I'm Alive

The next thing I knew was that I could open my eyes. As soon as I opened them, I saw a bright white light and so I snapped them shut to stop them from hurting. I could tell that someone realized that the light hurt me and so was dimmed. I then opened my eyes once again and looked at my surroundings. The room was silent and sad looking. It feeled empty even though I was in it. I was alone. No one to talk to. Not a soul to see. No memory of anything. Not a thing to do and yet I felt like I with someone. That I would never be alone. That someone was there for me. That I would never be alone again. I would not be left again.

The room was painted white and had a window by the left of where I was sitting. It had an odd smell to it that tickled my nose but somehow was somewhat made a calming aroma. It was nice and soothing. I had not heard anything since being able to open my eyes. I had not been able to move. I did not know where I was. The room had been so quiet but there was a faint noise in the background. One I could not figure out despite it being one I had heard many times before on TV, one that I should have known, one that I made sure I knew.

Then it hit me. The smells. The sound. Why the room was in the simple fashion that it was. The brightness that should not be acceptable, especially if I am right about where I am. Everything. I don't know how I didn't know it before. It was so obvious. I was in a hospital. But why? How long had I been asleep? What had happened? How was I even alive? I suddenly panicked and I could hear the monitor tracking the raise in my heart rate. Upon realising this I started to concentrate on my breathing to get my heart rate back to normal.

Getting my BPM back to its normal rhythm was harder than it should have been, due to a muscle disorder I contracted when I was barely a year old, one which I do not know that I have anymore. If I can't move had it got worse or had I changed to be no longer primitive in this world, the galaxy, this multiverse. So many questions that just raised my stress and curiosity, though eventually I got it down from 150BMP and back to my steady 96. A wee bit later and a nurse came in to check on my vitals and to see what madeit spike up so high, just to see me lying on my bed, wide awake.

The nurse's face went from serious but calm to pale white, drained of blood just like she had seen a phantom. She took a quick glance around the room before speeding of into the corridor. I just laid there confused about what she just did, shouldn't she be doing her job, making sure I was okay. I finally realized, not that long later what she was doing. She entered my room with two doctors in tow. Both the opposite from the other.

The doctors came over to my bed with shocked expressions on their faces, not thinking that I would be awake so soon and not looking like I was in pain. They quickly went to either side of my bed and started asking me these random questions, that became a blur in my mind. I wanted to answer them, but they were giving me a headache and I just wanted them to leave me be, to let me go back to sleep or watch the TV. My faced showed that I was stressed and so they began to back away from my bed and stopped asking me their long list of questions.

They looked scared at how I had looked at them for a moment before one of them decided to come back up to me, the kinder looking one of the two. He knelt down and looked at me, with a soft smile spread across his face. His dark hair was neatly brushed to one side and even his cheery face could not hide the fact that he had not been able to sleep for a long time. His tired eyes scanned all around my body. His frail hands felt my strong ones. His face brighten a little bit, satisfied with what he observed.

"Atchaco can you hear me?" The doctor said slowly, making sure I knew what he was saying. His voice was calming. "My name is Dr Robert Turning." I looked at Robert and nodded.

"Yes, Robert." I replied. "I can hear you." He smiled before placing his hand on mine. He looked at it and stroked it ever so gently before I quickly retracted it and put it under the covers. Not noticing that it was cold. Not noticing that it looked different. He looked confused at why I had done what I had done. So, I smiled at him then I explained it. "Sorry, I just don't like people touching me unexpectedly. It makes me feel uncomfortable."

"That is okay." Robert said. "This is Dr Steven McDonald. We are just here to help you." He indicated to the other doctor, who just waved at me before resuming his serious posture. "Do you remember anything from your accident?" I stared out of the window in thought before turning to look back at Robert. It was all to clear in my mind and I doubted that it would ever leave.

"A climbing accident?" I replied. He nodded slowly but didn't reply. Was there more to the accident than I had originally thought. "I had dived into the ocean. Then I came back up. I was climbing up the cliff face to get to my sister when my hand slipped, and I fell backwards into the ocean. I must have banged my head as I do not remember anything else." I tell him, lieing, I knew everything that happened but I didn't want to say it. They didn't know that I had an odd memory and that was something the never had to know.

"You did more than bang your head. Way more, but for now you have visitors and are in need of rest." Robert said as he turned and left the room nodding at whoever was standing by the door, telling that they could come in.

"Steven." I said. The doctor turned around to face me as he was about to leave. He was a bit annoyed about me interrupting him, but he still stopped and turned to me.

"Yes, Atchaco." He replied. His voice wasn't as nice as Robert's was, but it did have a hint of kindness in it. Even if it took a long time to find. "What is it? Do you want something?" He asked me, wanting to get away quickly, to his next job or a quick nap before he went on to do something else.

"I was just wondering. How do my visitors know that I am awake?"

"Well they didn't until they looked through your window. They come and see you every day without fail. Is that all or can I go." Steven said, hand on the handle of the door about to open it. Waiting for my reply. I nodded at him and he left the room. He too nodded at whoever was outside.

The first to enter my room was my twin. Her curly hair was a mess, but she tried her best to hide it. Her nose was red and there were tears running down her cheeks from her crying so much for me probably being comatose. My mother was the second person to enter my room. It was clipped back by a butterfly clip like it normally is. Her small touch of makeup was running down her face so she too must have been crying, in fact everyone who entered my room had all been crying over something.

As soon as Ashêanna saw me awake she ran up to me and squeezed me tight. Worried that I would leave her again. Not that I would ever want to. "Atchaco." Ashêanna said, still hugging the life out of me. "You got us so worried. Please don't ever scare us like that again."

"I can't make any promises, but I will try my best." I slowly peeled Ashêanna off my body and smiled at her. "Deal?" Ashêanna just smiled and nodded her head before sitting down on the chair beside my bed. Jemina – my mother just stood there and smiled at me. Serch – my father came over and started to stroke my hand. Unlike what I did to the doctor I let him stroke it. Strangely it was calming even though my father was normally the one person in my family to make anyone stressed.

"We'd thought we lost you." Jemina said, holding back her tears. "We'd though you never wake up. We'd thought we'd never get to tell you. Don't scare us like that again, okay."

"Yes, mamma." I replied, staring into her eyes, the bridge to the soul. "I am sorry for everything that I have done. I was stupid to ever think that I could. You're right I could have died and for that I am forever sorry."

My mum placed her hand on my cheek, and she smiled. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that you are alive and well. Get some rest. You have a lot of getting used to, and a lot of heeling to be done." I look at my mother who starts to walk away but I don't want to let go of her hand. I want her to stay by my side. She tries to walk to the door, but I tighten my grip and stare into her eyes. I then tug my arm and she is forced to come closer to me to avoid her arm being pulled out of its socket.

"Atchaco." She said sweetly. "You really need to get some rest."

"Not until you tell me what happened." I say looking at her. "I need to know everything." I looked up into my mother's eyes. Jemina looks at me then to my family who all nodded their heads in agreement to what I am saying.

"Tell her." Jimch said, placing his hand on Jemima's shoulder. "She deserves to know." He sounded upset and worried about what I was asking, about what he was telling Jemina to do, but still he did.

"Okay." Jemina bows her head down before kneeling beside my bed. Her hand still placed firmly in mine. "Are you sure? It's a sad story. Just promise that you won't be shocked, scared or angry at any of us. About what we did, for we only did it cause we couldn't lose you."

I smile at her. I think I know where this story was headed. "Yes, just tell me everything."