Disclaimer: My name is not Katherine Patterson, and I did not write this book. Wish I did, though...
Rating: K+ for some swearing in the near future... Perhaps...
Summary: I'm sure you all know the story of Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke. You know, Leslie moves to Lark Creek from Arlington Virginia and the two become the best of friends. But what about that accident near the end? Oh, yes, I remember now. Leslie fell, didn't she? Crossing into Terabithia? Most people assumed she was dead. They were wrong. Leslie is still alive and kicking, but with one problem. She thinks she's still in Arlington! The fall into the creek knocked the memories of the past year completely out of her head! How will Jess react? Will Leslie ever go to Terabithia again?
And... Onward!!
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…
The sound of the beeping machines pierced through my sleep. My face contorted in irritation. I slowly opened my eyes, revealing a bright room.
"Where am I?" I whispered. I tried to turn my head back and forth, but found myself too weak. From my right, I heard a relieved gasp. I saw my mother rush up to my bed, tears streaming down her face.
"You're in the hospital, honey," she said slowly. "There was…" she paused. "An accident." My father stepped up beside her.
"What happened?" I didn't remember any accident. Was it a car accident, I thought. Or worse?
My parents shared a worried look. Then my mother spoke. "It doesn't matter now," she said. "You rest and we'll talk later."
I nodded. I was tired. So tired. My eyelids grew heavy. And then I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
As I felt myself waking up again, I listened to my surroundings before opening my eyes. I could hear my parents nervously chatting to each other. That annoying machine beeping away. The door opened. Someone came into my room. A nurse?
"Mr. and Mrs. Burke?" Yes. A nurse. I heard my parents stand and turn to the lady. Deciding it was best to pretend to be asleep, I kept my eyes closed and my breathing regular.
The nurse spoke again. "Amazingly, Leslie will be perfectly fine in a couple days. The doctor will probably release her in about four, perhaps five, days." I heard my mother sigh with relief. "But, as with most cases, there is some bad news." My mother took a deep breath and held it. "As you know by know, when the rope broke, Leslie fell and hit her head on a rock, causing her to fall unconscious."
At this statement, I am stunned. A rope? Falling? Rocks? When did this all happen?
"From the scans we've taken," the nurse pauses for a moment. "It appears as if there may be temporary brain damage. She may need special treatment to help her overcome this."
My mother let out a cross between a squeak and a moan. I stopped listening after that. I needed to sort out what I had just heard.
When I was sure the nurse was gone, I opened my eyes and took in a deep breath. My parents heard me and rushed to my side. They both had tears in their eyes. I did, too.
"Tell me," I said in a raspy voice. "What happened?"
My mother pursed her lips in an effort to not cry, and she looked at my dad. He nodded to her, as if to say, "It's okay." Then he started in on the story.
"Leslie," he began. "About a week ago, you had an accident." I nodded impatiently, but abruptly stopped. The action caused lots of pain. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to make the stabbing sensation disappear. "You had been trying to swing across the river on an old rope and it snapped. You fell into the river, hitting your head on a sharp rock. You almost drowned."
My brow furrowed in confusion. "But I haven't been to the river for…" I paused to think. "At least a couple months. Besides, the river is too wide to swing across."
My mom looked worried. "But Leslie," she said slowly. "You've been going over the river with Jess since the beginning of school."
Now I felt a little worried. "Jess?" I said. "Who's Jess?"
A/N: Sorry about the shortness. Don't want to reveal too much in the first chapter. I'll do my best to make the next chapter longer. Please rate & review!
Edit: Changed a few things. Did some research on Wikipedia and found that some of the stuff I wrote didn't correspond with real life. Nothing big changed.