Orphic

Chapter 2

   The sunshine coming through my window woke me from my slumber. I sat for a moment, hoping this was all just a nightmare. Unfortunately, it was not a dream, and I realized that as I observed the hospital room around me.
   I shifted myself in my bed as much as I was able to, trying to put myself in a comfortable position. Shortly after, Grace came into my room. "Do you feel well enough to go to the mess hall for lunch?" she asked me politely.
   I gave her a nod and she immediately left the room with no explanation as to where she was going. She returned in a few minutes with a wheelchair, which I assumed was for me, unless she expected me to push her around, which I highly doubted. She took the straps off of my wrist and helped me into the chair. I was grateful to be out of that bed.
  She turned the chair around and wheeled me through the door. On the other side of the door was a long hallway with numerous doors on both sides. Nurses rushed around, going from room to room. A few other patients were in the hallway, some were in wheelchairs, some where standing. I wondered to myself why I hadn't been given the option to walk, I would have preferred it, but I didn't question the nurse, so I decided to just forget about it.
  We entered into another corridor, quite similar to the last. As we continued on, we passed a small sitting area with a sofa, a few chairs, some board games, a bookshelf full of reading material, and a small piano. If it were up to me, I would spend most of my day there.
  When we finally reached the end of the hall, we passed through one last door. The mess hall was very large and loud. There were around 50 people eating lunch that day.
   As Grace pushed me through the line, I ended up with a chicken sandwich, some apple slices, a cup of jello, and a bottle of water. She pushed me to a table where I sat with three other people. A very pretty girl, around my age or older with an unusual smile that made me uncomfortable, a small boy, in size not age, who looked as if he were going to go insane at any given moment (no pun intended), and a boy around my age with the prettiest eyes I had ever seen in all my days. The word "pretty" is quite insufficient. If I could even begin to describe them, I would say they looked like the sky on a perfect summer day. They had hints of sea green which was fitting, because when I looked into them, I felt as if I were drowning in their depth.
    "Hello? Who are you?" I nearly jumped out of my seat. I had gotten so lost in those eyes, I had nearly forgotten that I was in real life. "Umm...I'm Sadie, Sadie Delaware." I said with the least bit of confidence, as if I were unsure if that was really my name.
    "Oh, you're the new gal on the second floor," Pretty-eyes said with his partially southern accent. I nodded quietly, which only continued to prove my awkwardness.
    "Well, Ms. Silent Sadie, I am Joseph, and it's a pleasure to meet you."
    His southern charm went along very well with his accent.
    "And this pretty young lady to your left here is Charlotte." Charlotte gave me a friendly wave.
    "Now, our awkward little friend over here is Oscar." Oscar lifted his eyes off of his lunch tray to give me a short glance and then focused his attention back to his food. "It's okay, he's much friendlier once you get to know him." Joseph said with a wink. I grinned as I said, "Well, it was very nice meeting you all."
   Lunch continued and I sat quietly and ate small amount of my food while I listened to their conversations. They spoke of the weather, the new patients, and a little gossip here and there. Joseph told about his neighbor across the hall and how he always whistled the same song at 3:00 in the evening. Joseph said he would sit and wait for 3 o'clock so he could listen to the man whistle. Charlotte talked about her family, and how they visited her once a month. Joseph's head slightly dropped when she talked about her family. I wanted to ask him about his parents but I couldn't find the courage or heart, especially if it dimmed the brightness in those pretty blue eyes. Oscar never spoke, he just sat and listened, like I did. I caught him staring at me once, though. I nervously looked away and so did he, and he stopped staring after that.