"I saw the news last night."
Na'im had barely entered the room when Riven spoke to him.
"About New York?" Na'im asked sadly.
"Yeah. The Towers," Riven said. "Are they still burning?"
"Probably. The explosions seemed pretty bad," Na'im responded, sitting beside Riven's bed.
"I had a dream; well, I thought it was a dream, at least," Riven said after a moment.
"You thought it was a dream?" Na'im asked.
"It seemed more like a guided meditation or something," Riven started.
Riven took a moment to try to figure out how to explain it.
"I saw the towers and the planes and the people running- I felt their fear. Then I woke up. And then I looked at the TV at the end of a commercial break. I saw everything."
Na'im looked at Riven for a moment.
"Weird, huh?" Riven asked, kind of embarrassed.
"No, actually- it seems more like a premonition of some sort than a dream," Na'im said. Riven shrugged.
"Maybe. I just don't know what it means," Riven said. "It's not like I was there. I was here, y'know?"
"You never know what it could mean, Riven," Na'im said, putting his hand on Riven's shoulder.
Riven smiled at him slightly. They then began talking for a while- both tried to distract themselves from the previous day.
"Hey, where's Verity?" Riven asked.
"She was supposed to be at the cafe getting coffee and food for me and her, but I wouldn't be surprised if she got lost," Na'im responded.
"This is a big hospital, I've heard," Riven agreed.
"Have your nurses brought you anything to eat yet?" Na'im asked.
"Ruth said she'll bring breakfast at 8:15- what time is it?"
"It's 8- Verity should be back by then."
"We can all eat together, then," Riven said.
Verity did find her way back about ten minutes later, a drink tray and a bag in hand.
"Get lost?" Na'im asked her, chuckling.
"Everyone kept pointing me in different directions," Verity sighed, then chuckled dryly.
Everything seemed next to normal. As normal as it can be, at least with what's happening in the world.
♦♦♦
Riven had been scheduled for another surgery that day- the first surgery he was in was to check internal damage and fix what was needed. Now, he was going into surgery to get skin grafts for his burns. Several of his burns had been second-degree, but even more were third-degree. How he wasn't writhing in pain was a mystery to the nurses and surgeons.
YOU ARE READING
Surviving 93
Ficción históricaA historical fiction piece based around 9/11, asking the question "What if there was a survivor of Flight 93?" This story follows half-siblings Na'im and Verity when they meet Riven, who wound up with severe injuries he doesn't remember getting. As...
