New Dawn

Chapter 18 | Box of liquorice

He woke from his dream as if he had been brought back to life. With a deep gasp for air he leaned to the side only to be forced back down by the excruciating pain that shot through his head. Desperately, he reached for the button by the side of the hospital bed. As he pressed it obsessively, it did not take long before the medicines kicked in and traded his pain for a clouded haze.

His days at the hospital had turned tiresome. They ended just as they began, and with little improvement he felt as if he was clinging to a narrow line between life and death. Exhausted, he leaned back against the stack of pillows, and for a moment it felt as if his head was afloat. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the steady whirring of an electric fan that stood in the corner of the room. Every now and then it sent a mild breeze to cool the surface of his hand.

The door to his room had been left slightly ajar, most likely left open by one of the nurses who hoped to drive him mad. Apart from the steady beep from the heart monitors there was the sound of static voices coming from a radio somewhere in the corridor. Scientists discussed birds that had lost their ability to sense the magnetic fields, and whether it could be the cause to why so many birds had been found dead over the last week.

Eventually, the news blended with the perpetual sound of the fan, and soothed him back to sleep.

***

The leather of her boots creaked as she walked over the linoleum floor. The tall ceiling and giant windows of the hospital's main entrance made her feel infinitely small as she walked towards the elevators. A tapestry that consumed an entire wall of the waiting room pictured strange animals with contorted faces. As she met the red eyes of a black peacock she gripped the strap to her purse a little bit tighter.

She pressed the button to one of six elevators. The doors slid open almost immediately. On her way up to the seventh floor she couldn't help but to look herself in the mirror. Her eyes were weary, and her makeup slightly smudged by sweat. She removed a strand of hair that had fallen out of place and straightened the wrinkles on her top. The elevator stopped with a jerk, and after one last look at herself she walked into the corridor.

She had contemplated whether she should have bought flowers or not, but had come to the conclusion that they would probably not let him keep them anyway. Instead, she had bought a box of salted liquorice.

She was greeted by a nurse with short, blonde hair who asked her who she was there to see, and who with a polite smile guided her to room number four. Even as she knew that she was nowhere near ready to walk inside, the nurse opened the door and led her into the room.

The air was stuffy, only slightly relieved by a fan in the corner of the room. The walls were painted in a spinach green, and the only light that managed to seep into the room came from the glass on the door. The blinds over the window had been closed, leaving the room in shadow. She was unaware of how focused she was on everything else but the thing that would have drawn anyone's attention.

Tied to a bed by tubes and cables, Owen rested his head against a stack of pillows. He had never looked worse for wear. His skin was pale, cut and bruised and his head wrapped in a bandage. Covered by a blanket it almost looked as if he would drown in the overly large hospital clothes.

"Mr. Kelly", the nurse said and began to clean away a tray of untouched food from the table next to the bed. "There's someone here to see you."

Owen slowly opened his eyes, and with a clouded gaze he looked straight at Audrey who awkwardly stood by the foot of his bed. His face turned into a smile, one that did not allow for his left eye to open, but a smile nonetheless. With some effort, he pulled himself up into a seated position and gestured for her to sit in an empty chair next to the bed.