Chapter 63

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." R. Frost

I slowly started waking. There were unfamiliar sounds in my ears. Everything looked blurry and I had trouble focusing my eyes. A dull, aching pain coursed through my body. I was hurting! The surroundings were unfamiliar to me. Had I been hurt and did Billy bring me to the healing stations in the ship. As I looked groggily around I didn't see anything that looked like the ship. There were bulky machines that had lights on them. There was nothing to match the sleek design of the ship's medical bay. The bed I was in reminded me of something. It was semisoft and had sheets on it. The room was dark, except for the lights from the equipment. The pain continued. Even my eyelids hurt and I closed my eyes. I was out.

Again I woke. The pain was still there. Every so often I heard a voice in the distance but could not make it out. The room was still dark and I wondered again what had happened. I tried to think. Blissful sleep overtook me again.

I woke once more. My hearing was better. I could hear people talking, albeit in soft whispers. My vision was still very blurred. Where ever I was, it was still dark. The only thing is, I couldn't understand what was being said. I heard the talk but not well enough to understand. I tried to move my hand to my head to clear my ear and found I couldn't move it. It felt heavy as stone. So I tried to move the other hand. I got the same results. I noticed motion coming towards me so I quickly shut my eyes. The murmuring got closer too. I still couldn't understand. Then it was gone. My eyelids got heavy again and I drifted off to sleep.

This went on for an indeterminate amount of time. I couldn't tell how long I was there, how long I'd been there. I again tried to move my arms. I felt it move a little bit. I tried the other with the same results. They didn't feel as heavy as before. I couldn't move my legs but I could wiggle my toes. I felt a light pressure on my body, like a sheet or blanket on top of me. My vision was still blurry. This time was also different because there was light, too.

There was a movement off to my left. I could move my head a little and I turned that way. What I could see was the shape of a person dressed in white. I couldn't tell if it was male or female. I tried to talk but couldn't. What I could do was make a little noise. The person turned quickly and rushed over to me. It started speaking to me in soft tones. My face must have frowned, because the person stopped, reached up and did something to my head around my ears and then spoke

"Well hello there. I see you're awake. We've been waiting a long time for that." The voice was definitely female.

"Waauugh aaamfe iiiee" Where am I

The words wouldn't come. I moved my head side to side slowly. I blinked and blinked my eyes but everything was still blurry. She noticed what I was doing and told me to hold still a minute.

I felt her hand on my face. I smelled her perfume. It was Ciara. I felt my body react to the fragrance, but knew I couldn't do anything about it. Her warm hand held my eyelid open as she administered some drops in my left eye. She dabbed the fluid that spilled down my cheek and out of my eye. Things got clearer as she dabbed. She shifted to the other side and did the same. When she finished I could see. She was a vision of loveliness. Long auburn hair and emerald green eyes. I noticed she had a healthy chest, too.

I gagged. There was some sort of tube in my mouth. I reckoned it was some sort of feeding tube but I wanted it out. I made the wish known with my eyes and tried to bring my hand up. She stopped me. She told me she would see if the doctor would let her take it out but I had to wait. She signaled for assistance and waited as another nurse came in. Five minutes later she was back. In short order she had the tube removed. She brought a glass with a straw to me and put the straw in my mouth. I applied suction and the cool water washed over my tongue and around my mouth before I swallowed. She took the straw away.

"Only a little bit now. More later. Is that better?" she asked.

"Yyyesss" I struggled to say.

"Ooooh, that's good!" she exclaimed. She took a clipboard and wrote on it. She told me I was doing well and she said she'd be right back.

She left the room and I was left to my thoughts. I took the opportunity to look around the room. It looked like a hospital room from my own time line. With my vision no longer impaired by whatever it was that was in my eyes, I was able to discern equipment like I'd seen in the movies and on TV. I tried again to remember about the tank and the events of that day.

The door to the room and the woman returned. With her were another woman and a man. The man told me he was a doctor and said that the nurse had told him I was awake. The other woman came close.

"Hello, sweetie, welcome back." Her voice was familiar. I looked over to her. Her form was close and I could see the lines of her form. She reminded me of someone I knew. Someone I had known. It took a few minutes as I studied her form and figure. I look at her face as she came close. She kissed me and I inhaled her scent. I was hard as could be in an instant. I recognized the scent.

"Eeeliisssaaa" I tried to shout. That's all I got out as her mouth covered mine. The kisses were smothering. I had to be dead. Elissa died. Now I was awaking in purgatory, or heaven or hell, I didn't know which. I recognized Elissa.

"Yyyooouuuu" I started. She put a finger on my lips.

"Shhhh" she said. "Don't try to talk yet"

Angelic. That's how I describe her voice. It was my Elissa. She was with me. Here. Now.

Epilogue

It's been almost a year since I came out of the coma. I needed a lot of Physical Therapy to bring my body back. I had lain on that bed for 4 long years. You see, we were in that wreck, but I had managed to swerve. In that motion I had presented my side of the truck to the semi and got crushed because of it. But the end effect was that Elissa was unharmed. After three months in intensive care, my immobile body was transferred to an extended care facility. Elissa visited every day. Every day that is, except for the time she spend in court for the lawsuit. She received the large award from the trucking company for allowing their driver to remain on the payroll after his previous DWI's. With some of the proceeds she'd managed to obtain a large ranch north of I-10. The estate of the old man sold it lock, stock and mineral rights. He had no heirs and the church he was giving his wealth to didn't want the ranch and it was sold outright.