"Hey kid!" "Kid!" "Why am I fading in and out of consciousness…", "Hey kid" "Stay back little girl," "NO HE'S MY FRIEND!" As I fade in and out of existence I manage to wake up from my eternal slumber. As per what I saw in my first moments was a blur of pure white, as I saw the heavenly lights I asked myself, "Is this Heaven?" As the moment became more clear I had realized the light was not that but the light coming from the ceiling, I instantly corrected my phrase and said, "no"
I started to stare at my surroundings and scrape things together and start to think about what happened to me, why was I hospitalized? And why am I in a hospital bed with my memories as vague as the ocean's deepness.
While searching my memories I realized that everything was a blur until I saw something on my right arm. A scar that looked like a tree or a lightning bolt coming from my hand all the way up to my shoulder. That's when Irecalled my "Final moments…"
I was in a fire, and there was no way out, flames engulfed my room, and as I tried to escape I failed… That's when someone appeared from the door directly horizontal from my hospital bed and then he shouted, "HE'S AWAKE!" Not knowing what was going on, all I could do was stay on the bed thinking about what happened to me, all I could remember was a horrible fire and… M… MY PARENTS! I lounged out of bed despite being tied up to multiple life sustaining machines and shouted at him, "Where are they!" As I grabbed his shirt with a tired and distressed face.
Confusingly the doctor asked, "where's who?" With a somewhat startled expression. Then I replied with a blank stare and tears started to build up again. "What do you mean where's who?- Damn it…" I stopped for a second and continued, "Where's my parents…" As I struggled to say those words I had tried to maintain my composure but failed with my tears streaming down my face.
I let go of his shirt and continued questioning him, "who found me and how did I survive?" He stared at me with grief and said, "follow me kid, if you want to understand what happened…" Even though the procedure is to keep the patient in their room until they are at least physically well I decided to follow him.
That's when he told me why he's doing this, and it's because of how sorry he feels. I followed him down the long corridor with both bodies, patients, and pale white walls with blue lines stretching across to every room door as he explained everything to me.
As he stared at my hopeless face he started off by saying the one line that families never wish to hear, "I'm sorry to say this." Then he continued to say the words that I never wanted to hear but at the same time the exact words I had already suspected. "Your parents are gone." My heart felt like it sank right into a river, but since I already felt like that was going to be the case, I was able to at least look like I was under control.
He then started to explain to me in detail what happened on that tragic night that according to him was 3 days ago. "You see, kid, after your house collapsed with all of those flames, all the firefighters could do was try and contain the flames until it was completely suppressed and move on to find any stragglers. That's when they spotted a hand through the flames, with scorch marks, and as you possibly guessed that was your hand."
"Luckily, since the firefighters saw it, they instantly checked to make sure you were alive even though you were under the rubble…" And once they did, although weak there was a pulse, you were alive and because of that we were able to save you." And even though it seems like one of your friends tried to rush over they came through and got you out…"
Soon after those words I questioned him further, "So what of my parents?" That's when he looked away and said, "I'll let someone else explain." So we kept on walking down the corridor. That's when we saw an open door with a familiar face, and it was my friend Chidon with his mother standing behind him. He stared at me and told me, "are you okay?" I replied with my face full of dried tears and told him with a brief expression of relief. "don't worry, I'm okay."
Chidon replied with a serious expression, "though you do know that…'' and before he could finish the sentence, I responded, "yeah" and then his mother told me that my parents saved me, they covered me as the building collapsed, once I was found and they removed the rubble the people on top were my parents full of holes, blood, and scorch marks all over their clothes and bodies. According to Chidon's mother and to my knowledge they got enough strength to protect me before it was too late…
I looked at them and the mother with a burdened face and said simply, "I thought so..." At that moment I felt as if at any second I would break down and start losing myself, but before that happened I hastily asked if I could use the restroom… where no one else could hear me, Chidon told me that "it's fine, go use it" and I instantly went in and I couldn't hold it back anymore, my face became covered in regret, weakness, and what's more pure hopelessness, "it's all my fault! they died, and I was the one responsible, I wasn't…" is what I said as I was losing myself in the restroom.
But, as soon as those words came out of my mouth, another familiar face with a familiar voice showed up and knocked the door down behind me saying that "everything is going to be okay" I turned around and then she hugged me… That's when I was able to see what was happening in front of me, a girl with dazzling brown short hair, It was Kuzu.
I shakingly spoke as the tears continued to flow down my face, "how can you put up with a failure like me, I can't be anything except a useless idiot with no strength, power, determination, or intelligence to do anything…" And then she stopped hugging me to say these simple words "because you're you."
She told me about the time I protected her from bullies by putting myself in front of them, how I gave her lunch when she had none, and how no matter the situation I stayed the same, always doing the right thing. And while she kept on explaining how I helped her I told her that "I'm not all that, I couldn't protect the people dear to me and I couldn't even protect myself!" Then that's when she said those words… "You protected me." Thanks to those words my emotions peaked and I hugged her again and I kept on crying on her shoulder, unable to hear anyone and even myself...