.The Eraser.

dix- sept

                                                                  -17-

Darkness. 

That's all she could see. Her eyes were closed and she did not want to open them. 

She could detect voices speaking softly, but they seemed distant-as if they were in another world. 

Atara liked the darkness. It was peaceful but suddenly that blackness was replaced by fire. 

A bright red and white light followed by the sound of a blast. The scene kept on playing over and over again on the surface of her closed eye lids. It was like a projection of pictures and their source being her brain. 

She was confused. What was going on? She couldn't comprehend what the pictures meant. 

The voices in the background continued to speak, but she they were too far away. 

She began to panic; slowly more pictures flashed before her. She saw a brown haired girl enter a plane and seconds after, the plane was engulfed in flames. 

'Is that-?' she asked unsure as the scene continued to play continuously. Fire and a sound of a blast and then debris flew around her at a fast speed. 

Immediately something clicked in her head. 

''Copper!'', Atara gasped loudly and quickly opened her eyes. 

She shot up straight in an upright position and saw the three alarmed pairs of eyes staring back at her in surprise. It was Louisse, Jean and a third individual in a white coat. 

''Atara,'' Her mother exclaimed and instantly moved to her left side, ''lean back. You will strain your neck.'' 

Atara was even more confused but one thing was bothering her extremely; ''where's Copper?'' she asked frantically and observed her surroundings with wild eyes. 

She was in a small square room with soft blue walls and a small rectangular window to her left. The scene beyond the window was bright and calm. It was in the afternoon. Her eyes moved to Jean who appeared worn out and was standing at the end of the bed, next to the dark-sinned man in a white coat. The man holding a clipboard with a stethoscope around his neck looked back at her with pity in his eyes. 

Her mother's expression was grim, but relieved and Atara finally observed the narrow tubes connected to her wrists from somewhere beside her bed. 

''Where's Copper and where the heck am I?'' she inquired as she glanced between her mother and Jean. 

The former avoided her gaze and looked down to the white tiles that made up the floor, while the latter shifted on his feet in a nervous manner. The man in a white coat broke the silence. 

''Miss Rachedi please don't be alarmed. I am Dr. H.R; I have been attending to you for the past twenty four hours while you were unconscious. You were caught up in an accident- so to say- and you suffered a minor injury to the head.'' 

Atara automatically felt the unusual heaviness of her head and she brought up her hand to it and felt the cotton fabric of a bandage. 

''What accident?'' she whispered, already knowing the answer to the question. It definitely wasn't an accident. 

The young doctor hesitated for a moment before answering, ''an explosion.'' 

Atara swallowed. Her eyes began to water as the images leading to the explosion of the previous day began to flash before her. She could see Copper entering the plane with a care free manner before it happened. She could not find her voice to comment and so the silence stretched on uncomfortably.