The floor was cold beneath me. It was the cool smooth surface of the hospital ward floor that kept me sane. The spongy mattress that was supposes to serve as my bed was too sickly soft and warm. It drained all my energy in such a strangely comforting way that I was scared that if I closed my eyes I might never wake up. The cold floor was reminded me of why I could not let that happen. Reminded me of how it had felt when I had thought I was going to die.
I was warm in comparison to my surroundings. It was night so it was very quiet. I listened to the unsteady thrumming of my heart beat. I was getting better but I still had a long way to go. They had pumped all the drugs that had caused my body to start shutting down from my stomach, a painful experience. It had been almost two days ago and yet my body was still having unusual reactions. They would not let me go and the only person I had seen since waking us was the one doctor who always answered my questions with question never telling me anything, just doing tests. I even had the whole hospital room to myself.
A branch snapped and my head jerked towards the window. My room was on the second floor of the hospital and a tree grew outside my window. I opened the window and poked my head out into the damp night air. There was nothing there and a security guard flashed his light on my face. I pulled the curtain across blinking to get my vision back. I cursed quietly under my breath. I went back to my make shift bed on the floor.
There was a rustle and a little thump. I realised I had forgotten to close the window. At first I thought it was just the wind and my over active imagination but when I took a closer look there was a pair of shoes under the window ledge and then into my room, barefoot, he jumped. He saw my eyes pop wide open and my jaw drop. I was half a breath away from screaming.
“Shhhhh!!!!” he begged putting a finger to his lips.
He quietly made his way across the room and joined me on the floor. My heart was racing. All I could do was sit there and stare at his face blankly as he stared at mine. Something tugged at the back of my mind, I was sure I had seen this person before but my mouth wouldn’t form the words to ask where from.
“You seem familiar,” they commented instead.
“Think real hard, I know you can remember,” His voice was soft and calm but urgent.
If my heart was racing before now it was flying. His Hazel eyes begged me to remember. Impatient he reached out a hand. I did not flinch from under his touch as he stroked my hair gently. Then it hit me. I gasped. No, it couldn’t be.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed.
I was surprised at the harshness of my words. I had known Hamish since my very first years of primary school. He had been the only one who knew where to find me. He was the one who had saved me on the beach. He was the reason I was still alive. More than anything I wanted to wrap my arms around him and beg him to get me out of here. Buy my muscles were locked. My body would not move as if my instincts had been rearranged. Why was I suddenly so scared of him?
“Calm down,” he warned, glancing cautiously at the door.
I took a deep breath. He was right I was being silly.
“Lara, are you ok?” he asked? His voice was wrought with worry now.
“Never been better,” I rolled my eyes.
He eyes me sceptically but then smiled and his expression became calm.
“Have you looked in a mirror recently?” he asked, his expression became a smirk.
Something in my expression scared him because then he backed away.
“Holy s*** its true then,” he gasped.
“What,” I asked.
My anger quickly subsided to worry. He had never looked at me in fact no one had ever looked at me, with such terror in their eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I begged.
He took a deep breath and hesitated before he came towards me. Slowly as if he was unsure if it was safe. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. It had my name on it. He handed it to me. I held it unsure if I should read it. I studied Hamish’s every move. He seemed to be relaxing now and he came back to his place by me on the floor. He just looked at me with encouraging eyes but didn’t push me to read it.
I took my gaze off him and focused on the piece of white paper in my hand. It looked innocent enough. I slowly unfolded it bending back the creases as I went. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them I couldn’t stop blinking at the paper to make sure I was reading it right. On it was my birth date and also the date I passed away. It was the same date I had been rushed to hospital. I looked up into Hamish’s eyes horror struck.
“Where’d you get this,” I demanded, my breathing quickened I was close to hysterics.
“Your doctor’s office,” he said sympathetically.
“What’s happening to me?” I asked, a stray tear rolled down my face “Why have they told everyone I’m dead?”
“I was afraid it was too late to save you,” he whispered.