Chapter One
Awakening
"Edward? Edward Masen?"
I struggled to open my heavy eyelids. After a brief moment, I managed to crack first one eye, and then the other open. At first, everything was blurry, but my eyes gradually began to focus.
A woman, a nurse I presumed, bent over me. She was petite, perhaps in her early thirties, and wore the traditional white uniform. Her light brown hair was carefully done up beneath her cap.
"Thank God!" she exclaimed, the expression of worry on her face quickly morphing into one of relief. "You're awake! How do you feel?"
It all began to flood back. I was in the hospital, a patient suffering from the terrible Spanish influenza that was sweeping across the country. My parents and I had all fallen victim to the raging fever and harsh cough.
"Tired…I suppose. But alright. And a little hungry."
The woman laughed. "Well, that's certainly a good sign. I'll see if I can find you something to eat. I'm Nurse McBride, by the way." She pointed to a bell on the small table beside the bed. "I should be back soon, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to ring."
I thanked her, and she bustled off. Then I began to look around me, taking in the details of my whereabouts. I was in a long room, its walls, floor, and ceiling all the typical hospital white. There about thirty beds in the room, half against each of the two longer walls. Various patients lay on them. A few were awake, but most were asleep. I figured that this must be the recovery ward. I began to examine the figures more closely, looking for ones that might resemble those of my parents. None appeared to. A horrible thought popped into my head. What if they hadn't made it? I sat bolt upright in the bed, reaching over to grab the bell. I rang it violently. Within seconds, Nurse McBride appeared, a tray in her hand. She approached my bed, and placed it on the small table beside me.
"Edward!" she exclaimed. "Is something the matter? I brought you some broth."
I looked at her wild eyed. "My parents!" I demanded. "Where are they? What happened?" Fear gnawed in the pit of my stomach. I saw an unmistakable look of pity cross her face.
"Edward…" she said softly. "I'm so very sorry to have to tell you this, but they didn't make it. About three days ago, your father died. Your mother followed him a day later. You recovered, though, and we moved you here.
I stared at her in utter horror. My parents….dead?!
"It's not true!" I gasped. "You're lying to me. You must be. It can't be true!"
"Edward." She bent down next to me and took my hand, trying to comfort me. "I'm so sorry. But I'm afraid it is true. I wouldn't lie to you about something so dreadful. I am so sorry."
I was so shocked that I first I merely sat there, trying to process the awful news she had just broken. It felt as if I'd been punched in the stomach. I couldn't even cry. But after a minute or two, reality sunk in, and the tears came.
I don't know how long I lay there crying into my pillow. I was vaguely aware of Nurse McBride rubbing my back in an attempt to comfort me. It didn't matter to me that I was a man now, and men didn't cry. Both of my parents were dead. I was barely seventeen and alone in the world save for a few relatives in Georgia. It was the worst moment of my short life, and I did nothing to stem the flow of tears. After what must have been a long time, a feeling of exhaustion overcame me, and I sank into a deep sleep.