Resurrection
Sarah came awake slowly. Her vision was blurred. She blinked to clear
it.
Where am I, she wondered as she looked around. It was a hotel room;
it had to be, but was a queer oval shape. Colorful pictures of lakes
and gardens decorated the walls. There were no windows that she could
see. It must still be nighttime, Sarah thought, as she glanced around
for a clock. But it wasn't completely dark; a subtle white glow seemed
to be seeping from the walls.
She wasn't sleepy but strangely energized, as if she'd already had
a full night's rest. But she couldn't understand why her body seemed
to have a delayed reaction to her mind's commands.
Did I take any medication last night that didn't agree with me, Sarah
wondered as she tried to recall just what she had done last night.
The door opened. Sarah blinked as the glow in the walls and ceiling
brightened. The light stung her eyes. She sat up and realized she was
naked. Blushing in frustration, she hurriedly wrapped herself in the
bed sheet.
"Good. You are finally awake," said the person who had entered,
a woman in a white lab coat.
"I..." Sarah's voice sounded strange to her ears. "What...
what happened?"
The woman smiled with mild sympathy. "You have been through quite
a lot." She handed Sarah something that looked like a plain white
jumpsuit. "Put this on, and I'll take you for a walk around the
facility."
Although the garment was a simple one that she just slipped on, Sarah
felt awkward, as if she hadn't dressed herself for some time.
Have I been in a coma? She wanted to ask the woman that question as
she followed her out into the hallway, but the words evaporated on her
tongue.
"My name is Amanda," the woman said, pointing to her badge,
which read, "Amanda Cohen, MD." "You will be staying
here for awhile until you can adjust. I'll be observing you."
"Observing me?" Sarah swallowed. "So this is a hospital?"
"In a way it is."
The walls of the hallway glowed with the same subtle light as her room.
Dr. Cohen led her into an exercise room filled with lights and running
machines. "We will work in here together a little each day,"
Dr. Cohen said. "You must rebuild your strength."
They moved on through the facility. There were still more of those
glowing white walls lined with pastoral pictures. Sarah and Dr. Cohen
entered a large atrium filled with flowers, shrubs and trees. Roses,
daisies, lupine, morning glories... Sarah struggled to name the countless
flowers and drew a blank on the rest. Along one wall stretched an enormous
aquarium filled with tropical fish of varying sizes, shades and designs.
The sudden brilliant colors of this place made her eyes water. She blinked
hard to focus.
The atrium itself was shaped like a pyramid, its slanting walls stretching
up to dizzying heights. Light seeped in from a skylight covering the
tiny, distant ceiling. That was the first natural light that Sarah had
seen since she had awakened. Why didn't this place have any windows?
The tinkling sound of a small brook bubbled somewhere amongst the greenery.
"Feel free to come in here whenever you feel the need," said
Dr. Cohen. "But for now, come with me. It is time for you to eat."
Eat? Now that she thought about it, Sarah realized that she was hungry.
How long had she been in the coma?
As they passed the aquarium, a sudden thought jolted her. I promised
to take Jill whale watching this weekend.
This weekend? Jill? The image of a cute, dark-haired child with a missing
front tooth flashed through her mind.
"Jill! My baby!" The words flew from her mouth before she
could stop them. "I- I promised I'd cut down on the extra hours
I was putting in at work, that I'd spend more time with her. And Roger..."
Roger! She could almost see him standing before her, a tall ruddy-faced
man with a boyish smile. How he used to putter around the house and
the garage whistling "You Are My Sunshine." Sarah smiled as
she thought about her husband. He was never one to sit still and read
or watch television. He always had to be working on a project, whether
it was the car, laying bricks, building a bookcase or painting a room.
To him, the house that they had lived in for nearly the ten years of
their marriage was his masterpiece... one that he would never finish.
"My family. How long. . . ? I think Roger and I had a fight."
The words came out in a blur of tears and emotions. "I had been
working late, and the house was a mess. I was cranky, and Jill didn't
want to do her homework and I... Are they all right?"
Dr. Cohen smiled and patted her shoulder. "They are fine. Don't
worry about them. For now you need to focus on yourself. Come. You will
feel much better after you've eaten something."
Sarah was led into what appeared to be a kitchen. There were other
people in white lab coats sitting at small metallic tables and chatting.
They all looked up and grew instantly silent as Sarah and Dr. Cohen
entered the room.
"Our subject has finally awakened," Dr. Cohen said, showing
Sarah to an empty table. "It is now time for her to eat."
Sarah could almost feel their eyes burrowing into her, staring at her
almost in shock, as if she had just sprouted tentacles and an extra
head.
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?" asked Dr. Cohen.
Sarah's mind fumbled over possible choices. She was craving a pizza
but remembered that she was struggling to keep her weight down and fought
back that desire. Besides, she didn't think that a hospital would serve
pizza.
But then Dr. Cohen did say anything, didn't she?
She finally decided on a broiled breast of chicken with vegetables
and a salad with lemon herb tea to drink. She looked around as Dr. Cohen
walked over to what appeared to be a wall panel with blinking lights.
She pushed a few buttons. After several seconds, the panel drew back,
revealing a steaming hot meal and a cup of tea... just what Sarah had
ordered.
What kind of hospital was this?
The food tasted real enough, although chewing at first was difficult.
Sarah bit her tongue a number of times before her full enjoyment of
the meal could set in. Still, her acute awareness of all the staring
eyes made her uncomfortable. Why were these people, who were apparently
part of the medical staff at this hospital, so fascinated with her?
Hadn't they ever seen a patient like her before? And where were all
the other patients?
It was difficult to tell day from night in this windowless hospital
with the eerie, glowing walls. Sarah was aware of the passing of the
day by her mealtimes and the exercise routines Dr. Cohen gave her. Her
free time, which she had much of, was spent in the atrium. After many
hours she would grow tired.
Sarah was disturbed by the fact that Roger and Jill never came to visit.
Didn't they miss her? She wavered between anger and depression. And
why hadn't she been released yet? There seemed to be nothing wrong with
her body. Dr. Cohen checked her over regularly and claimed that she
was in perfect health, even "better than before," whatever
that meant.
During her time in the atrium, Sarah struggled to piece together her
memories. Fragments came to her: packing a suitcase, driving someplace,
a truck barreling toward her, but they quickly evaporated.
I can't stay here forever! I must get away. If Dr. Cohen won't release
me, I'll release myself. I must return to Roger and Jill and let them
know that I'm all right. There has to be a way out of this place.
She hadn't seen any doors but the only rooms she knew of were the place
that she slept, the adjoining bathroom, the exercise room, the atrium
and the kitchen. There was a large panel opposite the food processor
where the staff seemed to enter and exit. She would wait until she was
feeling slightly tired — an indicator that it was probably night
in the outside world — and slip through there, see where it led.
