The Story Of Daniel

/f i v e/

Chapter 5

Ten Years Before

Daniel woke up the next day feeling sad. His Aunt Susan was dead, and he missed her. When he was younger, his aunt would take Daniel to the park all the time. She would help him get onto the swings when he was too short and she was the one who had taught him how to ride a bike. But slowly and gradually, she had stopped taking him on these little trips around town. When he asked his mom why, she would get teary eyed and simply say she was busy. But one day, his mom asked him if he would like to go visit Aunt Susan. Of course, he said yes. At the time he didn't know that they would be visiting her at the hospital and not her house. That was the day Daniel found out she had cancer.

Daniel didn't want to remember all those sad memories, he needed a distraction. So, he invited Amelia over. She didn't ask why she had to leave early the day, much to Daniel's gratitude. They were sitting on the roof playing go-fish with an old deck of cards.

"Do you have an aunt?" Daniel asked. "I mean, other than the one you live with." Amelia didn't question the sudden change of subject.

"Yes. Her name is Lena. Isn't that a pretty name?"

"I guess so. Why don't you live with her?"

"She lives in Switzerland. I have pictures of her at my house. My mom gave them to me."

"Can I see them?" Daniel asked. He didn't know why he wanted to look at pictures of Amelia's family, maybe the go-fish was just getting too boring for him.

"Sure," Amelia said. They told his parents that they were going for a walk, then they went to Amelia's house. When they got to the sidewalk in front of the house, Amelia told Daniel to stay there. "My aunt won't like it if I let someone in our house," she said. So Daniel waited for her and when she came out, photo album tucked under her arm, they walked back to Daniel's house.

Once they were back up on the roof, Amelia put the photo album between them. To my Amy, it said on the cover. Remember, you always have family to lean on, even if they're half way across the world.

"My mom wrote it," she explained. Then Amelia opened the book so they could see the pictures. "They live in a place called Zürich. It's beautiful there, look." She pointed to pictures showing buildings and flowers and people. She talked and talked about family and apartments. "When I grow up, my mom and dad are going to take me there," she said. "They promised me they would."

Now

Daniel stared at his reflection. How was this possible? He had only been unconscious for what, an hour? He remembered that Amelia had mentioned that he was in a coma when he first started to hear again. But how long had it been? She had said "I can't take another day of this." Was she implying that the coma had lasted for more than one day? His reflection looked as if he had aged at least four or five years...

A nurse unlocked the door and rushed in. She pressed a button on the wall and spoke into the speaker, "The patient is awake." She came over to me with a sincere look on her face, as if I was a scared baby animal that she had to be gentle around as she approached, in fear I would run away or freak out or do whatever it is that scared baby animals do. "Sir, do you know who you are?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" His voice was raspy and filled with panic. He had every reason to panic. He didn't even look like himself for goodness sake. The nurse gave him a stern look as if warning him that panicking wasn't the most logical thing to do. But what did she know? What even was logic? It certainly wasn't being in a coma for an hour and waking up looking five years older, which was anything but logic.

"I need verbal confirmation, sir. What is your name?" the nurse demanded.

"Daniel. Daniel Johnson," he replied.

"That's wonderful. Now, do you know why you're here Daniel?" she asked.

"I was hit by a car on my way to school," Daniel said back. Why was she asking him all these questions? Why couldn't she just tell him where his parents were and what the heck was happening?

"Yes. Very good, Daniel. Now, I have one final question, do you know what today's date is?"

"Yes, it's December 12th, 2014"

"No sir, it isn't," the nurse told him. And for the first time she looked sad. Like his answer was going to ruin his life forever. It certainly would change his life, but not necessarily ruin it. It was just one more event in his story that would change his life. It was up to Daniel whether the effects were positive or negative. The nurse pulled her phone out of the pocket of her scrubs. The screen lit up.

12:27pm May 1st, 2021

Daniel stared at the phone in the nurse's hand, willing the time to change. To go back seven years to the day of the accident, so he could jump out of the way before the car hit him, so none of this would ever happen. But Daniel wasn't a wizard or a sorcerer or magician or any type of being that could turn time. He couldn't erase the time on the clock and write a new one. It was logic, and at the moment logic wasn't on his side.

A/N: hell, people of wattpad. are you enjoying the story so far? if so, would you mind clicking the star icon to vote for it? it would mean a lot :) also, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you're thinking