Sleeping

Chapter Two

 

“Snow. Come back to us, Snow.” That voice was definitely familiar, and feminine. Dr. Summers.

No, I thought, I don’t want to wake up. Not yet. Not into another century. I want my century. I want 2014 again. I want my friends and family with me. But I knew deep down I had to open my eyes. So I did. I came face-to-face with Dr. Summers, whom I could now see had grey eyes.

Then I realized something. If the year is 2383, their dead. Gone. Cold and dead and buried. Everything and everyone that I ever knew is dead and has been for a very long time. I thought of May. No. Fun, amazing, bright May can’t be dead. She is—was—so…alive. Her name in my phone had been Fire. Not only because of her practically neon red hair, but because she was so fiery and bright. My mother, with her black hair and dark brown eyes and tan skin, she had no plans to die anytime soon. Though, it’s not like it hasn’t been a long time.

She always told me that my father had been very sick with a rare disease. He had died before I was born. It had made him so white, like me. (And no, he was not albino and neither am I. I still have a tan tint and my hair is blonde, not white) She had told me that his coloration from the disease—and the disease itself—had been passed onto me. My father hadn’t been able to afford any more treatment one day, so he died. 

A cure is very expensive, so he had to just try to survive with the treatment. The money from his life insurance had paid for a cure for me when I was born. I’ve never met my grandparents on my father’s side, but seeing as my parents were only in their teens when I was born, they had given up the money for their granddaughter.

Viola’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts. “Are you okay?” I quickly nodded. She smiled that same smile again. “Good. You passed out after we were done talking. I got you that fruit that you wanted.” I smiled and nodded again once. She handed the cut up food to me in a bowl. “I got you an apple, some grapes, an orange, and a pear.” I began chowing down on the sweet-tasting food. 

Even back home, I had always enjoyed the natural sugars in fruit more than processed sugars like chocolate or something like that.  

Suddenly, I had the thought to search my friends and family. I tapped Viola on the shoulder and then mimed typing. “Oh, you want to search something?” I nodded yes. She handed me a clear tablet like the one she had been typing on earlier. ‘Maybelle Monet’ I typed in. Instantly pictures of a pretty woman with red hair in a military uniform popped up. It looked like my best friend had joined the marines. Then there were more pictures of her looking a little bit older wearing suits. Wait. Is that the Oval Office? May became president?

Then Dr. Summers was looking at the screen over my shoulder. “Ah, Maybelle Monet. The president that married her competition.” I gave her a questioning look. “She was married to William Simpson. They met while they were campaigning against each other. He won first, but while they were together his term ended and they both decided to run again. She won that time. At her inauguration ceremony, he proposed to her.” 

Wow. So apparently May became some famous politician that anyone can recite personal stuff about off the top of their head. I can’t believe it. Like May had always said it would be cool to be president and had always known she wanted to join the military, but just…wow. I was so proud of her. I smiled and felt a stream of tears run down my face. She went out and got her dreams.

Next was my mom.  ‘Samantha Blanc’ I searched and pictures of my mother when she was both young and old came up. Her in the hospital holding little baby me, a sad and distant look in her eyes. Her with a handsome teenage boy with—

White hair, eyes, and skin. He was my father. I’ve never seen any pictures of him and my mom had always refused to tell me about him, not even his name. He was tall and slim and he and my mom had their hands protectively hovering over her stomach and yep, that was a tiny baby bump. The picture must have been taken when my mom was pregnant with me. 

I wonder what he must have been like. Probably an amazing person to get a girl like my mom. Seeing as she was only thirty the last time I seen her, she was sorta the ‘cool mom.’ The mom that me and my friends talked to about boys. 

My parents were looking at the camera with love in their eyes. In a way, it was the same love my mom had always looked at me with. Probably because she was pregnant. But there was another sort of love there, the sort that was reserved especially for each other. My mom had been very pretty even before I disappeared. When she was in her teens, as weird as it sounds, my mom was gorgeous.

“Is that your mother?” Viola asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts. The tears were openly streaming now. I nodded. “And is that your father?” 

“I think.” I said. Wait. I sounded perfectly fine.

“Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. After you passed out, we wheeled you into surgery to repair your vocal chords.” 

Thanks for the info. I thought. But all I said was “Thank you.”