Lady Baby

14

She remembered her name. Sharon.

My name is Sharon.

The air smelled good, like flowers-nice smelling flowers. A smile tugged at her lips. She remembered she had a mother, too. Her smile disappeared at the recollection. She did not want to go back to her mother because she made her sad all the time. And she wanted to wake up.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound was low but she could still hear it. She turned in its direction. Someone gasped.

"Sharon?"

It was a woman's voice but not her mother's. Thank God ten million. Though it was hard at first, she forced her eyes open. Balloons, four of them. Their smiley faces made her happy inside so she smiled at them, too.

"Happy." Sharon frowned at the sound of her voice. It sounded... odd.

"Sharon," the person said her name again but she was distracted by the many, many flowers. There were the blue ones and the pink ones and oh—the red ones were so beautiful. Were they all hers?

"Are they all for me?" She asked then turned.

The woman wore a funny coloured dress, like pink but not so much. She was pressing a button close to her bed. Sharon couldn't yet tell if she liked her, so she smiled just like her mother thought her.

"Hi, my name is Sharon. Are these flowers for me?"

What she asked seemed to upset the woman because her face crumpled all sad-like and she pressed a shaky hand to her lips.

Sharon's smile vanished. "Why are you crying? Did I make you sad?"

"You didn't make me sad, dear." She sniffed. "The doctor would soon be here. I would be back."

Sharon stared as she stood. She was tall and her dress looked like what a bedside lamp would wear. Sharon liked it but before she could say that, the lamp dress woman walked out and another woman came in along with two other people she guessed were nurses.

When Sharon told her mother she would become a nurse just like her, her mother got angry and told her she 'dreamed small dreams', that it would be better if she became a doctor so she would wear the fancy white coat and be treated with prestige. She didn't yet know what prestige meant; she would have to check the dictionary later.

The doctor gave her a friendly smile. "Hello, Sharon."

Sharon was suddenly shy. She sunk deeper into her bed and drew the bedsheet to her chin.

"Hi," she whispered.

The doctor pulled her seat closer. "Can you do me a little favour and sit up? You can do that, right?"

"Yes." That was easy to do. She wiggled her feet and pushed herself to a sitting position. Something caught her attention. Her hands flew to her chest. It looked all grownup-like.

"My body. Why am I so tall? Look!" Panicking, Sharon began to pull the collar of her gown to see her chest better.

"Mrs Sharon, wait." The doctor placed a hand over hers.

"But something-"

"That is..." the doctor looked around then turned back to face her. "You fell sick."

"Huh?"

"Yes." The doctor nodded and withdrew her hand.

"Why did I fall sick?"

"I cannot tell why at this point, but this is your body. You are really a grownup."

"Grownup?"

"Yes."