Original Ear
Mathew held his father’s hand as they walked through the giant doorway in the museum. Outside he could hear the rain coming down in torrents, and inside the smell of the rain was everywhere under the humming lights. He loved going to museums on Saturday morning with his father. They came into the next exhibit. A massive ten foot tall red plaster mountain rose up from the center of the floor. It looked like a squashed minivan standing on its nose. Mathew stepped back, yanking on his father’s arm. “C’mon now Matt. What is it? Don’t you see the model. It’s a human heart and it’s one of the oldest exhibits in the museum. I went to it when I was a kid. You can walk inside it.”
Mathew held back. He didn’t know why he didn’t like it but he knew that he didn’t like it. Mathew’s father put an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand.” They started to walk slowly toward it. “Wait a minute, Matt. Your shoes untied.” He pointed down at Matt’s black converse sneaker, then knelt and tied it. He stood up and led Matt onward. They passed multicolored diagrams of the human body, other parents holding the hands of wiggling children, and glass cases with human organs split open for display. Mathew squirmed when he saw the organs, but his brother Danny ran over to the nearest case and pushed his mouth and nose against the glass. Mathew and his Father followed Danny. They stood a few feet behind him as he fogged up the display with his breath. “What is it, Dad?” Danny asked without removing his eyes from the object before him. “I think those things are lungs. You use them to breath. Danny let’s keep going.” I want to show your little brother the heart exhibit. “Danny rubbed the glass with his shirt sleeve then stood up. “Ah, that stuff is for big fat babies!” Danny moaned and cast his eyes in Mathew’s direction. “Lungs… Dad, are those the things Mom says are gonna turn black and rotten because of your cigarettes?” Their father didn’t say anything. He paused for a second and seemed about to say something. Then he motioned with his hand for them to continue toward the heart. Mathew shivered as they stood at the opening to the heart model.
Speakers, painted blood red to match the walls, were mounted every four feet along the ceiling. A recording of a heartbeat pulsed from them. Mathew clenched his father’s hand as they walked inside. Danny followed behind Mathew and their father. Their father spoke in a soft baritone. “You see Matt. This is a lot of fun. You have to try new things because that’s the only way to understand about the world you live in.” Mathew nodded, solemnly and clung close to his father’s left knee. Danny slipped around his Father’s right side and skipped ahead of them. The hallway was narrow, no more than two and a half or three feet wide. The walls and ceiling were painted red like the speakers. It was a deep red. The color scared Mathew. Mathew could hear the children’s voices echoing along the curve of the hallway. The diffused light flickered as people moved in and out of the entrance. Mathew’s father stopped as they walked along to read each black plaque posted below every speaker. On these plaques were written basic information about the heart; how it’s structured, what it does and why human beings need one. Mathew’s father read these plaques aloud to his two sons, “.the human heart is primarily a shell.. the heart’s structure makes it an efficient, never ceasing pump. From the moment of development through the moment of death, the heart pumps…” Mathew looked behind himself, because he felt what must be a monster lurking somewhere about. This was the perfect place for monsters, Danny had told him so. He had said last night just before they fell asleep, that monsters love darkness and warm things. And if one came to eat you there was nothing you could do because they were in-viz-ca-bull and would gobble you up whole before you could even see them coming. Mathew’s fingers became sweaty and sticky from thinking too much about what he would scream if he did see anything. So much so that his father finally looked down and saw the marks that Mathew’s hands had made in his pants. His father looked sharply at the stains and realizing what they were he picked Mathew up and placed him on his shoulders. “Don’t worry, kiddo. I’ll protect you.”
The trio continued through the hallway, climbing a few small steps up to the top of the heart. Danny raced to the top step and then waited for his father and brother to catch up. There was a small deck almost a parapet just big enough where they all together could peek down over the crowds of museum goers who were walking around down below them. They watched silently until their father began to speak.” Listen, boys. I know that you might be wondering why your mother isn’t with us today. And why you haven’t seen me much recently. Your mother told me that she’s been telling you that I’ve been working late, which is true, but it’s not the complete truth. Unfortunately, I think I’m
going to have to tell you boys what’s going on….Your mother and I are getting a divorce. It means that I wont be living in the same house as your mother any more. I want you both to know that this has nothing to do with either of you. You are both great kids, ok. Do you understand me? This has nothing to do with either of you. Your mother and I love you both very much.”
The boys listened silently. Mathew watched his father. Danny clenched his fists and looked out over the crowds. Finally after some moments Danny spoke. “I hate you, why is this happening!” Their father knelt down on one knee and brought his face level with those of his sons. He turned Danny to face him and stared deep into his brown eyes. He said nothing for some time, just stared hard into the two holes in Danny’s head where Danny saw out at the world. Finally, Mathew reached out and hugged his father. At this, Danny raced past and down the steps. Their father picked Mathew up and carried him down the steps to Danny.
At the bottom step there was crowd of people blocking him from leaving. Danny stopped at the last step and sat down. He noticed a plaque on the wall. When their father and Mathew reached him he turned and looked at the plaque. He started to read from it slowly with a mechanical voice. “The normal adult heart is about the size of a clenched fist and weighs about 11 ounces…” “Daniel, will you talk to me? This is between your mother and I.It has nothing to do with your brother or you.” Danny didn’t respond, he continued reading the plaque in the same voice.
“Located in the middle of the chest, behind the breastbone, between the lungs, the heart rests in a chamber called the per-I-card-ial cavi-ty. This is surrounded by the ribcage. ” Their father raised his voice. “Danny, listen to me! I’m your father! Show me some respect!” Mathew clutched his father’s hand, afraid of what would happen next. He closed his eyes and held onto his father’s hand with all his might.
But nothing happened. Their father’s words fell like stones to the floor. Daniel stopped reading the plaque and turned his face away and finally his head dropped down. He reached the last sentence of the plaque and read it softly, “As a result, the heart is well protected.” Their father knelt down by Danny and gathered both boys into his arms. “Don’t worry son. Don’t worry. Everything will be ok. Just wait and see. Trust me. That’s why I brought you hear today. I wanted to tell you both that you must learn something today which you can never forget. Daniel struggled in his father’s arms, trying weakly to break free. Mathew looked at his father with unblinking eyes. Their father seemed more sure of what he was saying at that moment, then Mathew had ever seen him look before. His voice, clear and distinct, seemed to fly like an arrow. And as he spoke Mathew began to feel safer.
“You are standing inside a model of something called the human heart… but “the heart” is not its real name. The heart has been misnamed by all of us. It has gone unrecognized from what it truly is, because it is not only a pump for your blood.” Daniel wiped his eyes and nose on his shirt sleeve. His army green, long sleeved t-shirt became almost black at the sleeve. He was listening intently to what his father was saying.
“It is your Original Ear. It is continually receiving the music of your blood and it hears things that are too deep for words and our normal ears to hear. Remember this all of your lives. The heart is really your Original Ear. It hears THROUGH the other sounds and thoughts and words. It hears beyond all that down to what you truly FEEL. I know that you both feel badly now. But that will heal.. And you must learn to listen more closely with this”, he placed his hand on the center of Mathew and Danny’s chests. Daniel put his arms around his father’s neck. Mathew stared at his father’s face and saw something nameless and true pass thru his brown eyes. He hugged his dad. They all three knelt in silence, as the voices of other families echoed all around them. Then, slowly they stood up and walked toward the exit.