"Can you hear me?"
Bright white. Excruciating pain. An overbearing alcohol smell. All around me objects slowly coming into focus. Sounds, lots of sounds. Something that sounds like my mom's voice, a machine beeping, voices I've never heard before. Now, fear.
More sounds, garbled, almost like I'm at a soccer match and there's a crowd cheering. More people. Lots of people. A lot of faces I've never seen before, dressed in blue and white. What's happening to me?
"Zach, can you hear me?"
I don't recognize the voice, but what looks like my mom seems to be talking to them.
"Zach, if you can hear me, can you nod for me, please?"
As I try to nod, I feel the pain again. Not just in my neck but everywhere. The pain knocked the sense back into me. That's definitely my mom, but she looks sad. My dad's there too. They shouldn't be together.
"Zach, do you remember us waking you up before?"
My mind feels like it's just starting to catch up when I notice what they said before. I begin to shake my head but remember the pain, so I try to look in my mom's direction as if she'll somehow understand. I'd try to speak, but my mouth is so dry it feels like I've been swallowing sand.
"Zach, you've been in a serious accident. We needed to check your vitals, but you're going to go back to sleep for a little while. Don't worry. You're going to be okay. Your family is here."
Thoughts start racing, but no, my thoughts are slowing down. Suddenly, the bright white is fading, and the room is going dark again.
YOU ARE READING
Remember December
General FictionA young boy has his life changed forever when an unexpected event rocks a community.
