Prologue

Is this the afterlife? The great beyond?

Why is it called ‘’great” anyways? Nothing about this is great! I’m too young! I haven’t found my real parents yet. I haven’t even had my first kiss!

I push the protests in the background as I rewind my memory, beginning from the last moments I remember. 

When did this all begin? Or end? Did I do anything wrong? I remember getting light-headed while on the balcony of the orphanage. 

Did I fall? I remember getting a message from my sister. I remember settling my siblings into bed. Tucking them into the freshly changed sheets with Tweety patterns. I remember the surprise party.

To think that I almost didn’t have a slice of my birthday cake. At least everyone’s last memory of me would be that of celebration and happiness.

I remember helping with cooking dinner and feeding the younger ones. The seafood soup I made was a hit. I remember rushing into the orphanage after work. I remember having a full-on shift. 

I remember having classes but couldn’t recall the discussion since I was hiding a fever. It was about emergency nursing. Disaster and how to handle it as a healthcare provider. The header was all I recalled from the class, not the content. 

I remember having a significant examination early in the day. Miraculously, I managed to stay awake and finish in time. I remember waking at 3:30 am to skim and retain what I could of the syllabus covered on the test.

How many hours have passed since? Days maybe? Am I alive? Is this how it feels to be in a coma?

When I start to feel my body again, I open my eyes. Well, I believe my eyes are open, but I don't see a single thing. Just endless black. Closed or opened, doesn't make much difference. It’s frightening. 

What if I’m missing a limb? I should’ve paid more attention to the class earlier.

That’s disproven quickly. There’s movement and sensation from my toes and fingers. I can still shake my head.

Yep, I can still move. Yep, nothing is hurting. Yep, my eyes can open fine.

‘Thank goodness.’ And I can still speak. Good.

I keep inspecting my body and immediate surroundings in the dark and discover a few bizarre things. One is that I’m covered with a cloth that feels like fur. A blanket maybe? 

Second, is that I’m uninjured, yet without clothes. Last and most alarmingly, the scaly bed I am lying on is gently and rhythmically moving up and down. As if breathing. Oh no…