Tales of Purple Lake

chapter one - unconscious

I woke up to the sound of beeping..

It was relentless, and loud. My eyes felt like they were glued shut, and I couldn't open them no matter how hard I tried. It felt like I was still dreaming, yet I was aware of what was around me.

I was awake in my own sleep..

I tried moving my fingers and toes, see if I could feel them twitch but it felt useless. It felt like my nerves had been cut off, stopping any movement. My muscles strained as I tried to do something, anything.

I had a massive headache..

I could see bright lights through the cracks of my eyes as I tried harder and harder to shake myself awake. I was still exhausted, still so sleepy and it was tiring me out more and more trying to wake up.

"Eliana, can you hear me?" The loud voice sent a shock through my body, which helped me open my ice blue eyes. I tried looking around but the lights were too bright and everything was blurry as if there was a flim of glue over my eyes.

The voice spoke again, and my head rolled to the side to see where it came from. I nodded my head, unable to get words out to the blurry figure standing over me. I tried to talk again but began to cough, something was stopping me.

I was choking..

"Sweetheart, don't fight it. That's there to help you breathe, just try and ignore it. I've contacted the Drs and we can see about removing it."

I tried to relax, I was already so tired again. My eyes were slowly becoming moist, the blurriness slowly going away. The voice beside me was a nurse.

I was in a hospital..

It never really got through to me where I was or what was happening until I was extubated, the fear that hit me made the beeping move faster..

My heart rate monitor..

"What happened?" I didn't know if the nurse could understand me, my voice sounded like a robot. She did though, replying sympathetically that I was in a car accident.

"My family?" I asked, wondering why my Mother wasn't sitting at my bedside or why my Father wasn't standing by the door like they do in those movies.

The nurses face looked as if she was sad, telling me that they didn't make it. My Father suffered serious head trauma and died at the scene, my Mother was rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung and several broken bones and she had received internal bleeding. She also didn't make it through treatment.

Tears began filling my eyes. I am alone..

The nurse explained how a truck had ran a red light and not seen us in time, hitting the drivers side door where my Father was. She explained our car was thrown on to the other side of the road, which collided with another vehicle.

I must have been the only survivor because I was in the middle seat in the back. Even though the nurse was explaining all this I was still confused, still not really registering the fact.

I don't remember any of this happening. I barely remember the drive. We were supposed to be moving, we were supposed to leave because my Father was getting a transfer due to a promotion.

I remember begging on the day we were leaving that I didn't want to go, I didn't want to leave my life behind. I had friends back in the Sunny city of Everton.

Maybe a part of me was fighting it so much because I knew that something bad would happen, or maybe I was just pissed off at the idea of leaving.. I've always had gut feelings and they have always been right, but I also remember being super angry for months after I found out about moving. I barely spoke to my family.

I didn't want to leave my life behind..

The nurse went through my list of injuries. My leg was broken, I had hit my head being flung around which caused severe concussion, and my wrist was also broken which caused tissue damage. She told me that the whiplash from the accident should clear up after physio.

The injuries caused a strain on my heart, which the nurse said will calm down after a few weeks of being on medication. I was shocked, I couldn't believe this..

The nurse also explained that my memories of the accident may never return, and that it was normal when it comes to trauma incidents. Most people forget the incident when they have suffered a head trauma.

Why did the truck run a red light? Was he speeding and couldn't stop in time? Was he just not paying attention? Does he know he just ruined an entire family? What about the other driver? We're they alright?

The nurse couldn't answer my questions, only the police and I had no idea if they would come and talk to me yet. I needed to know, I needed answers.

What was I going to do now? How will I survive on my own? All of these unanswered questions floated through my mind, I was scared.

I had an entire house to myself, that I didn't even know if I could afford. I didn't have a job, or a car or even any food in the house to survive on. How was I even supposed to take care of these hospital bills, let alone funeral costs?

I had no family to turn to. My Mother cut off from her side, I never knew why. My Dad was an only child. My Nan and Pop on his side passed away when I was a child. I barely remember them I was so young. I felt so helpless.

Why did I have to be the only survivor?

"Get some rest, dear. I'll contact the police for you and they will come and chat with you as soon as they can." The nurse rested a hand on my shoulder sympathetically and smiled with a sorry look on her face.

It didn't take much convincing for me to close my eyes and fall asleep right away. I was exhausted. Mentally and physically drained of being hurt and the news I just received and had to process.