THE COLOUR OF LOVE (Wattpadprize14)Completed

Chapter 10 - Awake at last

Tears welled up in her mother’s eyes and somewhere in the distance she heard someone calling for the doctor. She heard her mother asking the doctor if she was going to be alright. Her father’s face appeared beside her mother’s. They were discussing her condition with the doctor across her bed as if she wasn’t there.  She tried to speak but the oxygen mask made that impossible.  A light pierced her eyes and she blinked. Whilst the doctor was checking her eyes with his little torch, she heard him saying that she appeared to be out of danger now and that she’d more than likely go straight back to sleep.

Cherrie was vaguely aware of what her parents were saying to the doctor as they walked away from her bed towards the end of the room.  She tried to lift her head but the nurse pushed her gently back down.  She was told to close her eyes and sleep.

Closing her eyes, she found herself drifting off to sleep very quickly.  The pain in her head had stopped and there was just a serene peace, which seemed to engulf her as she slipped deeper and deeper into an endless blackness.

~~~

Cole woke suddenly and realised, to his horror, that the dream had definitely affected him, as his passion rose to the occasion.  He sat up quickly as the nurse walked in, hoping she hadn’t noticed.  He tried desperately, to think of other things besides the women’s lips he’d just been kissing.  The dream was so erotic, it felt so real.

As the nurse unplugged him, Cole found himself blushing.  The heat of the dream had triggered a response he’d not had since his wife died.  He suddenly felt guilty; surely this wasn’t a good sign, being unfaithful to her memory so soon. Was it possible that this would bring her back to haunt his dreams again, as he dared to contemplate having a relationship with another woman, even though it was only in his dreams, especially since he hadn’t placed a headstone at her grave yet?

After breakfast, Cole went in to speak to the doctor and even though he felt embarrassed, he just had to discuss his dream with someone. He needed someone to tell him that he didn’t need to feel guilty, dreaming of passionate moments with another woman, when his wife had only been gone two short years.

The doctor sat quietly taking notes.

“Cole, I don’t think you should beat yourself up about your dream.  It really is a natural occurrence for men to have sexual dreams, which often feel as realistic as you’ve described.”

“But I just can’t help feeling disloyal to my wife’s memory!” Cole frowned.

“I’m sure that your wife wouldn’t want you to continue grieving for her, and this may just be the beginning of your healing process. Your mind seems to have come to terms with her passing now, and that’s why you had that dream. Your sub-conscious is telling you to move on.”

Cole thought for moment that perhaps the doctor was right. Maybe his time of grief and guilt was at last lifting.  Maybe now his wife would no longer haunt his sleep and he would no longer cry out at night, causing his neighbours to fear the worst, and be concerned that he would end up jumping over the balcony.

He drove home deep in thought.  In his apartment, he dragged his lounger out onto the balcony, and after pouring himself a tall, chilled glass of orange juice, he relaxed back in the comfort of the chair and the late morning sunshine.

~~~

Cherrie slipped in and out of sleep. People coming and going out of her room, spoke to her and stroked her hand. She heard the voices but never quite understood what they said.  She felt them squeeze her hand and felt the warmth in this gesture. When her father kissed her forehead, her eyes blinked open at once.  The soft warmth of his kiss awoke memories but she was surprised to see her father.

He squeezed her hand and whispered, “Welcome back sweetie. You gave us all quite a scare.”

Her mother rushed to her bedside and said excitedly, “Oh thank God, you’re awake and back with us.”

One by one her family and friends came to visit, now that she was awake. Her family said that she’d been unconscious for two days before the operation, and that she’d been drifting in and out of sleep for five days after the operation and they were really concerned. They asked her if she’d heard them talking to her. She said that she’d heard voices but that none of what they’d said really made sense.  She had felt the warmth of their touch when they’d held her hand, but never quite knew who it was.

As the visitors eventually left her in peace, a strange vision came into her mind; a dream of a man that was vaguely familiar; a man that had appeared in her dreams more than once. Although she couldn’t remember what he looked like, she felt that he was a caring person, more so than any of the other relationships she’d had in her adult life.  Now at 30, she still hadn’t fallen head over heels in love with anyone.She felt that time was slipping by quickly now, and she still hadn’t found the love of her life.

Lying awake and thinking of her past, she found that occasionally, her thoughts would drift to the man in her dreams. Running her fingers over her forehead, she could almost feel his soft kisses on her brow.  She frowned and felt the lines as they creased between her eyebrows. Smiling, she couldn’t help remembering how he had commented on her frown.

Switching on her bedside light, she noticed the flowers in her room for the first time.  She gasped when she saw all the purple orchids. ‘Oh my God! I saw all these purple orchids in my dreams,’ she thought to herself.

Looking back at her bedside table, she saw a single orchid, floating in water, in a glass bubble.  She was taken aback to see how similar it was to the giant purple orchids she saw in her dreams.  Now she needed to find the florist which kept such beautiful orchids, and intended to do just that as soon as she left the hospital.