Who Can Tell

Old Faces

I wake up to someone's faint cries. I feel a sharp pain in my head and lift my hand to it. As he sees this, Xavier's eyes widened and said,"Danica! You're awake, thank God!" I sit up and look at him. His eyes look like those of an old man. "Did you sleep? You look terrible," I say to try to forget the pain steadily growing in my head. He laughs and hugs me briefly as he sarcastically says,"What do you think?"
After he lets me go, I smile and glance around the room. I'm back at the hospital, but I have no idea why. I see Rachel through the window of the room. She's crying harder than I have ever seen her cry. My eyes widen with shock as I try to get up. "Wait, what are you doing?! You need to stay here," Xavier says as he reacts to my actions. I cry out,"Rachel!" Though I was focused on her, I saw two very familiar faces.

Nani, and Aunt Sheila.

I started to cry again as I call out,"NANI?!AUNT SHEILA?!" I struggle to get up but Xavier held me where I was. I glare at him, though his eyes said he was trying to help. I push him off and get up. Stumbling at first, I swing open the doors and approach them. I could feel my face go pale as I stared at them. Xavier grabs my arm but I brush him off.
Silence has a way of revealing itself in the worst of times. The silence is broken when Nani and Aunt Sheila start to tear up. I try to say something but my voice had disappeared at the sight of my family. "Oh Danica, I'm sorry," Aunt Sheila says abruptly. I glare at her and say,"Sorry for what?! Not speaking to me for three years?! Or not ever caring about anyone besides yourself?!" I lost it."I have had enough! Why are you both here?! I don't want to see you,"I say in anger. Suddenly, I slip into the recognizable feeling of misery and pain when I stare at them.
Though I didn't notice, the pain in my head had been slowly increasing. I lift my hand up to my head. "Danica?! Danica, are you ok," Xavier asks as I clasp my eyes shut from the pain. "My head," I say with hesitation. My family start to circle around me as they lead me back into the hospital room.
I felt drained as I said,"What's up with you, Rach? I've never seen you cry like that." She avoids the question and resumes crying. I give off a look of confusion, as she did this. Just then, the doctor came in.
"Excuse me, but I need to speak with Danica. Alone,"said the doctor. As everyone got up, I could see Xavier's face grow worry and sadness. I look towards the doctor as he looks at his clipboard. He sighs then says,"How do you feel?" I'm hesitant to reply because of who I just saw. I say,"Ok, I guess. Why are they here?" He's shocked by my statement. I couldn't think straight, seeing them like this. He calmly says,"They said they were your family..." My frustration starts to build as I say,"Don't you think I know that?!" I take a deep breath and sigh. "I'm sorry, sir. What is it that you need to share with me,"I ask as I calm myself down. He looks at me strangely then says,"Danica, you have what's known as an Intracerebral Hemorrhage... It's basically a pocket of blood, building pressure on your brain."
I felt my face go pale. We had studied this disorder in school; it can paralyze you. I couldn't say a word. I was utterly speechless! Sensing this, the doctor continues. "Now, this disorder can come in many forms, most of them cause numbness, weakness in parts of your face, and paralyzation. Because of your early diagnosis, the numbness and weakness in parts of your face can be prevented. But...paralyzation is inevitable." I try to make a sound but nothing came out of my throat. I resumed crying as the doctor says,"The paralyzation won't happen at the snap of your fingers; it will take months for it to become noticeable." I mange to say,"H-How m-many m-months?" The doctor looked at me with pity as he says,"Six months..."
He leaves the room as I sat there sobbing. Everything is going to change now, nothing will be the same! I remained there sobbing for hours. I eventually fell asleep, with my eyes burning from my tears.