Revealed

53. Stella

I don't recognize my surroundings, but I'm in too much pain to try and figure it out. My ears are ringing and I can't even see clearly.

I try to lift up my hand, but it's like my hand refuses to respond. It barely moves. Then, a lady, young and dressed in a white uniform covered in pink and purple flowers, enters the room I'm in and stands beside me. I can't tell if there are actually two of her or if my mind is playing games with me.

"Hello, Stella. I'm your nurse. The doctor is going to be right with you okay?" She holds a clipboard as she speaks. I can barely choke out the sentence I'm trying to say.

"What happened?" Oh lord, how it hurt so bad to think. "Am.. I okay?"

The nurse smiles at me. I can tell it's a smile she's required to do and is only making the attempt to not freak me out anymore than I already am. It's too late for that though. I'm very good at reading people.

"I'm not permitted to give you any information. But from my personal experiences with other patients, I think you'll be fine. Like I said, the doctor will be here soon, and you can ask her any questions you have. I'll be nearby if you need me. And don't worry, I'll be keeping a close eye on you."

My head is in too much pain for me to concentrate on what she's saying. So I just look at her without any response and she turns around to leave.

A few minutes later, a taller woman with tied up, brown hair enters the room. She looks like she has some percentage of Hispanic in her.

"Hello Stella. I'm Dr. Romero. I'll be taking care of you while you're here. I can tell you're not feeling too well right now."

"Why am I here?" I spit out with all my energy.
The doctor tilts her head a bit while still looking at me. She takes a breath before speaking.

"Stella, you had a grade two concussion. You passed out yesterday. You may feel some pain right now, but we're going to take care of you. Your mother has been waiting for you to wake up for a while now. She went to the restroom. She'll be back very soon."

My head continues to pound. I can only interpret fragments of her sentence.

"I am just going to ask you a few basic questions to see where we are with your memory, okay?"

I slowly nod my head.

"Okay. Can you please tell me your name?"
I struggle to open my mouth and my jaw feels extremely sore, though I still try my hardest to answer her.

"S..Stella Bo..." I need to breathe slowly. "Bosempem," I finish.

"Great job Stella. We're making progress." She smiles. "Now tell me the year we're in right now."

"Twenty seventeen." It's becoming more and more difficult to say each word. 

"We're going to take care of you Stella, okay?", the doctor says to me. All I can do now is wait and be hopeful.