I lay still, asleep. Although my world was always black, when I'm asleep it's as if I don't exist. When I am awake, it's like everything's black, and I'm frozen listening to my world moving on without me. It's been about a week since I arrived at the hospital and to say that this experience is frustrating would be an understatement. I have been going insane.
It's nothing but agonizing pain as my body heals. It's pain listening to life move on without me. It's pain listening to Dylan begging the nurses to stay past visiting hours. It's pain listening to my father sit by my side and talk about how much he misses me and my mother. It hurts, a lot.
I guess I've been making some progress. I was actually able to squeeze Dylan's hand once, in which he broke down into tears. Another moment in which it caused my physical pain to not be able to comfort him. I've had a physical therapist come to my room everyday where she taught Dylan how to stretch out my muscles and strengthen them so when, or as the doctor says "if", I wake up my muscles won't be mush. Let me tell you, that's one of the strangest experiences I've ever had in my life. To have your limbs being moved without you controlling them or having the ability to control them is something that is indescribable. The thing about the physical therapist is, they think I'm going to be out a long time. And that worries me.
And now I'm awake. The darkness that surrounds me gets a shade lighter, and my brain awakens allowing noise into my ears to be deciphered. I don't feel Dylan's hand on mine because my father and Dan actually forced him to start going back to school again so he doesn't fall behind. Dylan put up quite a fight, but then Dan pulled the "I'm your father" card and Dylan being the newly adopted kid, had to agree. It makes my day a little more lonely. I usually just try to sleep through the hours he isn't here so I can be "awake" when he is here.
I heard the door creak open and then footsteps pad over to my bed. I felt warm, soft lips being pressed against my forehead. "Hey Em" Dylan sighed, my heart lightening at his voice. "How was your day?" he asked, pulling up the chair next to my bed. "Let me guess, boring. I know, I forgot to leave the T.V. on for you" Dylan scolded himself. Usually he leaves the T.V. on so I have something to listen to while he's gone. This morning he was in a rush and forgot to turn it on. So I slept.
"You got another bouquet of flowers today" he said, placing something on the table next to my bed. "It's really pretty. It has some really bright pink flowers and some really yellow tulips. Stems are a very...very green" Dylan tried to described. I wish I could laugh, because Dylan's attempt to describe things to me were adorably cute. They usually didn't work, making him sound like a major dweeb, but I love him for trying.
I heard the door creak open again, Dylan releasing my hand as he shifted towards the door. "Dylan, Emma has a guest" the nurse spoke, her voice familiar to me. She's been in here a lot; feeding me when Dylan was at school, changing the I.V. when needed, you get the idea.
"Hi" a women's voice spoke, two sets of footsteps approached Dylan. My mind was racing in curiosity as I soaked in the silence. "My name's Jane Dawson. This is my husband, Kevin Dawson" she introduced the other set of footsteps.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Dylan" he said as I imagined him shaking their hands. He was getting a lot better on his manners since being released from Rockwood. Dawson. Dawson. I recognized that name from somewhere. A few seconds of silence passed as Dylan shook both of their hands.
"We're Mason Dawson's parents" Jane spoke, her voice trembling. Mason. That's right. Their son was one of James' victims in which he murdered and skinned. They had sent a bouquet to my room a few days earlier. I remember Dylan reading it to me and explaining it.
"Oh" Dylan spoke softly, the mood in the room dropping. "I'm so sorry" he mumbled, my chest aching. I heard the father take a deep breath in as I imagined that he was trying to hold in tears. I could only imagine what they were going through.
"Thanks" the mother sniffled, taking a deep breath. "We wanted to come by and personally thank Emma for what she did" Jane said, my head swimming with confusion. What could two people as kind as them thank me for?
"Okay, well, you can talk to her if you want. She can hear you but she can't respond" Dylan explained, the two shuffling hesitantly forward. They didn't believe him, I could tell by the lingering silence.
"How do you know?" Kevin asked, Dylan sighing heavily in response as he paused. I could tell, he didn't know how to explain it.
"It's hard to explain. She can be responsive, occasionally. And I'm not sure how, but I just know she can hear you" he stumbled, trying to find the words. The woman sat down next to me, resting her hand on my forearm.
"Hello Emma" the mother started, sounding very stiff and formal, unsure of what to say. "I uh-I just wanted to thank you. You brought justice to something that the police couldn't even solve. When I found out that James was finally dead, it was as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest. I felt like my son could rest now that his killer, your mother's killer, was finally put away. I wanted to thank you for being so brave. You fought a murderer, one who tried to kill you twice and killed your mother. Thank you for pulling the trigger and ending it all. I wish my son could still be here today but-" her voice trembled, slowly breaking into tears. I heard her husband move closer to her, rubbing her back. "I just really hope you pull through. If he gets to take another precious soul from this earth, I just-" she began sobbing.
Dylan moved closer to me, running his hand over my head, eventually leaving his warm hand to rest on my forehead. It was the small touch of comfort I needed as my heart darkened at the sound of the woman's cries. I felt so bad for her. She had lost her only son; her pride and joy. I had lost my mother and that was hard. It was so hard. But losing your own child must feel like losing a part of yourself.
I wish I could wake up right now and make her smile. To put everyone at rest. To wake up and be alive again. I struggled, trying to move. I was so frustrated because I needed to move. I was done being in a coma. I fought so hard, and finally, something happened.
For a brief moment, my eyes fluttered open. Light streamed in my eyes, illuminating my world. My dark world was suddenly bright again, my eyes burning at the intensity of the light in the sudden darkness. I saw Dylan staring down into my eyes, his mouth open and his eyes filled with hope. I got a brief glimpse of the women who sat next to my bed, holding my hand, streams of tears down her face, her eyes hopeful.
But then my eyes shut again, as if I wasn't strong enough to hold them open. My world was again covered in darkness. "Emma?" Dylan whispered, afraid to break the tense silence. "Oh my god" he breathed to himself in disbelief. "Did you see that?" he asked, excitement soaking through his voice.
"Yeah" Kevin laughed, all traces of sadness gone. I imagined their beaming faces, wishing I could open my eyes again and see them. But to be completely honest, I was exhausted. Something that was once so simple, was now exhausting.
"Emma?" Dylan asked, wondering if I was awake or not. Awake, but not out of the coma. "You were so close" he whispered, a hint of disappointment in his words. "I'm going to go get a doctor. That's got to mean she's close to waking up" Dylan spoke, still believing I was going to awake at any moment. But I knew that wasn't true.
"Okay, well, I think we are going to go" Jane said, standing up as the chair scraped the floor. "We've said what we needed to see, and seeing that..." she trailed off, pausing for a moment. "-fills me with hope" she said, sighing a breath of relief. "Thank you so much" she spoke, laying her hand on my arm once more. "Nice meeting you too, Dylan" she said as her voice and their footsteps got softer and softer until they disappeared.
"Em, I'll be right back" Dylan said, his footsteps fading. They paused for a moment, probably near the door. "I really hope you wake up soon" he whispered to himself, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.
I sighed internally, hoping that I would wake up soon too. My body ached, my head throbbing from all the commotion. I was tired, and my body was telling me to sleep. In one last ditch effort, I pushed my self to wake up. I struggled and tried to pry my eyes open, but I was still trapped. A sharp pain shot through my mind, sending me into another deep slumber.
YOU ARE READING
Fortuity
Bí ẩn / Giật gânThere is a hole in her heart, a vast gap. Not missing someone, but something. A piece of herself that had once been, but is now gone. He could be dead, but to her he was alive. As alive as the green grass growing in her years. She never knew what it...
