Two Heads Pt. 4

And so we began to get to know each other. It was awkward at first – neither of us could forget those first trying months and the things we’d said to each other. But Timmy was willing, and I wanted to make a fresh start. As a peace offering, I said I’d take our body anywhere he wanted to go, giving him the control he had long craved. To my surprise he said he wanted to go to the beach. It was my favourite place to go too. It was a cold, blustery day and we faced out to the sea, with the salty air lashing against our faces. I closed my eyes and breathed deep, enjoying the fresh air in my lungs. I snuck a look at Timmy – He was imitating my expression, his own eyes closed, a relaxed expression on his face. As I took a deep breath, I felt him do the same and my lungs felt so full of life that I wanted to burst. I’d never felt so full of life as I did at that moment. The rush of oxygen made me feel slightly giddy and I had to ease my breathing for fear that I’d faint. Timmy said he wanted to go to an arcade, so I changed up some money and we spent the afternoon on the 2p machines and the dance mats. I’d never done better on the dance mats than I did that day – I gave total control of my lungs and heart to Timmy, and focussed my strength and mind on moving my legs to the images on the screen. Without the burden of breathing, I could go twice as long as I usually could, and found it easier to keep up with the challenging steps. We got the second highest score, and I put Timmy’s name as the tag, out of recognition of his help. I could feel it pleased him. We went home late in the evening, more relaxed than we’d been for months, and as I lay down to go to sleep, Timmy turned his head slightly to me and said ‘That wasn’t so bad, eh my boy?’ ‘No, no it wasn’t’.

I soon found out that Timmy could be quite funny. I think his years without saying anything were the cause, as he often said inappropriate things, which didn’t really abide by social niceties but were very amusing. It was quite refreshing really, to have someone around who just said whatever they were thinking. And he often voiced the things I was thinking but wasn’t brave enough to say. No one knew that he could read my thoughts, so I could get away with them being said and Timmy taking the blame. He didn’t mind; he never realised he’d said anything wrong anyway. It sometimes got a bit much at work; he once commented that the regional director had incredibly bad body odour, suggesting that whilst Mr Jefferies was possibly being considerate of the environment by saving water, he should also try being considerate of his fellow human’s noses and taking a shower once in a while. I almost spat out my sparkling water with laughter, but turned it into a disapproving cough before any of my superiors noticed.

Timmy could be moody though. Sometimes he’d spend days being entirely surly and making scathing remarks about everyone and every thing. Other days he’d just be silent, and spend hours looking at me with his unpleasant gaze. I tried to shake him out of it, but it was tough and his mind was virtually impenetrable. I had to trick him into talking by making him watch hours of daytime soaps. The downside was that I too had to watch hours of daytime soaps, but it was worth it when his mouth started twitching, and he became more and more agitated before finally breaking his silence and telling me to ‘Turn off this shit’. If that didn’t work then I’d just pop in my ear phones and listen to some tunes until he was ready to talk again.

We lived a happy life. It was hard and lonely without a female companion at times, but at the end of the day I always had someone to talk to. And Timmy always had something new and interesting to say; he gave a new perspective on things I’d long had a different opinion on. We grew old, as people do. I could feel it happening. Some days it became too much for Timmy to assist in breathing, and I had to do it for both of us. That really took it out of me. It took it out of Timmy too, who had to fight even harder to stay alive because of his abnormal, weak form. I could sense our time was coming to an end, and Timmy could too. ‘I can’t imagine my life without you, Timmy’ I sighed one day. ‘Nor I, boy’, he said in an old, rumbling voice. ‘You’ve made my days in this world so special’. His voice broke slightly, and I sensed his high emotions. ‘I think it’s going to be over soon though, don’t you?’ I asked him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him nodding his small, now wrinkled head. ‘Yes, boy. Death is near. You’re not scared are you?’ I was a bit. He sensed my fearful thoughts, ‘Now that’s ridiculous, boy. Death is just another adventure, no different from this one we’ve been having’. I wasn’t convinced, but Timmy didn’t give up. ‘And I’ll be there boy, don’t you worry. You won’t be alone. Let’s just face it as we did the spray of the sea on that sunny day at the beach. You remember?’ ‘Yes I remember, Timmy’. ‘Well then, let’s just face death as we did the sea spray’. And two weeks later, taking a deep, final breath, we closed our eyes and faced the spray of the sea.