Afraid of the Dark

Epilogue

Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

It was only quiet at first.

Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

For some reason, it was getting louder.

Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

What was making that noise!?

He sluggishly opened his eyes, then instantly closed them again. Jesus Christ, it was bright...

He didn't move for a while, simply listening to that strange rhythmical beeping sound that seemed to be emanating from somewhere beside him. As time went on, his hearing seemed to become more accurate. In fact, all of his senses were becoming more and more accurate.

He was waking up.

The air around him wasn't necessarily cold, but it was chilly and crisp, filling up his lungs with deep and fresh breaths that felt surprisingly nice. It was as if he had forgotten what they had felt like, and his body was welcoming them back with relief. For a moment, he questioned if he was outside. After all, that would explain why the air felt so fresh and why it had been so bright when he opened his eyes, wouldn't it?

However, he doubted this as time went on. Along with that strange beep, there were other noises within the room. There was the sound of a low mechanical, whirring, emanating from a fan or an air conditioning unit. Curtains were rustling gently as a soft breeze brushed past them from what must have been open windows, with the distant noises of car engines and bird song present in the background. Along with all of these noises, he could hear himself breathing. It was very loud for some reason, as if multiple people were breathing with him at the same time.

Where the air was chilly, he could feel it against his skin. He was laying down on a bed which had sheets which felt less like fabric and more like plastic. While his torso and legs were underneath a blanket, his neck and head and arms were all exposed. He could feel the hairs on his arms standing on end in response to the cool temperatures, but he also felt other things. There was a slight pricking sensation in the crook of his right arm, and also on the back of his right wrist. The same feeling was close to his collar bones too. Were there things in his skin? And what were that other stuff? At certain places, around his hands and his neck, there was a thick fabric encasing. Were they... bandages?

He opened his eyes again, this time forcing himself to keep them open as he looked around the room with sleepy confusion. He recognised none of it. The walls were a bright white, the ceiling was a light grey, and the floor was made with soft pink lino tiles. A whiteboard and a desk were on one side of the room, with various numbers and words on them which he didn't understand. A table was also close by, with a large amount of gift boxes and get well soon cards. There was a TV in front of him on the wall which wasn't on, with a window either side of it. Multitudes of tubes and wires were running into his body, connected to bags of unknown fluids. Some of them looked like blood bags, while others looked like clear water. A nearby screen that was beside his head showed multiple spiking lines that moved up and down to the rhythm of the beeps. His heart beat.

He was in a hospital, right? Why was he in a hospital?

"Oh my God, you're... you're awake!" a female voice exclaimed beside him. He turned around with surprise, as someone gripped onto his left hand tightly. He turned to see a Dutch woman sitting next to him, tears of pure joy welling in her heterochromatic brown eyes. Her dark brown hair swayed gently in the breeze from the windows, while the bright natural light seemed to make her skin glow, highlighting all of the tattoos that she had over her arms and the rest of her body. The tears started to fall down her face as she leant forward and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. "I was so scared, I thought you weren't going to wake up..."