I am Rome (Complete)

Chapter Forty-Five

Joe shot up from the bed with his eyes wide, gasping for breath. It was as if he was being held under water and was about to drown. Confused as to his whereabouts, Joe quickly determined he was lying in a hospital bed and was connected to some monitors and an IV drip. In the corner was a familiar face.

Joe's mother jumped out of her seat and rushed over to her son.

"Joseph! Oh my goodness," she said, delighted to see her boy awake.

"Where am I?" Joe asked.

"You're in a hospital, Joseph. You were in an accident."

"How long have I been here?"

"About a week," she replied. "You were in a coma. The doctor said your body just needed time to heal and you would make a full recovery. How do you feel?"

Other than feeling a little groggy, Joe felt fine. He was more confused than anything. He looked around the room and down at his body. He had yet to answer his mother. Just then, one of the doctors who had been tending to him entered the room and greeted both Joe and his mother.

"Welcome back, Joe," the doctor said with a smile. "How're you feeling?" The doctor walked over and checked a monitor by his bed.

"I feel like my head has been scrambled a bit, but otherwise I feel fine."

"That's to be expected, you took quite a spill. I would still like to keep you at the hospital overnight so we can monitor you, but so far everything looks good."

Joe's mother stood by his side, holding Joe's hand. Wiping away tears, she was so happy her son was alive and well. "I wish your father could be here, but—"

"It's okay, ma" Joe interrupt. "I know pa would have liked to be here too."

Just then, another visitor entered the room and Joe could not believe his eyes.

"Pa?" Joe said, completely dumbfounded.

"Oh there he is. Frank, look, Joseph is awake."

"How're you feeling, son?"

"Pa you're alive?"

"Last time I checked," his father joked.

"But I was there when... I don't understand..."

"Don't try to think too hard, son. You took quite a spill."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? What happened to me?"

"You were coming home from work one night and fell off your bike. You must have hit your head pretty good. Someone found you lying unconscious on the side of the road and brought you in."

"What? No... that's not what happened. Where's Rome?"

"Rome? Last time I checked it was still the capital of Italy."

"No, not that Rome, the Simbian."

"The what?"

"My alien friend, we saved the world together!" Joe shouted, growing evermore frustrated.

Everyone in the room became quite worried. What was supposed to be a joyous moment was ruined by the fact that Joe seemed to be talking nonsense.

"Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this is common with patients with brain trauma. They often develop delusions and memory loss."

"I'm not delusional!" Joe shouted.

"Anger and depression are also to be expected."

"Honey, I think you should get some rest," his mother suggested.

"No, I feel fine. I was shot in the chest, see!" Joe said, pulling down his hospital gown.

Joe's bare chest was exposed for everyone to see. He could hardly believe it, there was not a scratch on his body.

"After I was shot, Rome took me up in his alien craft and operated on me. He must have heeled me and brought pa back to life."

"I died?" his father asked.

"September 24th, it was a Saturday, it was raining that day. You had a heart attack in one of the barns."

"Joe, it's only August."

"What?" Joe said, searching his brain for answers. "No, it can't be. I was shot in the chest."

"Doc, will he eventually get better?" Joe's father asked.

"Come on, pa, don't you remember? You met him. You met Rome..." Joe's voice trailed off as he scratched his head, thinking about what was real and what wasn't. The more he heard himself speak, the more he started to doubt himself. It all seemed so real, but it sounded so preposterous. 'Did I really have an alien friend who saved the world?' Joe asked himself. It certainly sounded crazy, even to him.

Joe laid back down to rest and tried to go over the story in his head. Much like trying to recall a dream, the details became fuzzy and slipped away from him with each passing second. In an attempt to recapture the events, Joe closed his eyes hoping that the visions would suddenly appear again in crystal clear detail, but there was nothing. Only select fragments remained, but not a cohesive narrative. He started to be open to the possibility that he had been dreaming the whole time. After all, he did not see a reason why his family and the doctor would lie to him.

Joe's father came over and put his hand on Joe's forehead.

"I hope ya get better, son. Take all the time you need."

"I'm sorry I shouted, it's just... it all seemed so real."

"I know, we've all had dreams like that. Ya were out for nearly a week, so ya probably had one of them super dreams."

"I was so sure a moment ago, but now... not so much. I'm not sure what to believe."

"Give it some time, Joe, you'll get your wits back."

"Pa, I'm really glad to see you again. I thought I lost you. In this dream, you had passed away unexpectedly and I couldn't do anything to save you."

Joe's father approached him and hugged him, rubbing his head.

"Sounds more like a nightmare, son. Don't worry, nothin' is going to happen to your old man. We're just really glad to have ya back."