The Dead And The Dreaming

Chapter 3: consequences

A shaking breath fell from Winter's lips.

 Her eyes fluttered open and all she saw was harsh white light. It made the pain worse. Her entire body was throbbing painfully. 

 It felt like she had been boiled by an Italian pasta chef.

  Her left arm burned and her ears rang. She slowly turned her head and saw a young woman sitting in a chair next to her bed. It was her aunt. The woman's hand rested on the bed, close to Winter's. 

 She clenched her teeth and shakily slipped her hand into her aunt's. 

   The pain was stifling, but it was slightly comforting to know she was still in control of her body. She looked up at the ceiling, it was white, with rectangular florescent lights that mocked the state she was in. Winter realized she was in a hospital room. 

 The beeping of a monitor cut through the ringing in her ears, it made way for another sound. Music. 

 Winter recognized the song. 'Elinor Rigby', it was one of her favorites. Her aunt was playing her playlist. Her left arm still burned, so, she turned her head and saw that it had been completely wrapped in a bleached white bandage, from the shoulder to her fingertips. 

As she lifted her left thumb, the burning intensified 

"Ah," she whispered, pulling in a sharp breath.

 This caused the woman to stir and sit up. "Winter! Are you ok? How do you feel?" Jade asked her niece.

 "Need a frappuccino," she stated in a gravelly voice. 

Jade smiled. 

 She had a nice smile, with white teeth and bright green eyes, but there was a twinge of sadness in them. She had almost lost her niece and Winter's weakness was proof of it. 

"What happened?" she asked, her voice was still scratchy from sleep. 

"I'll call the nurse, she can probably explain better than I can," she said, with a slightly watery smile. 

 A few minutes later a short, rosy-cheeked nurse, wearing a scrub decorated with cats walked briskly into the room. She gave Winter a forced smile, looked at her watch, and scribbled something onto the page attached to her clipboard. 

"What happened?" Winter asked again, this time her voice was stronger and less scratchy. 

"What do you remember? How 'bout you tell me that and I'll fill in the blanks." 

 The nurse's suggestion sounded like a command, but Winter was too weak to start an argument, so she complied.

 "I was struck by lightning. That's about it. Do you want a timestamp?" she asked, feeling a bit stronger as she watched disapproval grow in the nurse's face. 

"Your heart stopped. There's a Lichtenberg figure on your left arm. A third-degree burn. But you're breathing now, and we were able to treat your arm. So, looks like you'll be fine." 

 Winter nodded, her face was blank but in her head, she was overanalyzing. She had died? Her heart had stopped. She let out a breath and nodded again. How could you level with the fact that you had been dead? What had been the consequences? 

"Thank you." She said finally.

 Not knowing what else to say and uninterested in anything else. 

The nurse left and Winter sighed. 

"She looks fun," she said, sarcastically. 

Jade snorted. 

"Be nice. She saved your life."