The sliver of bright light was blinding. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the surrounding. Where is he? What happened? Why his body felt as though he had just got flattened by a bulldozer? His head ached as those questions played in his mind. He tried to move his fingers. They felt so heavy. His throat felt raw and he had to lick his lips several times with his dry as sand tongue.
“You’re awake!” a girl said, in profound relieve tinged with heavy disbelief. “OH, god, we thought... Oh god,” he heard the unmistakable tears in her voice as she then went out of the room to call some other people. He blinked several time feeling empty.
A few seconds later and a number of people were surrounding him, staring in disbelief. A woman in her late forties was sobbing uncontrollably, with fat tears running down her face. He felt at a loss. He couldn’t recognise any of them. His parched throat felt raw. With upmost effort, he tried to muster his energy to speak up.
“Water...” was all he could manage, and that was all that it took for the whole group to fuss about him, offering him sips of water, another girl laughing hysterically at the sight of him while the men watched on, disbelieve deeply etched on their faces. The girl that he first saw sitting at his bedside stayed at a corner, watching them and smiling broadly despite her tears. Who is she? Who are these people?
A doctor and a nurse suddenly came in, checking his vitals and asking him several questions. How was he feeling? Did he know who he is? Did he know where he is? Did he remember what happened? He responded accordingly, that he was feeling tired and battered, but otherwise relatively OK, no, he can’t remember anything. Where is he?
“You’re in a hospital. You were involved in a hit and run with a severe blow to your head and you were in a coma for nearly a month. Other than a few scratches here and there, your body is fine.” the doctor responded kindly. “And these are your family members,” he gestured to the general direction of the crowd around the room.
He nodded vaguely as the doctor continued checking him here and there, his pupils, and his respiration and so on. A few minutes later, seeming to be satisfied, the doctor announced, “If everything goes well, you can go home this evening,” the doctor said. The room buzzed with cheerful conversation.
His gaze roamed the place. He can guess that the woman and the balding guy were his parents. The two boys who look so much like him were his brothers and a girl who sat in the between his brothers was his youngest sister. Finally, his gaze settled on the girl at the corner of the room. Tears were still gently running down her face. She seemed to be familiar with his family, but he could not remember anything about her. Is she a cousin? A friend?
Who is she?
To be continued...
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