Short Story: I Wake Up In My Old Room

I wake up in my old room. Blue walls, wide window. The door is open and Sarah is stood in the just in front of it. I shiver. She swiftly turns and steps out of the room. Even if I could walk, run, she’s made it too easy. She returns with a blanket and throws it over me, adjusts the corners and then sits on the edge of the bed.

"Better?" she simpered , putting a hand out to pet my head.

I pulled away from her neatly manicured fingernails . "I need a cast on this leg, not a softer blanket."

"Hmmm. My mother always told me bed rest was the best cure. I think you should have another sleep." She reaches up to adjust the blankets around my arms, but I smack her hands away.

"I don 't need more sleep. I need medical attention." I pull myself

As I shift myself up to stand, my knees give way slightly, they feel unsteady even as I make my way to the door. The handle is old brass, cold and stiff, but the door gives way quickly. The hallway is stark white and the lights are dazzling. As I fumble along, feeling my way by touch along the smooth plain walls I begin to feel dizzy. The floor lurches towards me and my knees fail , my hands catching the brunt of the fall. I lie for a moment, resting my forehead against the cool floor.

“You must have gotten some strength back dear. Not enough though. ” Her voice is light and playful and just to my side. I groan into the floor.

“Let’s get you back to bed.” She hooks her arms under my shoulders and lifts me to lean against the wall. I start to slump down again and she swoops and hooks my legs up from underneath me with her right arm, her left catching my back. It’s an effortless motion for her to carry me back into the room and slides me back into the bed. As she’s tucking me back in she murmurs.

“We all have to be patient, darling.”

She leaves the room as swiftly as before, but this time when the door is closed I can hear the slight sound of metal grinding on metal, and I know that it’ll never be so easy

"Open wide pumpkin."

I obey and the medicine thickly coats my mouth. I cough and choke, flinging my arms out. Catastrophic.

One of my flailing limbs catches the bottle and it falls from the desk and smashes.

I am crying before I feel the sting of her hand .

"I 'm s-sorry!" I say, huddling back down into the bed covers, pulling them up to my chin.

She leaves without a word , leaves me to crying and pressing my cheek against the cool side of my pillow.

**** I’d been alone in room for only a short time, staring up at the dark ceiling, when the creak of a door brings my senses to focus. She glides through the dim room and sits on the chair which is now permanently by my side. She switches the light on and I see that she’s carrying a rather battered cardboard box and a tray, with a mug on it.

“I’ve brought you some things. They’ll help you sleep better.” She sets the box down at the bottom of the bed, just a little past my feet and then untucks my arms from the blanket. The tray is placed on the bedside table.

She hands me a mug from the tray first. I take a sip and the nearly forgotten taste of tea dances on my tongue. I smile warmly into the mug and take another