Alive

The next time I opened my eyes, I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. Everything had been black, and that made things even harder than before, because everything was still too blurry. I could hear people around me talking as well as feel their hands moving all over me. And there were voices that sounded familiar, though they were not words that I understood either. Then a hand touched my forehead, and the voice was close again, this time saying, “She’s waking up.” The hand left again.

After a moment of confusion, I realized what was happening; I was being assessed and treated. A moment after that realization, I heard footsteps approaching and then saw the face of the man who had come earlier. The doctor I’d seen earlier, maybe?

“Hello, Miss,” he said warmly. He was an older gentleman, his beard peppered with grey. His hair looked like a thick forest of strands that had not been visited by a comb since he got it trimmed, and he smelled of peppermint toothpaste.

He probably had some