The Stars

Ch 5: The Accident

I opened my eyes to see myself in a hospital bed. I remember what happened, but not how I got here...

Me: "Ugh... My head..."

I had a terrible headache... I checked my body for scrapes and bruises, but I couldn't find any. How long was I out for? A nurse holding a clipboard opened the door.

Nurse: "Goodness gracious! You're awake! How did you rest? Would you like something to eat?"

Me: "I slept pretty okay... I think...? Ugh... I don't know... And no thanks..."

Nurse: "Oh, well that's alright. Can you tell me what happened?"

She grabbed a pen lingering behind her ear and flipped a page on the clipboard.

Me: "Uh... I was..... out for a walk that night. And out of nowhere, this guy lunges at me with some weapon. It felt like... some sort of metal, blunt object... Then we fought on the ground, he kinda paralyzed me somehow, and a car intentionally hit me and drove off..."

She nodded in disbelief as she jotted down her notes. As she wrote, I had a slight realization.

Me: "By the way... how did I get here?"

Nurse: "I believe a bystander reported the incident to the authorities. They'll find the man behind the wheel soon. You're very lucky to be alive, young man. After the X-ray and MRI scans, we haven't detected any major damage to your brain and body. Witnesses say you flew 20 feet from where you stood. 20 FEET... Hun, you are truly BLESSED to be alive."

I didn't know how to respond to that... As I checked my body again, I noticed I didn't feel any pain anywhere. The only pain I felt was a massive headache. No bruises, no scrapes, and no pain but a headache...

Nurse: "Alright I'm just going to test your vitals. Just think of it as a typical check-up with your doctor."

     She smiled and proceeded to flip through her clipboard before performing the tests.

Me: "Is it weird that I feel just fine? Well, minus the headache..."

Nurse: "Well, it is even more strange that you haven't suffered major head trauma. Just in case though, keep that pillow behind your neck and try to stay awake. You might still be concussive."

     She skimmed her eyes across my patient info. I wondered how they got it without talking to me or my parents.

Me: "You already have my info down?"

Nurse: "It's logged into Kaiser's database, hun. The first thing we do is try to identify the patient if they're incapacitated."

     She smiled at me reassuringly.

Me: "Oh... Okay."

Nurse: "October 21st, 2002?"

Me: "Yeah."

Nurse: "And you were born at 2:22 AM?"

Me: "I think so... Why?"