Myosotis

Dream

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Blink.

White.

White was the first colour she saw upon awakening. It was the colour of the ceiling.

Beep.

And that constant sound accompanying it was the first sound she heard, even before she woke.

Her sight was blurry, as though she had not awaken in a long time - a very, very long time. She blinked away the unfocused vision she had developed and tried to sit up. She couldn't. Her limbs refused to cooperate with her. She willed them to move. Twitch. The slight movement of her fingers was the only result of her resolve.

Blink.

She gazed around the room, her mind not at all registering her location and the items within. Where was she?

Beep.

Beside her was a screen with numbers, letters and lines, but the one thing that struck out the most was the green line that spiked up and down. It looked familiar, but she couldn't recall where she had seen it before.

Beep.

Blink.

The machine was the one making the noise.

Then the realization came upon her. It was a heart monitor. She remembered seeing them in all those shows on T.V where someone got into an accident and was brought to the hospital to be treated.

Hospital.

That was where she was, the hospital. Her brows furrowed as she thought, 'What am I doing in a hospital?' She closed her eyes and evened her breathing as she struggled to recollect her muddled thoughts. The beep of the heart monitor that had woken her up continued to play in the background, calming her down and aiding in her pursuit to sort her thoughts.

Falling. That's right, she had been falling. Even now she could feel the sensation of descending down, unaware of when she would land with nothing to hold, no solid ground to stand, air rushing out of her lungs and panicking because she had no idea what was happening. And then an impact. But it wasn't the one she had been expecting, the one where she landed on her back harshly, leaving her gasping and writhing in pain because it hurt all over. No, she had been caught.

A tall, black figure that towered over her appeared in her mind. Deemo. That's right, she had been caught by Deemo.

He had sat her down on his piano and allowed her to explain. At that time, she had no idea how she had got there, nor any idea of whom she was (because now she knew who she was). He was so kind, she remembered. After her explanation, he had promised to help her regain her memory, her identity. He assisted in growing her tree, attaining the key that opened the final door, placating the masked lady and building the staircase which lead to her freedom.

She had been reluctant to leave, he was a great friend and she didn't want to leave him behind. And in so many ways, Deemo was just like him. Then, as the platform ascended to the window she had fell from, everything changed.

The dark looming figure's long, elegant, thin fingers became familiar pianist fingers she had held tightly and watched gently tap black and white keys so lovingly for as long as she could remember. The black that had composed Deemo faded away to reveal her brother playing the piano and sending her a look she had never seen on his face before. A look that clenched her heart and left her a crying mess as she desperately called out his name as she reached forward, trying to grasp, to touch, him just one more time before he disappeared, never to return.

No.

Her eyes opened once again, and all of a sudden, her limbs were responding to her commands as she removed her non-rebreather mask and IV drip and raced towards the open window with billowing curtains and stared out.

It couldn't be. It had to be a dream.

(As she gazed out the window, she recalled the masked lady who had stood beside her brother. She had taken off her hood and mask to reveal that the masked lady was none other than herself, gazing back with a look of sorrow.)

(And then Alice realised... the accident hadn't been a dream - but Deemo had been.)

So it was true.

Drip.

Her brother was dead.

Drip.

Hans was dead.

Drip.

The dam that she had been building up inside herself burst open and spilled forth as she collapsed to the ground sobbing, completely disregarding the angels in white that had arrived and took to comforting her. No one could comfort her, nobody but him. But he was gone.

So Alice cried because her brother, Hans, had died and left her alone.