Chapter 20 - Bittersweet Memories

34 8 7
                                    

Darkness was the first thing Corliss registered when she regained consciousness, her mind confused as to why she could not see anything. Was she blind? No, that did not seem right...she had never been blind before. Or had she been but simply could not remember? A headache started somewhere in the depths of her skull and she banished the thoughts, promising to get to them later when she understood more about her situation. For now she would simply rest, give in to the tiredness that enfolded her like a warm blanket that was coaxing her into a deep, deep much needed sleep. Maybe she would have enough strength to wake up later.

Beep beep beep...

Liss groaned verbally at the incessant noise coming from somewhere next to her, turning on her side so she could drain the noise out. She was not ready to wake-up yet but the noise got no softer. In fact, other sounds started joining it, making it downright impossible for her to stay asleep a second longer.

"Liss? Liss, baby?" a woman's voice reached out to her from the side and some awake, logical part of her mind whispered the word 'mother' to her.

"Mom?" Liss own voice sounded hoarse as though she had not used it in a long while and when she opened her eyes the light was blinding enough that she instantly closed them again.

"Oh, sweetheart," her mom sounded teary, relieved, "I'm so glad you're okay... She's awake! Come see!" There was shuffled movement from beside her as two other people approached her but she was more interested in what her mother had said. Why would she not have woken up? Why would she not have been okay? And then it hit her, like a bucket of ice water washing away the fuzzy tiredness she had been reveling in. Thana had attacked her, had killed Nom and her other characters were dying because of the other villains. Or were they dead? What about Alena? Had she maybe survived or had Liss' parents found her where she was in the tree? A thousand questions whirled around her head and she forced her eyes open again, her lips ready to blurt the first one that made itself dominant. The light streaming in from the room's only window made the stark white walls glow so brightly that it hurt her eyes but she kept them open, willing them to adjust so she could bombard the first person she saw with all her unanswered questions.

"The windows," someone said, a voice she should have recognized but did not and seconds later the blinding glare disappeared. Trying to blink away the colourful spots dancing in front of her vision, Liss turned her head to look at the people around her bed. She now recognized her surroundings as a hospital room, the familiarity of it and her parents standing around her bed slowly waking her still slightly foggy brain.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" her mother stepped a little closer to the bed, her father too. Both their faces were filled with joy.

"M'okay," Liss mumbled then cleared her throat, trying to sit up but her muscles refused to support her and she collapsed into the pillows again. Frustration welled in her chest and she prepared herself to try again.

"Don't move," her mom quickly said, "just...take it easy."

"That's all she's been doing," that familiar but unfamiliar voice said again and Liss craned her neck to see who it was, "taken it easy for four months." The African sitting in chair gave her a faint smile and waved, her face clearly worn with as much worry as Liss' parents. Even her skin was duller than Liss remembered it, being almost grey in colour.

"You're alive..." Liss breathed, her eyes widening as her brain finally registered what her eyes were seeing, "how?" Pressure gathered behind her eyes and she wanted nothing more than to spring from the bed and embrace her best friend but she knew she would not have the strength to.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Nom asked incredulously, "You're the one who go shot four times. I only got shot once."

"Shot?" confusion welled in Liss' brain and instinctively her mouth frowned, "I wasn't shot-."

Shattered Mirror [Rewriting]Where stories live. Discover now