Nap Time

Chapter 6- The During

Zoe blinked once then opened her eyes. her vision went in and out of focus until she managed to lock on to the ceiling. Plain, white, probably a million years old. Fun. She tried to move her head, but found she couldn't. A wave of panic washed over her as she tried to move her arms and her legs, but nothing responded. zoe opened her mouth to cry out for help, but only a faint wheeze escaped her lips. I'm paralyzed, she thought. I'm going to live the rest of my life as a vegetable. A door, her door, zoe guessed, swung open and a pair of boots thunked in and over to where she was lying. The old, dirty ceiling was replaced with a face staring down at Zoe. It was a girl of some sort of Asian descent, with choppy black hair streaked with flashes of neon pink and blue. On her blemish free face she sported an eyebrow ring and a small stud under her lower lip. She couldn't have been more than 16.

"Hi-ya!" The face said.

"Don't worry bout not being able to move, that's normal. Just focus on your breathing and everything will start to wake up."

Zoe closed her eyes and listened to her breathing. How it rasped slightly as it went in, and rushed out of her in one big sigh on the way out. She relaxed, and tried to even out her breath, taking long, deep breaths. Slowly, she felt her head fall to the side. In her excitement, she tried to rise her arm to feel her face, but only got a few centimetres off the bed.

"Slow down there! You'll be able to move in good time, but not if you're impatient!"

Zoe relaxed herself and went back to her breathing. After what seemed like forever, she could feel her fingers and toes wiggling, and slowly sat up to see her surroundings. She found herself in a standard issue private hospital room. The walls were white, the floor was white, and there was a single picture of a seaside town hanging on the wall. Zoe turned her head to the left, and there she saw the face that had loomed over her, now attached to a body she hadn't been able to see.

"There you go. See what patience does?" The girl said. She took a step forward and extended her hand to Zoe.

"The name's Elizabeth, Elizabeth Yang, but everyone around here calls me Lizzie. Or Yang. You can call me whatever. It's your choice, really."

Zoe extended her hand to shake Lizzie's. "I'm Zoe Davidson."

"Nice to meet you Zoe! I'm your welcome committee!" Lizzie raised her arms and did jazz hands.

"It's nice to meet you too, Lizzie, I guess. I know you; but I don't know from where. Were- are, you an artist?"

"Guilty as charged." Lizzie bowed and sat down on the foot of Zoe's hospital bed.

"I saw that painting of yours, with the flowers and the stars," Zoe said.

"Oh yeah! "Seeds of the Galaxy" I called it. I did that one right before I came here."

"Here? You mean, the hospital?"

"No, no, no. The During."

Zoe cocked her head."Huh?"

"Oh right. I was supposed to tell you. You're in a coma."