Amidst the Pink Clouds

Part I

A soft breeze gently nipped my neck, causing my eyes to flutter open. The first thing I noticed was the Sun that basked the forest in its sharp rays, painting everything in bright colors. Leaves shuddered at the wind and there was the sound of distant waves lapping against the shore. I felt calm and collected, my mind acquitting itself to forget everything; who I was, where I came from. The only thing that seemed to linger was the thought of paradise, which was where I knew I was in...

I blinked my eyes open again and I was back in the hotel room. Then I remembered. I was with my family on a holiday in the Philippines. I blinked again. A girl of about ten was standing at my bedside and she looked like she was yelling. She seemed to be worried and she kept shaking my arm or leg. I think she was saying something like: "Yeti! Yeti!"

Why was she screaming for a snow monster?

A lady was yelling as well but she looked more frantic. I looked at her face and I recognized her large eyes and shapely lips. She was my wife, Christine. I stared at her in confusion and she cried with relief when she realized I was awake. "Tony!" she chided. "Don't pass out on me like that again. You're OK?"

I looked around. I was lying on a white bed. I gave her a slight nod and she smiled at me, though it seemed forced. "You sure you can take it?"

Once again I stared at her in confusion.

She stared back, this time with more concern.

"Claire!" She called and my fourteen-year-old daughter rushed forward. Her hair was as messy as usual but her eyes still burned with that intense gaze that I had come to admire. She looked at me and tried for a reassuring look but instead an annoyed expression replaced it. "Yes, Mom?" she said, looking at Christine.

"Keep an eye on Daddy. Keep him awake, OK? I need to call the ambulance."

"The ambulance?" my ten-year-old daughter repeated, looking at Christine. "Why do we need the ambulance?"

"Because Daddy just passed out and we cannot have that happen again. It could be something serious." As she walked out of the room, the atmosphere in the room dropped as if someone had sucked out all the life from the air...it was almost as if Tragedy had decided to pay them a visit and left its cold gift of Death behind.