What Happens Next

Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Dream

It was not a good day to play. The rain had just stopped.

“The air is humid”, her mother said.

Bella, a six-year old girl, doesn’t know what humid means, but it sounds exciting for her. She badly wanted to play patintero outside with all her friends.

Her mother was reading a magazine she bought at the grocery store. She was not looking at Bella, so the young girl took this opportunity and snuck out from the back door.

The other kids saw her approaching, and immediately called for her.

“Comeon, Bella! Theotherkidsmighttakeourusualspotattheplayground! Hurry!” theysaid.

Bellaran. Sheranasfastasshecantocatchupwithherfriends, butshedidn’tnotice the puddle of water she was about to step on. Young Bella slipped and hit a boulder that shouldn’t have been there. Unlucky enough, she heard something crack.

Pain. Absolute pain. That’s all she could feel. Tears streamed down her small face as she tried to stand. Bella had a hard time trying to get up. Just as she could fully stand, she would fall down again, and the pain would worsen.

Young Bella heard the familiar screeching noise whenever their front door opened. She saw her mother’s eyes widen as she realized what had happened and ran to her.

She couldn’t take the excruciating pain, and felt her eyes slowly closing. Bella heard her mother saying something about hospitals and a month of grounding. Then, everything went black.

💠💠💠

AssoonasBellawokeup, her mother called for the doctor. Dr. Benson was saying something she couldn’t understand. The only word she caught was therapy. Before leaving the hospital, she met a blonde woman, taller than her playhouse. The woman brought sticks with her, which her mother called “crutches”.

“I’m Ms. Walkers, and I will be teaching you how to use these crutches. You must be Bella.” the woman said.

After two hours, Bella seemed to get the hang of using the crutches. The woman made her go up and down the stairs and while wearing a safety belt. Bella’s mother was there, too, and was taught by the blonde woman how to guide her daughter properly.

In the evening of that same day, she went home on a wheelchair. She enjoyed riding it. She used to ride her grandma’s wheelchair, and her mother would scold her every time, while her grandma laughed.

At home, her mother said something about going to therapy on the weekend. Bella had no idea what that was, but she was looking forward to it. She wanted to see the blonde woman again.

Saturday is therapy day. Her mother woke her up early in the morning and helped her get ready. They drove for more than ten seconds. She couldn’t count after ten because she only had ten fingers.

When Bella and her mother arrived at the hospital, they were escorted by the nurse to the woman’s office. The woman from before was now wearing a purple uniform. She, then, led Bella into a room with mirrors.

“Bella, would you mind if we start now?” the woman asked, in which Bella shook her head.

The woman just smiled and turned to her mother. “I will be helping Bella build her strength, improve her movement, and strengthen her skills needed for her daily activities.”

Bella couldn’t understand most of it, but she went along the activities the woman guided her through.

During their session, the woman massaged her legs, and used “electrical stimulation” from time to time. Bella looked at the odd woman, and saw nothing from the woman’s eyes, but calmness. There’s no pity, panic, disgust, nor surprise. Bella had heard what people like her were called. She heard it from her mother’s friend, Julie, while she and her mother were having tea at the porch. Julie called them, “professionals.”

After the session, Bella was surprised. The agonizing pain she felt a while ago had almost vanished. She still felt the pain, but one that she can tolerate. Oddly enough, she felt relieved and a little relaxed. Young Bella felt better.

As she waited for her mother, who was talking to the nurse behind the counter, Bella was bothered. The identity of the odd woman was still a mystery to young Bella, until her mother said something that inspired her.

“That woman, honey, is a physical therapist”, she said. “She will make you feel a lot better.”

Bella believed every word, and was determined to become one, too.