A soft white halo floated in front of Jay's eyes—glowing, trembling orbs that danced and blurred across her vision. She blinked slowly, once… then again and then again. The ceiling above her was unfamiliar, bleached in harsh white light, and the scent of spirits and antiseptic medicine clung to the air like a thick mist.
Her body felt heavy. Weighted, and as she tried to move she realized, she couldn't move. She tried to shift slightly, and a jolt of awareness shot through her when she noticed the cannula wedged into the back of her hand, attached to a drip bag filled with a yellow liquid that swayed ever so gently beside her on a stand. She stared at it through a haze, trying to process where she was and why she felt like she had just fallen out of herself.
As she tried to lift her head, a firm hand gently, but decisively, pressed her back against the bed. As the figure came close to her, she realized that it smelt different than the surrounding. It was something earthly fresh. A comforting scent, something similar to a smell that fills the air before a stormy rain is about to hit. She was busy thinking all this despite her wrecked condition when she heard,
"You should sleep more," a voice said, low and warm. "Don't worry… I'm here."
The hand slid into hers, holding it with quiet certainty.
Jay's sluggish mind fumbled with the sound, she got back to reality, trying to place the voice. Her ears buzzed faintly, but she forced herself to think, forced herself to reach out in her mind for familiarity.
Dad? she thought slowly. Is this… is this Dad? When did he come home? Where's Mom?
Her gaze darted weakly around the room. She was searching for any hint of familiarity, any sound or scent that might ground her. The voice returned before her thoughts could settle.
"Your fever has gone down quite a bit," the person said. She heard movement—felt the bed shift slightly—and then the figure stood directly above her, blotting out the irritating halos of light in front of her face with its silhouette. "Where are you looking?" the voice asked gently, amused. "Do you want something?"
The hand still held hers as the figure leaned closer, the lights casting his face in partial shadow. Jay tried to squint, to get a better look, her vision swimming trying to identify the figure.
But then, softly, the person placed an index finger on the bridge of her nose. "There, there," he murmured. "Don't squint your eyes like that. You'll get wrinkles."
He laughed, light-hearted and boyish.
Jay got shivers, "Not Dad. Definitely not Dad." Her mind raced.
That voice… that laugh…
"This isn't Dad," Jay whispered to herself, heart thudding unevenly. "Who is this? Where am I?"
Panic crawled up her chest, but she was too weak, her body still sedated and sluggish. She wanted to sit up, to demand answers, but her limbs had turned to stone. The stranger's hand gently stroked her forehead now, a rhythmic, almost hypnotic motion that dulled the edge of her fear.
She tried to resist the drowsiness curling around her like a lullaby, but the weight of the medicine and exhaustion was too strong. Slowly, involuntarily, Jay drifted into unconsciousness once more… as the figure remained by her side, quietly stroking her hair.
....
Jay awoke with a sharp gasp.
Darkness had settled around her like a big black shawl. The soft hum of nighttime filled the room. The clock still ticking and fan creaking slowly over her head. She was back. In her own room. On her own bed.
She sat upright, heart pounding. Her stomach…?
She pressed a tentative hand to her abdomen. No pain.
"I was dreaming?" she murmured, confused. "That was… a dream?"
No this can't be! the details are too vivid to dismiss. The sting of the cannula. Here…"she touched her hand and found no pain or any sign of any needle insertion"
"The scent", she said to herself , "The voice. The peppermint oil. My bag!"
She stood slowly, her legs still unsteady, and glanced around. Everything was exactly where it should be. Her bag hung from the bedpost. Her room neat, untouched. No wrappers. No torn medicine packs. The sapling near the window.
"Mama! papa! Are they home?!", she muttered, walking quietly out of her room towards the main entrance door. The key set jingled quietly on the hook by the door. Everything normal. Everything in its place. She wandered back to her room, unsettled.
"That… it felt so real! I can't believe it was a dream…"
Jay sat on the edge of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes scanned every surface—under the bed, in the drawers, on the floor. Nothing. Not a trace.
"Was I even in pain? That was also a dream?!"she again put her hand on her stomach…then it was such a terrible dream…" she whispered.
But jay was feeling uneasy the events felt too real to be called a dream! Her body still remembered the tiredness she felt. The echoes of that pain, the fear, the helplessness. Her throat was still dry. She could still taste the bitterness of that dry-swallowed pill, the scent of peppermint ghosting around her nose.
"Damn," she muttered, letting herself collapse backward onto the bed.
She closed her eyes, trying to push the images away. Well I think it was just a dream. Ugh! That's cruel, lord!"
Then she suddenly looked at her hand, and slid her other hand into it. It felt familiar…it was a big hand… I was warm" as jay thought, she felt heat out of her cheeks. It felt too real that someone held her hand…
"Eww… gross… what are you thinking jay! Are you too lonely!" jay shivered at the mere thought and then stroking her chest she said, "calm down Jay Miller it was just a dream!"
Soon Jay's breathing slowed and her body relaxed as she smiled at her own childish dream and thoughts soon while smiling she drifted into the second sleep of the night. And the quiet of the night wrapped itself around her like a blanket.
But in all this suspicious hustle and bustle, jay didn't realize that there was a shadow outside her window, the figure beyond the glass had leaned forward. Just a tilt of its head. As though in thought. It didn't move until Jay's breathing slowed and her eyes slipped shut… and she finally fell asleep
As it realized that jay was asleep it bowed its head gently. And then vanished into the dark.