The Art of Mending Memories

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

            There was stillness to the black, a sense of serenity.  It was a peaceful numbness, something that would never end until I decided to let it.  It had all the time in the world, and yet there was not time in the realm of the black nothingness.  There was no feeling or sense, no color, no emotion.  All was at rest.

            But there was something there, reminding me of why this blackness was not real.  It did not exist.  I had somewhere to be and things to accomplish.  It was time to leave the nothingness.

            The first returning sense was feeling.  There was no more pain in my body.  All bones had been mended and scrapes had been sealed.  My limbs were relaxed, but there was a slight stiffness in my muscles, as if I had rested in the same position for too long.  I was lying on something soft.  My hand was warmest of all, enveloped in something familiar.

            Then I heard sounds.  A soft murmur of voices from somewhere far, distorted by barriers I could not see.  I heard soft breathing beside me, familiar soft breaths.

            I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs more than they had been filled in a while.  There was a clean smell, something that gave me comfort in my wakening state.

            I felt a body stir next to me.  A soft voice said “hey.”

            My eyes cracked open, just for a flicker.  The world was bright after my black nothingness.  My eyes flickered open again, just for a second.  The brightness began to feel familiar again, and for a third try, I cracked open my eyes.  For a moment all I could see was white.  Then colors registered in my mind.

            I was in a room I had never seen.  The walls were blue and the ceiling white.  I was aware of two windows on a wall, and another one on the adjacent wall.  There was a door, closed.  I turned my head.  Gray eyes stared back at me.

            “Hey,” the same voice said.  I saw a small smile creep onto Aaron’s face.  His head was lying on the pillow next to mine, his head level with mine.  His black waves were spread out on the pillowcase.

            I swallowed, looking for my voice. “I thought you had died,” I whispered.

            A hand lifted and pulled a strand of hair from the side of my face.  Aaron smiled again. “I can’t die,” he replied lightly. “If I did, some guy would come and whisk you off your feet and my ghost would get far too jealous.”

            I smiled slowly. “Would you haunt me forever after?”

            “Most certainly.”

            Still smiling, I closed my eyes.  I took a deep breath before opening them again.  Aaron stared at me with serious, wide grey eyes.  I watched as he pulled my hand—held by his—to his face and kissed my knuckles.

            “I was worried about you,” he whispered. “I was afraid I was too late.”

            “No, right on time.”

            He looked away. “I should have been there earlier.”

            “Don’t think about it, Aaron. You’ve got to put the past behind you.”

            Aaron closed his eyes and smiled faintly. “Figures.  Only you would wake up from a near-death experience and quote The Lion King.”