The Time of My Love

“She’s been out for almost a month…”

“She’ll come throu..”

Snippets of conversations fade in and out. There is a constant thumping on the back of my head as if someone is bringing a sledgehammer down on me.  Thump. Thump… I can’t feel anything from my torso down. I think I’m lying down… Thump. Thump… The pain is searing down my back, I just wish it would end.

I’m in a car, there’s a figure beside me laughing heartily. They turn the wheel to turn the corner when a blaring horn sounds. I turn my head to my left to where the sound erupts from, a blinding light appears and everything fades into darkness…

Bleep, bleep. There are sounds of machines and an odd stillness around me. Someone walks towards me and opens my right eye and shines a torch into it, staring down at me; a figure in white with a forlorn expression. They let my eyelid close and do the same with my other eye. The figure moves away and I hear a deep voice say, “There may be a chance that she is awake mentally but cannot take charge of her senses just yet.” There’s a small break where the silence takes over, then the voice continues, “Some professionals say talking to people in comas, can help them to understand what’s going on and to help them come to full consciousness.” There’s a heavy sigh and then I hear footsteps heading away from me. I hear another figure move towards me and sit down beside me; I think I feel a hand stroke my face brushing hair away.

“Tara,” the voice begins, I recognise the familiar lilt to my name, it’s Mum. “Tara, sweetie, it’s Mum, I don’t know if you can hear me or not.. But, well.. You were in an accident Tara.”

An accident? With who? Was there anybody else involved? Oh god, what I have I gotten myself into? How long have I been out for?

“It was pretty serious…” her voice catches in her throat for a moment. “You’ve been out for almost a month now.”

A month! What exactly happened here?

“Tara, darling..” I hear shuffling from the distance coming towards me which cuts Mum off suddenly. “Oh Troye, I wasn’t expecting you until after 3:30.”

Troye, Troye? Who’s Troye?

“Hi Mrs Davidson, oh yeah I had the rest of the afternoon off so I figured I’d stop by. How’s she doing?” the deep voiced boy says.

I’d say he’s a few years older than me by the way he sounds, I’m 14, so I’d say he’s around 17.

“Dr Carter said there’s no change but he said there’s a chance that she may be mentally awake by now.”

“Mrs Davidson you look exhausted, why don’t you go home for a bit and I’ll stay by Tara for a while.”

“Troye, you’ve done enough already, really. Don’t you have exams next week?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. Go home and get some rest, please.”

I hear a heavy sigh and then the shuffling of Mum rising to her feet and stepping away from my bed.

“Alright then,” she finally says turning away, “Oh and Troye, thank you again.”

The boy named Troye walks towards my bed and sits where Mum just was. He takes my hand and holds it in his. I can feel his gaze trace my face as the silence rolls by.

“Hey Tara, its Troye…” the boy sighs and pauses for a moment.

So who exactly are you? Are you my long lost brother or… am I just hearing things…