Chapter Five

Pearl’s POV

Air rushed into my lungs rapidly and my eyes fluttered open as I clutched the sheets around my body tightly. They were white, pure white. The bed was uncomfortable, and the fluorescent lights on the ceilings shone brightly into my eyes.

I heard rushed beeping coming from a device beside me and by the time I managed to turn my head to check what was going on, nurses had crowded around me. My breathing was labored and unstable, a telltale sign that I truly wasn’t fine.

It felt like my insides were burning up and when I parted my lips to speak, nothing but a squeak came out. The nurses beside me injected something into my I.V. and I watched on helplessly. 

What on earth was I doing in a hospital of all places? I instinctively shot my hand out to touch my stomach, but the unbearable pain that shot through my nerves made it impossible to do so. 

Within a few seconds, I succumbed to darkness, once again.

~~

“She’s awake…” I heard someone whisper as I turned my head against my pillow restlessly. I groaned, shifting my position on the bed, but couldn’t find a suitable position to lay well. 

“Her eyes are opening Doctor. Do you think it worked?” She said at a much louder volume now. My eyes shot wide open to come face to face with two people I had never met in my life. My vision was a bit blurry, and I couldn’t see their faces well, but they seemed to be working in the hospital.

“You’re awake.” The doctor’s calm voice traveled through the room. He held some fingers up and I frowned, my head aching immensely. “How many fingers am I holding up?” 

I stared for a bit, trying to decipher what it was. Did they think I was dumb? I tried to speak, but my voice only came out hoarse. “No need to speak, there’s a device attached to your brain that converts your thoughts into speech. Just calm down and focus.” 

A device attached to my brain? I’d never heard of that before, was I a lab rat to these people? Nevertheless, I tuned into my thoughts, and all of a sudden, I heard a monotonous voice come from a device near me. 

“Three.” It said blankly, void of emotion.

“Good. And do you know where you are?”

“I’m in a hospital.”

“We’re making good progress.” The doctor hummed in delight, as she jotted some stuff down on a paper. “I’m your primary doctor, Michaela.”

I nodded weakly, my eyes feeling heavy once again. “That must be the medicine kicking in. I’ll leave you to rest for now, and we’ll see each other very soon.” And with those last words, I was knocked out again.

~~

I didn’t know how long I’d been knocked out, but all I knew was that I was being fed through fluids for an absurd amount of time. Now, I felt strengthened enough to move about, and I was hearing talk of being discharged. 

Following a soft knock, Michaela, my doctor, came into the room. “Good morning Lori, how are you doing?” She beamed brightly.

Who was Lori? My brows creased in disapproval as I made a successful attempt to speak. For the first time in a while, my throat vibrated with the motions of words being spoken. My hand shot up to my throat, rubbing on it soothingly. I sounded odd, and my throat was as dry as the desert. “You must be mistaken…I-I’m not L—”

“I understand that you might have some memory loss here and there. It’s perfectly normal, no need to worry.” She waved a dismissive hand, going through the documents hooked in between the crease of her elbow.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean…” 

“I’m not quite sure how to break it to you. According to your files, you’ve got no friends or family here. Just you.” 

“Huh?” I looked up at her with a bizarre expression etched onto my face. 

“There’s no easy way to break this to you, Lori. You’ve been in a coma for four years now, and you woke up a couple of days ago, but this is deemed your official rehabilitation day.”

My hands made their way to my mouth, as I shook my head in denial. “I’m not Lori! No… this can’t be.” My husband, my family. My hand flew to my stomach which felt absurdly flat, “My son. Where is my son?” I demanded, my voice quivering in fright.

“Your son is fine, you gave birth to him under a cesarean operation and he’s in safe hands. Once you’re discharged, he’ll be back in your custody.” Michaela assured, with a sickly sweet smile.

Something didn’t feel right.

“Where am I?” I turned my head to look out the window. This didn’t feel like Illinois—didn’t feel like home. Was I going to just lay here and accept everything that this doctor was telling me? 

“You’re in Philadelphia, ma’am.” She stated curtly. She continued speaking, but I zoned out, completely oblivious to whatever she was advising me to do. Philadelphia…how did I get here?

After a few hours and tests, I was discharged from the hospital and my son was released to come see me. He looked so little and had an oddly familiar face. I couldn’t place a finger on it but it shook me to the core. 

“Let’s go home, baby,” I whispered, grabbing him by the hand and making my way to the nearest hotel. I had no choice. They returned all my belongings and I found some cash in there that would be useful. I needed to just…sit and piece together everything that was happening. As I passed by a shop, I couldn’t help but stare back at my reflection in the glass. 

I touched my face softly, before running my hands through my flat, stringy hair. I looked like a mess.

If I didn’t remember anything, how would I cope? It felt like I had just slept and woke up in another state. Sitting on the soft bed in the hotel room, I turned on the television. 

“And today is the remembrance day of Pearl Hammonds, on March 7, 2024.” A news reporter stood close to the camera, holding a mic up to his mouth. 

To my horror, a picture of me flashed on the screen and the news reporter continued, “May she rest in perfect peace.”