have to look at myself all over, with a mirror, to see what needs mending. My mother is always telling me to be more careful.'
The doctor began to feel faint. 'Now don't try any of your jokes with me. Are you telling me that you can heal yourself?'
'Yes, of course I can. You tell him Joey … isn't that right?'
Joey grunted again and nodded, 'That's what he does!'
'I've never heard of such a thing.' exclaimed the doctor.
'Anyone can heal themself,' said the boy. 'I can just do it quicker.'
'Just a moment!' gasped the doctor. 'You aren't feeling any pain are you?'
The boy grinned again, 'That's right, I never do. That's why I keep having to see if I've lost anything. I never feel anything, like what you call pain, when I have an accident. Not at the time or even later. But please, put that bone back for me. My mother gets very cross if I'm late for my dinner.'
The doctor was feeling disorientated, but in a daze he put on some plastic gloves and went to work. After spraying the area with a sterilizing solution, he cut away the shiny new skin with a scalpel and then took hold of the boy's leg each side of the break. His large hands went around them comfortably.. 'Now my boy, this will hurt but… er…' He didn't finish the sentence.

Minutes later, with the bone ends neatly back in position, his jaw dropped as he watched the skin around the break begin to join up again, by itself.
'If you hold the sides in place properly, I can make it work faster,' the small boy said confidently
Belief suspended, the doctor began to manipulate the edges of the cut skin and bring them together over the exposed bone. As he watched, astounded, he saw it happen just as the boy had predicted.

Minutes later, the leg appeared to be as good as new, and the boy sat up. The doctor protested. 'Just a minute sonny, you can't leave yet. I have to put a splint on that leg.'
'What's a splint, doctor?'
'It's a special length of shaped wood to bind around a broken leg temporarily. In the hospital they’ll change it for plaster all around your leg, You must then wait for it to set hard, before you try to walk again it, using crutches, like those two over there by the wall'
'I won't need those,' the boy grinned. 'The bone is all sealed up already.'
'I don't believe it,' gasped the doctor.
The boy jumped off the couch. 'Come on Joey,' he shouted. 'I'll race you back to your cart.'

Before the doctor could stop them, the two lads dashed out of the surgery, across the waiting room and into the corridor. He thought about chasing after them, but gave up the idea, his mind in a whirl. Through a large window he saw them running towards a rickety wooden cart, in his driveway. Minutes later, he was staggered to see his ex-patient pushing it; with the larger lad comfortably seated in the cart, urging him on.
The doctor went out to his receptionist, white-faced. 'Did you get that patient's name?‘ he whispered.
She shook her head, as he happened to noticed a well-thumbed magazine on a reading rack. In large bold letters its cover read…

HUMAN MUTATIONS AND EVOLUTION!
What might come next?


Author's Note: If you liked this tall(?) quirky tale, there are many more available, plus my first novel, POINTS OF VIEW... see my website: www.tonythorne.com and try the contest?

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Texte: Tony Thorne MBE
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 29.10.2012

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