Disenchanted

Bright.

That was the first word that popped into my head. It was really bright; the brightest blinding white light I’d ever seen. I’d squint my eyes if I could’ve but...well, I couldn’t. I couldn’t understand why.

The last thing I remember I was in a car and then, well, I didn’t know.

I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know where I was. All I knew is I wanted my vision to clear into anything other than the sickeningly bright white that clouded my eyes as far as I could see.

Did I pass out?

...was I even alive?

I prayed for a sign, a hint that this wasn’t it.

It wasn’t the afterlife. It couldn’t be. If it was, it was a sucky way to end my existance on earth. There was no ‘pearly white’ gate, no angel to greet me. Hell, I’d settle for seeing the devil himself if it at least meant something more than the solitary confinement I seemed to be stuck in. It was just nothing. A big. Fat. Nothing.

I wasn’t ready for that, to die. I had too much to live for, too much to do with my life. I had just begun figuring the whole ‘life’ thing out, and I couldn’t very well stop now.

Then, there it was. The tiniest sliver of...something as the blinding light finally began to dissipate. Slowly but surely, my senses began rushing back to me as my blurry vision began to clear. I could feel my eyelids blink once, then three times in rapid succession as they tried to adjust to their surroundings.

Things were still white, mostly anyway. The lights were fluorescent white, as well as the walls and the ceiling I’d first opened my eyes to.

I could hear a muffled ‘bip’ to the side of me, a constant, high pitched electronic beep that seemed to quicken just a hair the more I gathered my new surroundings, daring to lower my eyes to inspect things further. I could see a bit clearer now as my vision sharpened, and I’d barely taken in the slumped over figure sitting by the foot of the bed I was currently laying in, hunched over a book when she happened to glance up towards me thru her dark rimmed reading glasses. She nearly did a double take, her familiar dark grey eyes staring at me as if she’d seen a ghost. Then, a gasp.

“Oh, my baby!” My mother’s voice cried out in shock, piercing thru the once silent air. “My baby’s finally awake!”

I just stared at her, opening my mouth to ask her just what the hell she meant by ‘finally’ when my teeth bit down on a hard plastic tube that I could feel was disgustingly snaked all the way down my throat. I felt like I was going to gag, but held it back. I heard the beeping speed up again as I felt panic rise inside, and my eyes shot over towards the machine causing the alarming noise: a heart monitor.

My mom was on her feet in a flash, hitting a bright red button with determined force. “Nurse! I need a nurse!” She called out towards the open door while my brain quickly put the pieces together. Heart monitor. Florescent lights. Nurses.

I was in the hospital. Question was, just how the hell’d I end up there?