“Start a timer,” David said frantically. He gently lowered Robbie to the ground and kneeled so that Robbie’s head could rest comfortably on his lap. Robbie’s eyes were half-open but he appeared to be unconscious. Next to David, their Slurpees had broken open where they had dropped them and had begun to ooze an eerie red goop on the linoleum floor.

  “What happened?” Mr. Willis aid with alarm. “Did he faint?”

  “No, it’s a seizure. Start a timer – please,” David repeated, more forcefully. “I need to know how long the seizure lasts.”

  Mr. Willis checked his wristwatch. “It’s… uh… ten fifty-three.”

  “Ten fifty-three… Ten fifty-three,” David repeated, trying to commit it to memory. Then he thought of something better.

  “Can you please write that time down Mr. Willis?” He looked up as he said it and noticed the man still trying to process what was happening. He wasn’t taking action yet.

  “My brother has epilepsy. I know what to do. He’ll probably come out of it in five or ten minutes - but if he doesn’t, he might need some rescue medication.”

  Mr. Willis went to his counter and found a notepad and pen to write down the time.

  “OK, I got it. It was ten fifty-three.”

  “Thank you,” David said as he gently tapped Robbie’s cheeks so check for any signs of awakening. “If he doesn’t come out of it in ten minutes, we’ll need some rescue medication. Do you have any?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Willis said confidently. “It’s a staple. Sometimes people get seizures after a head injury, so we always have some in stock. And even if I didn’t, I’m sure Dr. Marcos – our town doctor - would have some. But do you know how much to give him?”

  “No, but I just want to have it ready in case the ambulance doesn’t have any with them. I think they’ll know how much they should give him.”

  “OK, well… let’s call Doctor Marcos first.” Mr. Willis ran his hand through his hair as he considered their options. “The ambulance will have to come from Ranch Creek, and that’ll take a long time. Doctor Marcos is close by and he can probably stop whatever he’s doing and get here in a few minutes.”

  David agreed that that was a good plan. Although he was nervous, he took some comfort from knowing that epilepsy – the condition that caused people to have seizures – was not so rare. He figured that, even in a small town, any doctor worth their salt would know how to revive someone having a seizure as long as they had the rescue medication available. After Mr. Willis had called the doctor, who had assured them he could be there in less than ten minutes, Mr. Willis brought a box of the rescue medication from the back of the pharmacy.

  As it turned out, however, this seizure proved to be short. Around the six-minute mark, Robbie began to come to again. He moved his eyes back and forth, and then he moaned for a minute while wiggling his arms and legs. He tried to sit up and David helped him by pulling on his shoulders.

  “You ok?” David asked with tenderness.

  Robbie didn’t answer right away – he seemed to be in a daze, as if trying to put together what happened. Mr. Willis, and a customer who had walked in during Robbie’s spell, both smiled with relief.

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  “What happened?” Robbie finally managed to stammer.

  Just then, a short and plump man in his fifties walked in briskly, carrying a red duffel bag with a large white cross on it. He immediately saw the boys and got down on one knee next to Robbie. He didn’t bother with introductions.

  “Is this the boy who had the seizure?”

  “Yes,” responded David. “He just woke up. It was about six minutes long – right Mr. Wilis?”

  “That’s right,” confirmed Mr. Willis as he nodded.

  “Hey buddy,” the doctor said gently to Robbie. “Looks like you went to sleep. Can I listen to your heart for a second?”

  Robbie nodded, though he was still in a daze and didn’t try to be friendly. Doctor Marcos removed a stethoscope from his bag and began to check Robbie’s heartbeat and other vital signs for a about a minute. Then he turned to David.

  “Has this happened before?”

  “Yeah,” David said with confidence. “He’s had epilepsy since he was one year old. He used to take medication but his doctor said he could stop taking it last year. He hadn’t had any seizures since he was seven.

  “I see,” the doctor observed. “Well, you should definitely take some rescue medication with you, just in case. And you should go see your doctor again, to consider whether your brother might need to go back on his daily medication. A lot of kids grow out of epilepsy. But sometimes there are recurrences. Maybe his brain just wasn’t ready yet.”

  “I have to keep taking medicine again?” asked Robbie, in a disappoint tone.

  “Well,” said Dr. Marcos cautiously. “It’s possible. But your doctor would know better, since he knows your history much better. You should check with them once you go back home. I guess you boys are from out of town?”

  Mr. Willis offered Robbie a water bottle and the boy gently rose to his feet and sat on a nearby chair. David and Mr. Willis chatted with Dr. Marcos, telling him about their vacation, the girl on the train, and how they had come to be there. The doctor also vowed to keep an eye out for the girl, or those men who had taken her. In the meantime, he assured the boys that Robbie would be fine along as he followed up with his doctor back in Los Angeles and had some rescue medication on hand – just in case.

  Mr. Willis said that he wouldn’t give them any rescue medication yet - it could be ruined in the intense Arizona heat. He said that when their parents picked them up - he’d come back and get some from his stock, even if his store was closed already, so they could resume their trip. And - as long as the boys stayed in town for the rest of the day - he’d never be too far away to bring it to them if they should need it in the meantime.

  Having done all they could, Dr. Marcos left – after profuse rounds of thank-yous from the boys and Mr. Wilis. Then, at Mr. Willis’ suggestion, the boys walked outside to sit on a shaded bench outside the pharmacy and sip on a new round of Slurpees, which he still refused to let them pay for.

  It was just past eleven in the morning and the infamous Arizona heat was already beginning to bake the town. The icy cold of the Slurpees felt pleasant in contrast with the warm breeze licking at their skin. Robbie was feeling bummed out about his seizure, and wondering whether he’d have to go back on his medication – he didn’t want to go back to worrying about passing out again. He’d had enough of that when he was younger.

  David was thinking about Robbie’s seizures too, and felt proud of himself for having known what to do. But he also wished his brother didn’t have to deal with it. Now that they were without their parents, he knew it was even more important to watch out for him. Still, knowing that there was nothing else they could do, he tried to push away the anxious thoughts and focus on the adventure they were having. He looked up and down the street and took in the scene with curiosity, reminding himself that they were in a totally different part of the country, and once they left, they wouldn’t get a chance to come back anytime soon.

  Just as they were finishing their frozen treats, a police Jeep pulled up and a middle-aged police officer wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses exited the vehicle. He had a sheriff’s star on his chest, just like in a cowboy movie. As he walked up, he took his sunglasses off and stuck them in his shirt pocket. Then he greeted them with a smile and a booming but friendly voice. “So. Are you the visitors from Los Angeles?”

  ? 2025 Gil Pedro Bento. All Rights Reserved.