Chapter 8 : Newness

Sia’s POV

               I become aware of sharp pain on my forehead but what I am even more bothered about is how dry my throat is feeling. I am feeling as though my tongue had fallen back onto my throat sealing everything. As if I have swallowed powdered rocks which are stuck in my throat now. I wish I had some water to drink. Water reminds me of the stream where I last drank water and slowly everything comes back in flashes. I sit upright in panic and touch my forehead. I can feel a bandage on my forehead. I look around and see that I am in a clean room which appears like a hospital room. I am alive! How am I alive? The monstrous wolves didn’t kill me. It must have been a miracle. I was sure that I was dead meat. I wonder who had bothered to save me when I was so deep in the forest.

               I reach for the water kept in a clean glass jug and pour it into a glass next to it. I sip the water slowly as I didn’t want to choke on it. I am surprised at how clean the water feels and how refreshing the water tastes as if I was drinking water for the first time. Or maybe this water had some special herbs or purifiers in it, I can’t really tell which. I also become aware of how hungry I am. I look around the room and to my delight, I notice a covered plate on the table across my bed and hope that there is food in it. I get out of bed and walk up to the table and I am happy to be proven right. It is indeed food. I thank my lucky stars and pull up a chair to the table. I finish the plate in no time, not wasting even a single morsel on the plate. Again I feel like this is the most delicious meal I ever had in my entire life. I was eager to find out how I was saved and by whom. I hear footsteps outside the room, looks like somebody is walking in a long corridor and explaining things to the person with them. The footsteps grow closer and the voice grows louder and the door to my room is flung open.

               “You are awake. Welcome back” greets the cheerful voice of a beautiful lady “I am Ellen Braxton. I am the Doctor in charge here”

               She takes a chart which is at the foot of my bed and makes some notes “Do you feel any dizziness?”

               “No Doctor” I respond.

               She smiles and continues her questions, she notices that I have finished my meal.

               “You are doing very well under the circumstances. If you are feeling up to it, I would like to ask you for more details about yourself. Could you tell me your name?”

               “Sure Doctor. I am Siarah and everyone calls me Sia. I don’t know who my parents are and I have been brought up in an orphanage” I tell her.

               Her black eyes go soft when I mention that I am an orphan. Her pink cheeks which were holding her smile up until now turn a little sad and her red lips form a straight line on losing the smile.

               “I am so sorry about it child,” she says with a hand on my shoulder.

               “It’s alright. It is the only life I have known so I can’t complain” I reply with a shrug and a forced smile.

               “Do you remember what happened? How did you get hurt?” she continues.

               My mind races back to the horrible memory of me being humiliated in the cafeteria and I decide to skip that part. “Well since I turned eighteen I was no longer welcome to stay at the orphanage and I failed to secure a job that would feed me and shelter me. I managed to find a seat at the community college but the post of Teaching Assistant which I had pinned all my hopes on was given to someone else rendering me homeless.

               I had nowhere else to go, so I guess I decided to take shelter in the forest. I was foolish enough to get close to the stream at night, which I realized too late and when I tried to run I was…” I stopped.

               Would she believe me if I told her that I had seen giant wolves in the forest? who had ever heard of wolves taller than five feet? She would probably think that I am crazy after hitting my head. I decide to just go with wolves for the sake of the story and decide to skip the details about the size of the wolves.

               “..Well, I was stopped by wolves. I got too scared and tried to run but I tripped and fell hitting my head on a rock and I passed out. That’s all I can remember. The next thing I know is that I am waking up in this hospital room, I have no idea who saved me and how? As I was quite deep inside the forest”

               “Did you notice anything unusual in the forest? Did anything bite you?” she asked me. I was not sure what she was referring to.

               “I don’t remember anything biting me. I don’t feel any pain anywhere else except my forehead. I certainly don’t remember the wolf hurting me or any other creature” I tell her and not mention the size of the wolves. Does she know about the giant wolves? Was that what she was referring to when she asked about anything unusual. I had no way of knowing unless she revealed more.

               “Doctor as you might have understood from my story, I am an orphan without a job and basically homeless now. I have no medical insurance or any means to pay for this treatment” I tell her.

               “Don’t worry about it, Sia. Everything will be taken care of. Just rest for now” her kind smile returns and she heads towards the door and opens it.

               “Doctor, one more thing, do you know who saved me from the forest? I would like to thank them” I tell her when she is almost out of the door.

               “You are in luck. It looks like the person who saved you is headed this way. If you are feeling energetic enough and not dizzy or tired then I will let them in” she tells me.

               “That’s great. I am absolutely fine. Please let them in” I nod.

               There was no way I would be able to rest knowing that the person who saved me had come to see me. I had too many questions going through my mind right now. The door opens and two tall and well-built men walk into the room.

               I blink and shake my head and give myself a light pinch to make sure that I am not dreaming. I was looking at the most handsome man I had ever seen in the world. He had long black hair that reached up to his shoulders. His skin was in dark contrast to his black hair and looked so pale as if he had not been in the sun for years. He had a chiseled face with a triangular jaw and sharp nose. He had big blue eyes that almost shone in the sunlight that was hitting his face. Right behind him was a man of about the same stature. His hair was light brown and short. He sported a light tan and he had kind grey eyes. I could not explain it but the guy with the black hair held my attention so fiercely that I was unable to look at anyone or anything else other than him.

               “Thank you for saving my life. I am truly grateful to you for your kindness. I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay you for everything you have done. I thank you from the bottom of my heart”

               “Don’t thank us yet girl” the guy with brown hair spoke “You have no idea how much trouble we are in for bringing you here”

               “Jack, where are your manners? Let us introduce ourselves first. Hi, I am Brian Bennet and this is my friend Jack Braxton. His mother is the doctor Ellen Braxton who was just speaking to you” the one with black hair said.

His voice was sweet like sugar and I was hanging on to every word coming out of his mouth. I could smell his strong perfume which reminded me of Chocolate and Vanilla.

“I am Siarah. You can call me Sia” I smile at him and it seems like he can’t take his eyes off of me either.

“Sia. Beautiful name, I like it” he says making my heart skip a beat and I can feel the blood pounding in my ears. There are butterflies in my stomach and I know it is not because of hunger as I just had a hearty meal. Why was this guy, Brian having such a strong effect on me? Gosh, I had never crushed so hard on anyone at first sight before. I am having a strong urge to just run up to him and hug him. Was it because he had saved my life?