I couldn't remember the last time I woke up and wasn't confused. At least now I knew what to do though. Quickly establishing my surroundings were real and that I had been dreaming, I moved on before I could doze off again. A nurse escorted some concerned looking people in after she realized that my eyes were open.
"Christophe? Are you ok?"
Wondering how they knew my name, I could only nod.
"Who are you? Did you bring me here?"
“My name’s Sile. My brother, my dad, and I found you in an alley and rushed you here.”
The room began to blur out but I tried to maintain my grasp on reality. I was getting mighty tired of losing control.“Your brother and your dad? Are they here now?”
“Yes, they’re right here.”
I counted and recounted. All I could see was two blobs- one that I assumed to be Sile and the other his dad. Try as I might, I couldn’t detect anything near the vicinity that Sile was gesturing towards that might even remotely be a person.
At this point, I couldn't take it anymore and passed back into this confusing dream world that I seemed to frequent more than the real world these days. Hoping for a relaxing dream, I found myself on a beach. If I hadn't already prepared myself for a dream I would have known immediately anyway- I haven't been on a vacation since my childhood. Even though at least 15 years had passed, I remembered every detail with crystal clear accuracy. The sand was great and the sun felt nice but the ocean is what fascinated me. It never stayed the same but you could rely on it to be there. Even if you sailed on the ocean for every second of your life, you would never see every single creature or frond of seaweed in the ocean. So many lives depended on the ocean's tides and the ecosystem contained in it. At the same time, you could sail the seas and never see another person if you wanted to. To me, the ocean represented a detachment from the problems and preoccupations of my daily life. Everything is how it is meant to be in the ocean. The ways of nature are preserved and respected. I could be happy here..so for the first time in too long, I made the conscious decision to fall asleep.
Even if I had only taken a nap in my dream, I awakened feeling refreshed and completely at ease. For once, I remembered where I was and didn't struggle to organize my thoughts. Optimistic about my back, I eased myself up and swung my legs over the side of the cot. Taking ahold of my IV stand, I carefully stood up and took a couple of steps. So far so good. A nurse hurried in when she saw that I was attempting to walk around but seeing that I was fine, she told me to take it slow. I wandered around the halls passing one closed door after another. I saw Clara Kate Holloway rushing out of a room, leaving a vase of daisies next to the groggy looking woman in the cot. Guess people aren’t really up for socializing in the hospital. Slowing down as I passed an open door, I peered into the room. The cot was empty so I assumed the room was waiting for its next occupant. Upon closer inspection, I realized there was a little boy sitting nervously by the bed in a comfy chair meant just for relatives that stayed the night. Since it looked like all he was doing was waiting for somebody, I knocked quietly on the doorframe.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Torie”
Recognizing the lost look that many of the kids have that come into the orphanage, I softened my voice and went over to sit by the boy. Also knowing that the last thing that will help these kids is asking the difficult questions, I started off easy.
“So Torie, what’s your favorite color?”
“Mmm green...But I really blue too.”
“Really? Those are my two most favorite colors too! Have you ever been to the beach?”
A light lit up in Torie’s face that hadn’t seen since I’d come into the room.
“I love the beach. Thats why I like blue too. I like looking at the waves. Last time I went I got so many shells.”
Putting a hand up to his neck, he fingered a necklace with a single shell strung onto a quite frazzled looking cord. A sad look came over his face again so I backtracked.
“Hey thats a cool necklace, you know there was one time I went to the beach- it was a looong time ago- and I waded all the way up to my chest, then this huge wave came....
