I can hear voices.
Voices I can't place names or faces to.
They float around me, but I can't open my eyes to look, so I listen to them. They speak in a muffled way, as if behind a pillow.
"...going to make it."
"...a coma for how long? That's..."
I strain my ears. This must be important! I need to hear it!
"...litres of blood. It was..."
"...will he wake up? Someone..."
"...Cerebral scans show increased brain activity."
As if reaching out my hand, I struggle to make out more words. It feels like I'm trudging through molasses, but I continue, and soon the words get clearer, not foggy as they once were.
"What, you mean he's awake right now?"
"He doesn't show any external signs. It could be the shock, we don't know. What's important is that we have both of them in stable condition."
"So are we going to have someone in the rooms at all times? Y'know, in case they wake up for a moment or so?"
"Are you volunteering, Hana?"
"I-uh-no, I'm just wondering."
"Hana, you've never been this interested in the medical process before. What's wrong?"
"I just feel like this is my fault. I – we – could have been there. If I was a just a little bit better, I could have prevented this."
"I know, Hana. You're the best of the best, but you're not perfect. There's always someone that gets missed. I'm just relieved it was people as strong-willed as this."
"...Yeah."
The voices start to fade out, and I push myself to my limits, crying out inside my head, though my mouth won't move.
"You think I can move a gaming console in here?"
"Hana, that's not wise, but I guess..."
A large clack sounds and the voices end abruptly.
With nothing else to concentrate on, I turn my focus to myself.
I don't know whether I'm standing up, or sitting down, or lying down, or what. I try to move my right arm, much like I would in real life, but I feel no air resistance, instead what feels like a spider's web holding me back. My legs are the same. My mouth opens but no sound like the voices from before issues out, only hollow noises inside my mind. I feel like a tiny pinprick in a vast black field, a small bit of something amidst nothing. All I have to know myself is a jumble of thoughts.
Where am I? Who was that? Who were they talking about? Is it me? Am I in the coma? Is Ame okay? What happened after I got on the plane?
All these questions to plague me and no doctor to cure me. I settle for placing them on the proverbial back burner and falling asleep, hoping things will be better when I wake up.
