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I hear so many voices, all so frantic, but I can't make out anything they're saying. It's as if I'm underwater. I open my eyes, but it feels like there's a sticky film covering them, and I can only see blurred lights and moving figures before me.
Confusion sets in and mixes with panic. Where am I?
"Miss Yun? Can you hear us? Are you alright?" I still struggle to see, but I can see from the face mask on the person in front of me, I'm talking to a doctor.
My throat feels dry and I cough and sputter as I try to respond. I feel careful hands assist me in sitting up, and then a cup is placed to my lips. I take an eager gulp, but immediately start to choke.
"I- I don't understand. Where am I?" It feels like my throat is being ripped apart as I choke on my own voice.
"Don't worry, Miss Yun. You're safe now. You're back in the real world." The room spins around me and my heart sinks. I clutch tightly onto the bed sheets under me.
"What happened? Where're my friends?" I hear the heart monitor next to me start to beat rapidly, matching up to the thumping I feel against my chest and inside my head.
"Please, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but try to remain calm, I'll explain-"
"No! You don't understand," I panic, "we were all- we were all trapped. That man is going to hurt them. I have to go back, I have to save them!" I start to rip out all of the cords attached to me, the I.V fluid, the heart monitor, countless other things that did a number of different things to keep me alive for the past few months. A team of nurses all rush to restrain me. I try to put up a fight, but my body is incredibly weak from being bed ridden and not eating for so long.
"Wren! It's okay, calm down, sweetie." I freeze when I hear that familiar warm voice that I could only dream of for so long.
"Mama?" I look up to see her standing in the doorway, her eyes glistening and her bottom lip trembling. She quickly runs to the side of my bed and crushes me in her embrace. Her fingers tangle through my messy hair. She holds me so tightly and it feels too good to be true, her being here next to me like I've dreamed of all this time. I wonder if at any moment I'll wake up.
After a long moment of shared sobs, she breaks away to hold me at arms length and take in my appearance. A sad smile tugs on her lips as she tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "I missed you so much, baby. I'm so glad you're okay."
Even though I had been working so hard to finally have this moment, sacrificing everything to be back in this world, all I feel is confusion and this gut feeling that something isn't right. "Mama, I have to get back to my friends. I need to know they're safe." Never would I have thought in a million years that I'd be asking to go back.
