The last thing I remembered was burning up from the inside out. I had been burned once when I touched a hot frying pan, it felt like that only it was over my entire body. Now I felt no pain. It was a unique feeling for me because up until then my entire existence had been pain. Crippling physical pain. It hurt to breath before, but now there was no pain, no struggle as my half-formed lungs tried to breath for a full body of blood. I could feel my chest rising and falling in a very calm rhythm. No gurgling and popping as I tried to breathe through the ever-present liquid in my lungs. One might think that opening my eyes would be the first thing I would do, but I was blind. So, I kept them closed and I listened. I could hear a girl laughing. The murmur of conversations in the distance. As my body began to respond to my wakefulness, I could feel a tube in my mouth. I began to panic and opened my eyes. I had never seen more than a dull blur before. When my eyes opened, I was assaulted by defined shapes and all manner of color. I closed them again, I must have screamed. I kept my eyes shut tightly. It was too much. Someone held me down and I could feel them pulling something out of my throat. They were talking, but I did not hear their words. My heart was throbbing and all I could focus on was the pounding in my ears. The world was spinning even inside my head. I think the best description is vertigo. I blacked out.

When I woke again, I heard the distinct sound of a page being turned in a book. I had heard it many times when Eric would read his beloved stories to me. I resisted the urge to open my eyes. I cannot describe what being able to see for the first time was like. My mind scrambled to put names to objects. Maybe the wires weren't finished yet. I would have to open them eventually, even before when I was legally blind, I could still see well enough not to run into things. Hearing what a window looks like then seeing one, are completely different experiences. I knew names for things, and I could guess what I was looking at, but I could never be sure unless I had corroborating evidence. Instead of risking my sanity by opening right that moment, I kept them closed and listened again. It was quieter now; I could hear the city outside. Sirens in the distance. I could hear someone breathing near me, and then I heard another turn of a page.

I felt an odd sensation. My feet. I assumed it was my feet, as they seemed to be at the bottom of my body. I had never felt my feet before, as I realized I could feel my toes brushing against the sheet above them, my foot jerked. It was strange to have limbs I had never had before, I had them, but they were vestigial and had I couldn't feel them or use them. I gasped when my foot jerked and I heard something hit the floor. It was a plastic bottle with some liquid in it, I heard water bottles make the same sound. Then I heard her voice and could smell her perfume. She sounded tired.

"Can you hear me?"

I kept my eyes closed. I did not want to black out again. When I spoke my voice surprised me, it sounded different, perhaps from not being used, it sounded louder, and raspier than before.

"Yes."

I coughed, not the cough I was used to. My usual cough was accompanied by gurgling, this was just from a dryness in my throat, and some lingering pain.

"Let me get you some water."

I heard her re-enter the room and heard a plastic cup being put on a hard surface.

"Can you open your eyes?"

"The light hurts them."

I heard a nearby click.

"It is safe to open your eyes. The lights are off."

I opened my eyes and while I could make out shapes in the darkness it wasn't so disorienting as last time. I blinked a few times and saw a cup with water in it sitting on tray across my bed. I had never seen one before but it was the only thing with a liquid in it. I picked it up and took a long drink. When I put it down I looked at my hand. It was not how I remember it feeling. Before it had been twisted even with my almost total blindness I had been able to see the twisted, and stubby fingers that barely worked. This hand was not mine. It was smooth and pale with long slender fingers. I felt a rising panic. I closed my eyes again quickly and took another drink of the water. I heard motion again, I had been so absorbed in my hand I had forgotten there was someone in the room with me. I opened my eyes and avoided looking at my body it was too alien for me to process at the time. I looked at the woman. I couldn't make out much more then a silhouette in the darkened room. I saw her lean closer, her voice was softer than before.

"Is that better?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is."

"Ma'am? That's a new one. I'm not that old."

"I can't really see you, ma'am."

"My name is Kat. I'm a nurse here. Do you remember your name?"

I was about to respond but then I stopped. I remembered the screams of my family dying around me and thought I might get in trouble. I did something I had never done before. I lied.

"No, sorry ma'am."

"That's okay, it will come back hon. You were in a pretty bad accident. I'm happy you can talk and that you're awake. We can work on the rest later, call me Kat, okay?"

"Okay, Kat. Could I… could I ask: where am I?"

"You're at the Precious Angels Home for kids in Metropolis."

"How did I get here?"

"Oh, you poor dear. There was an accident, you were found in the remains of the building. They put you on life support, they determined you were in a permanent vegetative state and withdrew life support. You lived. You're a little miracle."

I could feel myself frowning. A little miracle who murdered her whole family and her best friend.

"So, no one knows who I am?"

"No, I'm afraid not, they had it all over the media, but no one came forward. Maybe your family was in the building and…well maybe they can't come forward."

I could feel the guilt rising up from the pit of my stomach. I could feel tears dripping down my cheeks. My hands began to shake and I dropped the water. I started to sob. I didn't want to, but I had done it, I killed my family and everyone in that building. Kat wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. I sobbed into her chest for a long time. And she sat there on the bed hugging me tightly stroking my hair.

"Shh, its okay, you're safe and cared for hon. We'll get you through this."

I tried to say something, but I was sobbing too much. By the time I had calmed down Kat had replaced my water and cleaned up the spill. She came back in and she was holding something in her hands.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes."

She put something down in front of me and unwrapped it.

"It's not much, just left-over ham sandwich from lunch. Just take it slow. You haven't eaten solid food in a long time."

I reached out and picked up the sandwich. It was cold to the touch. I was still shocked at how well my and worked. There was no joint pain in my knuckles or fingers. I took a bite of the sandwich. It wasn't great but it felt good to chew. The whole time Kat hovered nearby. Once I swallowed the first bite she picked up her book off her chair and sat down. It didn't take me long to finish the sandwich. It was amazing what a pair of working hands and perfect vision made possible. With my old hands eating a sandwich would have been an hour-long affair as I shakingly tried to get it to my mouth. I could tell she was smiling, even in the darkness. My eyes were growing accustomed and I could start to make out details, if not colors. Her hair was dark and was in a ponytail. I had no point of comparison for age without feeling someone's face but she looked smooth, so she was younger then my mother.

"Kat, how long have I been here?"

"You've been here for about five months. You were in the hospital for about a month before you were transferred."

"Did…did I look different when I got here?"

"No, why?"

"I umm, I uh, I feel wrong, like I'm in the wrong body."

"That is completely normal after coming out of a long-term coma. Give yourself some time."

I didn't think it was normal to suddenly have working eyes, arms, hands, legs and feet. She was being honest at least, there is no way you could mistake old me for new me. I could feel the urge to pee coming on. I had rarely done it normally usually there was a catheter, and I had no idea how to get from where I was to a toilet. I squirmed a bit and Kat must have noticed.

"Are you okay?"

"I think…I think I need to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, let me help you to the toilet."

She pushed the tray out of the way and helped me up. She was strong for her size and practically had to carry me. I had working feet and legs but I had never actually walked before she didn't seem to mind and helped me to the toilet and sat me down on it.

"I'll be outside just let me know when you're done hon."

She left the bathroom and closed the door. I was alone. I did what I had to do and steadily pulled myself to my feet leaning on the bathroom vanity. My legs wobbled under me. I expected them to be weak but they supported me fine. I almost cheered. I had always wanted to know what it felt like to stand up. I was lost in the joy of feeling the cold floor on the balls of my feet, I wiggled my toes. I looked up and I saw myself for the first time.

The night light in the bathroom cast a soft glow, but it was enough to make out my features. My hair was unkempt and blonde. It was very long, past my waist. My eyes were a turquoise blue. I had no scale to measure my looks by. I had never seen the details of another human face besides Kat's. My nose was perky and my skin had no blemishes. It wasn't my face looking back at me. I knew that much, my hair had been kept short and was brown, my eyes had been hazel. I could only go by what I had been told, but this wasn't my face. I was interrupted when Kat called out.

"Are you alright in there, hon?"

"Yes, but I could use some help, please."

Kat opened the door and I heard her gasp.

"What are you doing, you could have fallen and hurt yourself. Let me help you."

She swooped under my arm and I started my tentative attempts to walk. I watched her legs move and tried to mimic her. It was comical watching me to do that, and even I started to giggle. Kat tried her best not too, but it was too much, and she dissolved into her own giggles. She helped me lay down again. We both giggled ourselves out of breath and Kat looked at me and spoke very kindly.

"Its okay hon, your muscles have atrophied, and it will take time for them to learn to be used again."

"Thank you, Kat."

"That's what I'm here for. I do need to do some rounds and check on some others. There is a button right there on that string. If you press it, one of us will be by shortly afterwards. Try and get some actual sleep, please."

I nodded. Kat scooped up her book and left the room, but she didn't close the door. Left alone I looked out the window and could see what I assumed were stars. Words hadn't done them justice. I felt my eyes growing heavy and I didn't fight the urge to sleep.