A Prisoner Of War

Chapter Nine : Glenn

When I wake up, the first thing I see is a ceiling. I'm awake long enough to register the fact that it is not my room back home, but before I can do anything about it, a sharp pain registers itself in my skull and a heavy numbness falls on my eyelids.

And then I'm in between, that stage where you're half-conscious, half asleep, and you coexist in two words, when your vision is filled with broken memories like shards of glass, flitting in and out of your vision. And then occasionally, like a muffled radio, come voices from the present, a few words here and there, often accompanied by blurred pictures, and seldom, a heavy, groggy voice that you know is your own, but do not recognise. Grasping wildly for those few moments of consciousness before slipping into perpetual darkness. 

"Listen, Jackie, stay calm, okay? Daddy's here for you. Don't cry."

"Do you think she's okay? The tiger-"

"She opened her eyes! For a millisecond, look!" 

"And, this, Jackie, is called  the magazine of a gun."

Sunlight.

A warm day.

A tall figure, with big brown eyes and  a large, reassuring smile. Eyes twinkling.

A young girl, looking up with the very same eyes full of adoration.

Sunlight filtering through a window, falling in golden rays on a wooden table.

Three figures, seated. Two adults and a child.

"Daddy?"

"I'll be gone only for a while, Jackie. Only for a few months. I'll be back, I promise."

"Daddy?"  Brown eyes filled with disbelief. 

"Take care of your mother. I'll be back soon."

"Dad!" - desperation- "Daddy! Please, please don't go."

Both sets of brown eyes with unshed tears.

"I promise, Jackie. I'll be back soon."

A sniff.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

A tall figure, walking through the doorway with tears in his eyes, carrying with him the weight of a heavy promise.

A small figure, moving towards her mother, towards the table with tears in her beautiful eyes, carrying with her the reassurance of a  hopeful promise.

~

I feel a bright light on my eyelids and try to open my eyes. The corners of my eyes seem crusty, as if they haven't been opened in a while.

As soon as I open my eyes, all I see is bright, searing white light. I hiss and try to cover my eyes. When the light clears, I'm met with a sharp pair of blue eyes directly above my face.

I scream and scramble awake. 

"Alex!" I say indignantly. My voice sounds croaky, and as I sit up I register a sharp, merciless pain in my right shoulder. I hiss. Alex sits by my bedside, arms folded behind her head and a casual grin on her face.

"So, finally awake, eh?"

"I can see that." I say, "Also, there was no need to put your face right above my eyes like that. Your eyes are kinda scary."

Suddenly, she just sits there, still and quiet. She doesn't even crack a joke at my expense when I said that I found her eyes scary.

And then comes her voice, heavy and quiet.