Daisies

There is suddenly a resounding of panic and confusion, mixed in together with surprise. Everything is moving too fast, and I feel so overwhelmed.

The boy grabs my hands within his own and shakes me. My teeth rattle, and I notice that they do not feel rotten anymore. My eyes flicker, wandering over surfaces that had been unknown to me for so long. It feels as if I was being born again, a fresh baby living in the world of white, dwelling in the body of a young woman.

The doctor shouts something at the boy, and the warm hands disappear from my own fingers, cold and bony. So, so cold.

The doctor flashes a small light into my eyes and grabs the back of my head, stilling my tremors. I try to pull away from him, but he does not relent. With two fingers, he stretches my eye open farther and shines the light into it.

It burns, I try to bite at him, but then feel ashamed.

What is the meaning of this?

I am not dreaming.

He murmurs something to himself, something too low for me to hear, before continuing to inspect me with gloved hands that feel uninviting and plastic-like.

The boy is back, and with him is a woman. A woman with long dark hair and searching gray eyes, her skin pale and her face worn. I think I have the same face. As soon as she sees me staring up at her, her eyes widen and her hands shake.

Words drip from her lips and into my ears. "Is she awake, Doctor?"

"Yes."

With that one word, I remember. I don't remember everything, but I do remember. Remembering memories, it is a strange thing.

I look up at the woman with blurry vision, standing beside her is the boy, his face tilted slightly towards the ceiling, but no water drips into his eyes. Water drips only from his eyes. I try to open my mouth without screaming.

Words fail me, but hearts speak. I look up at the woman again, my tongue dry, choking me.

"Mom?"