Son of Sedonia Read Online Free Page A

stroked his round, lightly bearded face. He wore a loose, white linen robe and his natural paunch swayed underneath. He peered at the new leg. A curved strip of homemade carbon-fiber cut to shin length and socketed into a metal cuff below the man’s knee. Utu adjusted the cuff with caramel-colored hands then lifted the leg to bend at the knee. Repeated the process.
    “There,” the Doctor said, “Try to stand.” The large man lurched forward and pivoted in his seat to face the doctor. Matteo tensed. It was Raia’s dad. The man had lost the leg in the Pits to a falling scaffold...it didn’t make him any nicer. Too many good nights’ sleep were interrupted by his drugged out screaming.
    Utu stretched out his arms and beckoned to the man. Raia’s dad planted his real foot, and with a shaky heave, put weight on it. Utu braced him under the left shoulder.
    “Now take your time and shift ,” Utu began gradually withdrawing support, “to the new extension of your body.” The man dipped and wobbled for a moment before finding balance. He tested the weight.
    “Chafing? Discomfort?” the Doctor asked. Raia’s dad pursed his lips and shook his head. Utu bowed and turned to the shelf behind him. He plucked a small frond of leaves and held them over a candle, scorching them. White smoke wafted from the crackling leaves.
    “What was taken, let it thus be restored...through this joining of flesh and invention,” the Doctor intoned, tracing the prosthetic with smoke. He straightened and extinguished the leaves in a bucket of water. A crutch made of welded pipe and sewn bits of upholstery leaned against the wall. Utu picked it up. Handed it to the man.
    “Use this for one week as you get used to the balance. After, try walking as often as possible without it. Short periods at first, working your way up to longer ones. The muscles will ache with the new movement, but be sure to come see me if you have trouble. Okay?” the Doctor smiled up at the thick man.
    The man grunted, touched his palms together, and bowed his head. Utu mirrored the gesture.
    “Namaste,” said Utu. The man turned, crutch under his left arm, and hobbled carefully toward the door. Matteo dismounted the stool and held the door beads aside. Though ignored, Matteo lowered his head in respect, then turned to see Utu beaming at him.
    “Such a boy from this neighborhood...It does my heart good! How may I help you this evening, my friend?” asked Utu.
    “Just a refill,” Matteo rasped, taking out the orange and handing it to Utu. The Doctor accepted it, but seemed not to notice. His bushy eyebrows arched at the scratchy voice.
    “And then some.” said Utu, “Come! Have a seat.” He wrapped the orange in a cloth and set it aside. Flipping around, he lowered the patient chair, and patted its cracked vinyl seat. Matteo climbed on.
    “Let’s just take this out and have a listen, hmm?” Utu reached around Matteo’s head, gripped the plastic tube between gentle thumbs and forefingers, and removed it. Matteo fidgeted. He remembered Oki ripping the tube from his nose. Everyone laughing. The wheezing started as Utu set the empty canister aside, picked up a tarnished stethoscope, and fixed it to his ears. He exhaled on the metal pad and reached through Matteo’s cutoff hoodie sleeve. Placed the pad there. Listened. Moved it and listened again. Utu sighed.
    “My friend, what have you been doing?” Utu asked, setting the stethoscope aside. “Let’s see...” The Doc scanned the shelves in the room then focused on a door in the corner. “Ah,” he said. He crossed the room in a flutter of linen and opened the door, spilling white light into the room. Matteo leaned and squinted to see what was inside. Green plants of so many shapes and sizes. A broad leafed one with gold blossoms. A sparse, spindly one with red berries. The Doctor entered the closet and knelt beside a bushy one barely larger than Matteo’s orange. He plucked a few coin-sized leaves from