Obscurity

| Chapter 1 |

April.

Is that my name? I have to assume that it is, since no one in this place is actually acknowledging me. Despite being able to see, every other part of my body is no functioning or simply unable to function. I can feel my limbs, that I can tell they exist and are attached to my body, but I have no control over them. Like when your foot falls asleep and goes numb, then you feel as if you can no longer move it, and it's no longer a part of you. Except this wasn't just my foot, this was my body as a whole.

My surroundings are confusing more than anything. I'm used to black; a black soul, a black sight of vision, just black everything. Now I have all of these things and colors of all different tints and tones and shades I can't even begin to describe. Then again, I don't know what anything is overall. Everything looks different, from the lights blinding me to the bonds confining me to this unmovable position.

Some plague of noise fills my ears and I see a figure's shadow on the ceiling above me. The way light refracts off of things is mind-bending. This new world is so different and amazing compared to my former dark nothingness. And I've only been here for a short period of time.

How long was I in the dark? After all, it's the only thing I can seem to remember...

The shadow emits away as an unrecognizable face comes to focus in my peripheral vision. It is the face of a man, an aged one at that. He wears a sort of paper mask over where his mouth should be, and his dark colored eyes look concerned, like they accompany the wrinkles on his face.

"Hello April." His voice is deep, and I notice that his mask moves when he talks. The sound in which he utters must emit from his mouth.

I try to move my mouth but no sound comes out. The Doctor takes note of this and his expression becomes unreadable. So far, one human's face has so many details it amazes me. I wonder what my own face and expressions consist of.

He makes a sound and a word pops into my head. Laughing. This word gives me a satisfying feeling. It must be a good thing, as far as I can tell.

"My name is Kent," the doctor- Doctor Kent says.

I can simply blink in response.

"April," he says, "You must be very confused. Everything will be confusing for quite some time, but this facility will help you learn everything you need to know."

Yes, I am confused to say the least. I wish I could speak in reply to Doctor Kent, but nothing is coming to me. I'm lost.

"Since you're awake, we better get you up and about," Doctor Kent explains.

"I'll get her functioning, sir."

This soft, higher-pitched voice comes from the other side of me. The nurse who was here when I first woke up passes by me and taps away on some sort of machine that makes all sorts of different sounds.

She must have taken notice of my interest in the object she is fiddling with, for her lips curl upward and she says, "Computer."

"That's Diana," Doctor Kent chimes in. I look over to him and see that he has taken the plastic mask off. His mouth is surrounded by wrinkles as well, unlike Diana. Somehow I can infer that he is older than her, simply because... well, it just seems to make sense.

How old am I?

"Seventeen," Diana says.

I snap my sight of vision to her. Did I speak? Seventeen what?

Diana looks to me and smiles. "You are seventeen years old, April."

"So, it works?" Doctor Kent asks. I'm confused as to what he's asking, but I notice that when he speaks he looks to Diana expectantly. Communication is weird.

Diana nods. "Perfectly."

Diana continues tapping away on the computer until a loud beep makes its entrance. Suddenly, I can feel the blood rush to all of my limbs that I couldn't feel seconds ago. This is strange; I can feel all of myself now. I can move just as Doctor Kent and Diana are.

"Okay, let's get her up," Doctor Kent tells Diana.

They both move to each side of me and use their arms to move me up. Every feeling is a different sensation. Every feeling is different. Everything is different.

I can see all of my surroundings now. The rooms are a plain color, which I cannot identify by name but it feels boring to me. The light fixtures are extremely bright and there are different shapes cut into the wall everywhere.

I look down at my body. My skin is similar to the wall's color, only a darker shade. I'm small compared to the other two people with me, but I feel like I'm on top of the world.

"Walk," Diana says.

Somehow, I know what she means. I swing my legs off of the surface I awoke, and my feet meet the tile floor. The feeling is cold and uncomfortable, but at the same time familiar. Everything is familiar in a way, but I cannot seem to remember any of it.

The rest of my body moves with my feet, and I am standing. My mind is woozy, yet my figure stays strong. Diana and Doctor Kent stare at me in awe.

"I'll walk with her," Kent tells Diana. She nods. Kent walks to me and places one of his hands on the backside of my arm. The contact our body parts make sends a shock throughout my nervous system.

"The sensation of touch," he says. "The more people you meet, the more confusing it will become."

I blink.

He walks me to a transparent sort of wall. Only it isn't transparent. I can se Doctor Kent on this surface, but that's impossible. He's standing right beside me! And who is that woman next to him?

I look over and meet Doctor Kent's.... hazel (a color I assume?) eyes.

"This is a mirror, April," he whispers. "Another way to see the world. And yourself."

So that woman beside him in the mirror... is me?

I am shorter than Doctor Kent. That's a given. However, my face is free of wrinkles. My skin is clear, and my blue (all of these colors are invading my brain at once) eyes stand out. I have a dark chocolate colored hair... and that's all I can identify with the words I have now.

Diana, Doctor Kent, and myself all look different. Is there anyone like us? How many different things are there? More importantly, how many people are there? But where is there?

Diana's laughter makes an entrance. "You'll learn everything in due time, April."

How does she know what is in the contents of my brain if I do not use my mouth to speak?

"April," Doctor Kent begins. I look to him. "Nothing is making sense right now but it all will soon."

"You see April," Diana picks up. "You were in an accident before all of this. Your memory is gone and we're doing everything we can to restore it. However, you lost one thing we cannot recover..."

What did I lose?

"Your voice," Doctor Kent answers.

If I cannot speak... I will be trapped in my thoughts forever.

I might be exposed to the light of the real world now, but I am still trapped in the darkness of what is inside me.