The Rebirth

Chapter 4

It had been gradual but the light in Sylvie’s mind had gotten brighter. Now there was only a thin line of black at the top of her personal sphere. Her hearing had heightened too. She was able to tune into conversations that she knew were taking place further away. She had been able to build the information together to get an understanding on where she was. She was in a hospital. Sylvie thought that was why Hannah- or as she should call her, her Mum- had been crying.

She had discovered that she now had a strong sense of feeling. She could feel the soft cotton sheets lying on top of her and the firm mattress beneath her. She could feel the duck feathers beneath the linen pillow case, not only that she could smell them. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell.

She could feel the light touch of thick hair on her collarbone and shoulders. Sylvie was pleased that she had good length hair and she found herself wondering about the colour of it.

She had learnt that there had been a young girl in the next bed but that she had died of a sudden fever. They had worried that it would spread so they burnt her body.

Sylvie had felt a deep sorrow when the doctor had told the girl’s parents, the mother had wept and the father was outraged. She found herself wondering what the girl had looked like.

Nearing footsteps pulled her from her thoughts and she tuned in to the outside world. The pattern of the footsteps was hesitant. Finally after some considerable time they stopped next to her bed. Sylvie had a distinct memory of these footsteps but they weren’t very familiar. She wished she could see who it was.

"Sylvie,” whispered a new male voice. It was smooth and deep. Suddenly her tiny black line disappeared and a bright light seeped in. That wasn’t her light. She felt herself blink. At first everything was blurry but then in a few more blinks her vision was crystal clear. She was really seeing.

She looked to her right-hand side to see a man. He was tall and dark haired with a strong jaw and pale skin. He was beautiful. He stood wide-eyed, his lips slightly parted. Sylvie thought that he was shocked. She pulled her eyes away from him to take in her surroundings.

She was in a curtained room; everything was a shade of blue. The walls were light, the curtain was dark, the bedding was the lightest blue and the plastic band on her wrist was blue. There was a tall stand with a large bag filled with red syrup on the left-hand side of the bed. There was a clear tube leading from the bag, she followed it to her side where it disappeared under the sheets. 

There was a yellow floral armchair in the far corner next to a small steel table with a candle on. Sylvie looked to her right; there was another identical steel table with a small lamp and a glass of water on. She reached out a shaking hand for the glass. It surprised her how pale her own skin was.

“Here let me get that for you,” the man said, reaching for the glass. He never took his eyes off her. Sylvie pulled herself up onto her elbows so that he could put the glass to her lips. She felt the cool liquid slid down her throat and the moisture in her mouth was comforting.

“Thank you,” Sylvie whispered. It felt strange to her to be able to hear her voice out loud. As he was moving away she caught sight of his eyes and she gasped. She had seen those eyes before. They were charcoal grey and enchanting. Then another shade of silver caught her eye, it was a name badge.

"How do you feel?” asked Dr Rowan Stewart. Sylvie liked that name. She thought he looked too young to be a doctor. She thought he spent too much time putting the glass back on the table.

 “I feel,” Sylvie paused; she wasn’t sure how she felt. She hadn’t had time to think about how she felt. “Can I get back to you on that?”