Future

What woke Alice was the incessant beeping. It brought her out of a hazy dream, gradually wisping away like smoke. She cracked her eyes and wish she hadn’t. Pain shot through her brain so she instantly shut her eyes again. She took a couple of deep breaths in through her nose, waiting until the pain subsided into a dull throbbing. When she opened her eyes again, she carefully took in her surroundings. She located the sound of the beeping – a heart monitor – right beside her head. Next to it was a chair with a slumped figure. She studied the figure – shaggy, unkempt brown hair covered the head propped up by a hairy knuckled hand and arm, wearing a red lumberjack shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. The other arm rested on the arm of the chair, the hand fallen into the lap covered with jeans. Martin. The name came to her quickly but she struggled with the image the name created, trying to match it to the brown head. If only she could see his face. She struggled to rise to a sitting position, to reach out and touch him. A noise must have escaped from her as he jerked up. Shocked icy blue eyes met hers and after a moment he got up to help her.

“Easy there filly. You’ve taken a nasty conk to the head and have been out for a long while. Let me help you to a sitting position.”

She accepted his help, while studying his face. Yes, yes it was Martin but his hair – did he dye it? And his face wasn’t nearly as lined as she remembered. She shook her head trying to puzzle it out. As he leaned over her to put a pillow in behind to support her, she breathed in his scent – spicy cloves, musk and woods enveloped her. It was sharper than she remembered, stronger somehow. 

As he moved back to look at her again, she furrowed her brows and reached up to cup his face.

“M-M-M-Mar-r-tin?” she swallowed trying to get the name out.

He smiled softly but there was a look of worry behind his smile. “Hello filly. How are you feeling?”

She cleared her throat, her mouth felt like it had sawdust in it “W-w-at-ter?” she squeezed her eyes with the effort it took.

He gently removed her hands and reached for a jug beside the bed, filling a cup. “You must be parched. Here, drink this slow now.”

She reached for the cup and put the straw in her mouth, sipping slowly at first, savoring the wetness. 

He sat back again in the chair, stretching a little and rubbing his eyes, then settled back to watch her. 

Once she had her fill she tried again “Martin.” The name came out clear and her mouth worked as it should. “Where am I? What happened?”

“Well filly you gave us all a scare. You were up in the barn loft and fell. You’ve been out of it for almost 3 months now.”

She stared at her hands trying to make sense of his words. Barn loft? But they sold the barn 20 years ago. Did she visit another farm? If she did what was she doing up in their loft. She tried to recall what she had been doing before she fell but all she came up with was blackness. “I don’t understand Martin. What was I doing at a farm?”

Not catching the way she phrased it he responded “You were probably messing around up there as usual. Nick and I couldn’t find any reason why you would have fallen and we’ve been over and over that loft a hundred times” He sighed and put his head in his hands as if it was his fault she had fallen.

She hissed in a breath “Nick?”

He looked up “Nick. You…you know who Nick is right?”

She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes, tension in her neck “Of course I know who Nick is – but how did he help you go up in a barn loft?”

Martin looked at her blankly. He wasn’t sure how to answer her. Just then a nurse came “Well now Miss Alice I see that you have graced us by waking up. How are you feeling?  Any pain when you move your head?”

Alice said “There was a bit when I first opened my eyes but it seems to have subsided to a dull throb.”

The nurse came around to her side and took out her little pen light to shine in Alice’s eyes “Well that’s to be expected.” She felt around to the back of Alice’s skull “It seems the swelling has gone away now. Any nausea?” Alice shook her head no. “Alright I’ll get the other nurses to bring some soft foods and let the doctor know you are awake. Glad to have you back with us.” She went back out the door as quickly as she had come in.

She turned back to Martin “How did Nick help you in the barn?”

“What do you mean how did he help me? Him and I climbed up and down that ladder so many times looked for evidence of cracks, wood rot….”

She interrupted him “Martin, Nick’s dead.”

Martin pulled his head back, confusion clouding his eyes. “Alice, I know you been under for awhile but I just left Nick about 2hrs ago in the kitchen nursing a hangover. He is very much alive. What on earth are you talking about?”

She stared at her older brother. She slowly started to shake her hands “No. No I remember the day Nick died! You both had a fight about his drinking and he took off in the truck. He ran it off the road into the lake and drown. Martin, we sold the farm after that and moved away. But that was 20 years ago. I don’t understand, Martin.” Confusion was starting to make her head hurt again. She rubbed her temple.

Martin reached for her other hand “Filly it’s ok. Nick is alive and we still own the farm. No need to get yourself worked up. Your brain probably just needs to sort some things out.”

“Well now how is sleeping beauty?” A tall man with dark hair and one lock of white hair above his temple and almost black eyes, wearing a long white coat came into the room. The doctor picked up the chart at the foot of the bed. “Alice nice to see you among the land of the conscious.“ The doctor looked through her chart “I am Dr. Hudson. I’ve been the doctor on your case.” He came over to the side of the bed and extended his hand. 

She lightly took his offered hand and shook it. “Hello doctor.”

The doctor stepped back “I need to ask you some questions. Is that alright?” 

She nodded once.

“Alright. Do you feel any nausea?”

She shook her head.

“Good. Any light spots on your vision?”

Again she shook her head.

“Excellent. Any ghosting images?”

No.

“Alright then. Any questions or concerns?”

Martin spoke up “She seems to be confused with memories doc.”

“What do you mean she’s confused with memories?”

“Well just before you came in she was telling me she thinks our brother is dead and that it happened 20 years ago.”

The doctor took out his pen light and shone them in her eyes “Alice do you know what year it is?”

“2041” she immediately replied.

The doctor and Martin exchanged startled glances. “Alice can you tell me what is the last thing you remember before you hit your head?”

She frowned trying to reach through the blackness in her memory then looked from Martin to Dr. Hudson “I think I remember watching the news.”

The doctor sat on the side of her bed “And can you tell me what the news was reporting?”

She looked down at her hands for a long while pushing against the blackness. It was so think and it made her head hurt. She closed her eyes and rubbered her temple. News...TV...report...  Suddenly like a bell ringing in her head she remembered. She remembered everything. Tear started pouring down her cheeks as she softly replied “Yes doctor. I remember quite clearly now. There was a large count down clock that read 0:00:00:22.”