Blacked Out

A soft, rhythmic beeping sound, like a lullaby, soothed me as I began to come back around. I was aware that I was lying someplace comfortable, soft, and warm. I couldn’t open my eyes at first, as they seemed so heavy, but my other senses were coming back to me more quickly. The sense of touch--the soft bed I was lying in, the warm blankets over me; the sense of sound--the melodic beeping of a machine to my right, labored breathing of someone standing near me; the sense of smell--medicinal, clinical, very clean. Wherever I was, it had been cleaned with some pretty strong chemicals recently. My mouth was dry, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, which tasted a little acrid and a bit like glue. I wondered if I’d even be able to speak once I came fully to consciousness or if my tongue would be stuck to the roof of my mouth.

The more my thoughts came back to me, the more I realized