If I only had a brain! | Teen Ink

If I only had a brain!

May 9, 2024
By cshatzman101 BRONZE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
cshatzman101 BRONZE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

In a world full of uncertainty and unpredictable behaviors, there is one room that always remains constant. Its gray walls, lined with thick blue lines paired with ample overhanging light, create a unique atmosphere resembling dullness and conformity. Brain Walker greatly liked this room. It comforted him that life-saving measures were always just inches away and that a group of trained professionals attended to his daily needs. He couldn't wrap his head around why he was confined to this 80-square-foot dull room. However, when one of his servants entered the room, this thought soon faded as a faint memory. 

"Good morning, Brain! How are you feeling on this wonderful day?" Malinda said.

Brain couldn't believe his ears: How dare one of his servants playfully speak to him. Doesn't she know that Brain Walker is a world-famous artist who single-handedly painted "A Starry Night"? This enraged Brain to the point that the lines on his paintings soon match his forehead. 

"Who do you think you are, Malinda? My name is Mr.Walker to you. Your role as my servant is caring for me and fetching my canvases. I am ready to paint now; go fetch a blank one for me right now," Mr.Walker stated while turning over in bed. 

Malinda smiled painfully and stated, "Of course, Mr.Walker, let me grab you a blank canvas to work on." 

As Malinda quickly scattered out of the room, Mr.Walker rose from his concealed posture in bed and strolled to the only mirror in his small room. As he looked at the unfamiliar face before himself, Mr.Walker felt something off about his appearance. The black stubble on his face reminded him of some instance where a romantic partner commented about his need to shave if he ever wanted to kiss them again. However, there was nothing more that Mr.Walker could put a pin on in his ever-so-faded memory. Although Mr.Walker loved being treated like royalty, there was something suspicious about the dullness of his room as an artist. Soon before this thought could be answered, Malinda returned to the dull room with a thick 12 X 6-inch white canvas.

"Malinda! Long time no see! How are the kids?" Mr.Walker said.

Malinda kept her head down, carefully avoiding answering Mr. Walker's questions while dropping the canvas off in Mr. Walker's room. She silently left, leaving a trail of empathy behind her. Mr.Walker was puzzled. 

"Hmm, I wonder why Malinda didn't respond. She's normally so sweet." Mr.Walker explained while again staring at himself in the mirror. With a sorrowful glare of uneasiness, Mr.Walker mournfully signed his name on the canvas, walked to the corner of the dull room, and placed his freshly signed canvas onto a pile of stacked signed canvas before returning to bed.

___________

The following day, the same feeling of uneasiness washed over Mr.Walker as in many days before. He couldn't help but shake the sense that there was just something off about this room of occupancy. But again, Malinda entered the room before he could fit the missing pieces of his unknown memories. 

"Malinda! It's been too long! How are the kids?" Mr.Walker said without recognizing his actions the morning before. 

Malinda quietly exchanged the yellow bag next to Mr. Walker's bed, which was connected to the lower half of his body, with a clear bag before pouting her way to the door. 

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, girl!! Now go fetch me my new canvas quickly!" Mr.Walkers rudely said. 

Malinda sighed deeply before a deep, maleficent smile graced her lips.

"Of course, Mr.Walker! I'll be right back," Malinda said. 

The time that Mr.Walker was waiting for Malinda to come back felt like an eternity had gone by after each minute. In the meantime, however, he couldn't help but be astounded by his pile of art on the floor beside him. "I am so talented; being a world-famous artist is hard." He said to himself. Soon after this thought left Mr. Walker's mind, Malinda returned with a small, white letter instead of a blank canvas for Mr.Walker to paint his next masterpiece on. This enraged Mr.Walker to the point where he got out of his bed and put a look of rage on his face. 

"Are you mentally incompetent, Malinda?!?! I clearly asked for a blank canvas to work on, and you gave me this crappy piece of paper?! You are fired!" Mr.Walker yelled 

Without saying a word, Malinda quickly evaded the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the letter in Mr. Walker's room for him to open. She knew, however, that she would see him tomorrow. Right after Malinda left, Mr.Walker walked over to the letter and read it aloud out of curiosity. 

"Dear Brain, 

You are in a Hospital. Malinda is your nurse, and you have been in a terrible accident. I don't know how long you have been here, but your memory fades daily. But the only way to escape this vicious cycle is to look at yourself in the mirror; the answer is in the reflection behind your eyes. 

Sincerely, Brain Walker" 

Brain couldn't believe what he had just read. Had he had another life other than the walls of this Hospital room? And why couldn't remember anything about his former life? With this newly found knowledge, he looked once at the signature of the letter and once at the signatures on the signed canvases in the corner of the room: the handwriting was the same.

Brain decided then that he would follow the instructions he had made for himself step by step to try to solve this airy mystery. He walked straight to the mirror and glared at himself while pondering the line, "The answer is the reflection behind your eyes." After an eternity staring at himself, trying to unravel the message behind his eyes, defeat soon washed over him.

"I'll just solve this tomorrow. I’m so stupid, why can’t I solve this. Oh, if I only had a brain!" Brain said  

____________

The following day, Brain Walker, in his most authentic form, rudely requested a fresh blank canvas for his next masterpiece when Malinda came knocking on his door. 


The author's comments:

 For this short story, I was inspired by the movie "The Wizard of Oz." Mainly, I was interested in the storyline of the Scarecrow character when he sang the song "If I Only Had a Brain." Essentially, in the movie, the Scarecrow desperately wanted a brain to have a meaningful life instead of only taking on the task of scaring away crows from a crop field. The Scarecrow joins Dorthy to travel down the yellow brick road since the Wizard of Oz is known to be able to give him a brain. However, after he visits the Wizard of Oz, he is granted a diploma instead and instantly says an intelligent phrase. As a similar profile, I wanted to use this theme of intelligence being presented as a loss of memory. Brian Walker, the protagonist, repeats the same day as a painter confined to a hospital room, which is analogous to the theme of the Scarecrow living the same, presumingly meaningless day. Additionally, when Brain Walker asks for his canvas and receives a letter he wrote to himself years prior, this shows the interaction after the Scarecrow received a diploma instead of a brain. As a general overarching theme, I hoped to achieve a mysterious storyline with the plot being made clear of memory loss and the resultant abnormal behaviors from what comes with that. While editing, I wanted to focus on the abnormal details following the three days readers see Brian Walker in the hospital.


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