Hope Falls: Almost Merry (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Frances Elliot

Author:Frances Elliot [Elliot, Frances]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2016-11-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five – December 26

Evening

That horrible ringing had to be stopped. Emily groped for the snooze button and felt only empty air where the nightstand should be. With enormous effort she opened her eyes, but couldn’t see much in the darkened room. A hand smoothed her hair and she heard a voice, then Emily saw an indistinct figure move towards a lighted doorway and disappear. She stared into the gloom and saw a television set mounted high on the wall across from her. She wondered, but not with much interest, where she was. She closed her eyes again.

Sometime later, she woke again to see her mother standing beside her bed. What was her mother doing here? Had she come to Boston for a surprise visit? The ringing sound continued – the smoke alarm again? Emily couldn’t understand why her mom didn’t do something about it, whatever it was.

Her mom was saying something. “I can’t hear you, mom,” Emily said. “Turn off the alarm.” She couldn’t seem to focus her eyes; she decided it was easier to keep them shut.

Someone patted her hand. That feels nice, she thought. Another voice spoke from the other side of the bed. “Emily. Emily, can you hear me? I want you to open your eyes, please.”

Emily obeyed and saw a stranger with a tiny flashlight in her hand. A very bright light shone into each of her eyes and then was gone. The woman turned to write something down and said, “Can you tell me what day it is, Emily?”

“Christmas Eve,” she answered after a while.

“Can you tell me which day of the week it is?”

Emily didn’t answer and the woman wrote something else down, then glanced up at some kind of machine beside the bed. Emily felt very, very tired.

The next time she awoke, the room was slightly brighter and Emily could see a little better. The ringing continued, but not as loudly. She turned her head on the pillow and a horrible pain flashed behind her eyes. Her mother sat beside the bed, knitting by the light of a small lamp on some kind of cabinet. “Mom,” Emily said. The sound of her own voice, dry and raspy, was unfamiliar.

Her mom got up, dropping the knitting into the chair behind her, and took her hand. “What happened, Mom?”

“You’ve had a bad hit on the head and you have a concussion. But don’t worry – you’re going to be just fine, I promise.”

“Can I have a drink of water?” Her throat felt as though she’d swallowed sand.

Her mother picked up a cup with a straw from the cabinet. “They said you can try a little bit. Wait and see if it makes you nauseous.”

Emily sipped. It helped her throat, but her stomach did feel queasy. She handed the cup back. “Am I in the hospital?”

“Yes, honey, do you remember the emergency room? You were awake then.”

It was too much trouble to try, Emily thought, and Mass General was an excellent hospital. They would take care of her.

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