Three Chapters of my First Draft of Kept in the Dark

The Hospital

The first thing that I saw was the big, bright lights calling out to me. The lights felt like a message being forced into my brain. I finally decided to give in to the lights and open my eyes.

Right next to me sat a woman who had started to cry when I looked at her. The crying lady was very pretty-aside from the smeared makeup- tall, and extremely skinny. It looked as though she had not eaten in months.

The lady kept staring at me tearfully.

Honey, it’s me,” she said through her tears. My mind started to become fuzzy. I could not think of who this woman was. I looked around the room.

I was sitting on a real hospital bed in a real hospital. The room started to spin, making me slightly queasy.

Honey, it is your mama. Are you okay?” Her voice echoed through my brain. I tried to respond, but the words did not want to come out.

After sorting through my scared, anxious, and confused feelings, I finally managed to force out some words.

Who are you? Why am I here?” My speech was slow and sounded foreign even to myself. I could see the woman growing more frantic by the moment. I wanted to reassure her and say anything that would make her feel a little bit better. I wish I could tell her that it was a joke and that I knew who she was, but I could not lie to this poor woman. So, I sat and watched the tears stream down her face once more. It was painful to watch her.

Jessica, I am your mother. Please, just answer me.”

There was a doctor who was standing at the doorway, watching, and listening to our conversation intently. She walked up to the foot of my bed and just stared at me. The doctor beckoned for the woman to follow her into the hallway.

The lady got up from her chair slowly and not without a final glance at me. I turned away to avoid her eyes.

The doctor and the woman spoke quietly but I could still hear

most of their conversation. I tried to muster up the strength to get up and get closer to the door, but as soon as I tried to get up, I at once fell back down again.

The lady asked the doctor, "How long will her memory be like this?”

I could hear the sadness in her voice, and I knew that she was on the edge of tears.

The doctor responded,”It may take her a couple of weeks to regain her memory, or there’s a slight chance that she may never regain it.” the doctor resumed talking after a pause to let the woman process the information. “We will have to keep her in the hospital for physical therapy and also to make sure that she’s healthy before she is able to get discharged.”

“I just want her home. I want her to be with me. To be with her family.” the woman said with a trembling voice. The doctor did not hesitate with her response.

I assure you that she is in good and capable hands, we just need to moniter her to make sure that she is able to go home with you, in the right time, healthy, and ready to be with you and others.”

There was a short pause, and then a reluctant “fine” came from the hallway.

The woman and the doctor finally walked back into the room. The woman returned to the brown chair that sat a foot away from my bed. The doctor walked over to me. Her wavy black hair, dark as a raven, fell in her face as she leaned down to look at me. I looked up at her startlingly beautiful blue eyes and then got distracted by her smell. She smelled of flowers. She smelt safe and floral.

How are you feeling? Any fever, nausea, fatigue, or any other concerning symptoms?”

I shook my head slowly. The doctor offered me a bowl of Jello that I quickly grabbed, right before my stomach grumbled. She smiled faintly. I set down the bowl and found the courage and strength to say the one sentence that had been on my mind.

Why am I in this hospital.” My throat burned as I pushed the words out of my mouth.

The doctor eyed the woman beside me skeptically. She nodded and said, "I'll go get you some soup. I am sure that you are famished.”

As she walked away, she gave the woman a look. It was not any kind of look, though. It was the look you gave someone when you both knew a secret. It was the type of look that said a lot while saying nothing, but everyone understood what that look meant. It was, to put it plainly, a look of secrecy.

I stared at the doctor strangely, but she paid no attention to my curious and confused stare. The lady gave a slight nod to the doctor, confirming that she understood what the doctor had meant. The doctor walked away without another word.

I managed to roll over to my side, so then I could face the lady. The first words that came out of her mouth were, “It’s a long story.”

Explain, Please

The lady looked at me lovingly.

I missed you,” she says with a sad smile. “It was hard when you were gone. I was very lonely.”

I raised my eyebrows. “When was I gone? What do you mean?”

The lady shook her head sadly. “A lot of things have happened this year, my darling Brooklynn.”

The lady pulled a small blanket out of the bag that hung on her chair. She offered it to me, but I declined. She shrugged and wrapped the blanket around herself.

Brooklynn, during your coma me and your father had gotten a divorce.” She stared at me, as though she was expecting a big reaction from me, but I stared at her as blank-faced as I had been earlier.

A surge of panic and worry surged through me as I quickly scanned the woman for any marks of abuse. I found none and breathed a sigh of relief.

The lady sighed. Her silky blonde hair fell in her face. When she pulled her hair back behind her ear, I could see her beautiful hazel eyes. Her eyes were so pretty and were just another part of what made her so beautiful. She seems like a truly kind and caring mother; I just wish I could remember who she is.

I winced as my head started to hurt. It felt like a hammer was repeatedly hitting my head. Blurry images danced across my mind. Scenes of the woman beside me, showed up.

She was walking up to someone’s house and she was carrying something. She carried a little brown, woven basket. When she knocked on the door, an elderly couple opened the door with big smiles. She handed the basket to them and was beaming as she walked away.

I tilted my head as I examined the woman sitting in the chair. What if she is my mother? She looked at me curiously.

“As I was saying,” she said. "I waited for you for so long. I felt so much guilt and sadness from your coma because it was all my fault. In our last argument, you told me that you hated me and that you were going to your friend, Dana's house. You stomped to your room, packed your things, and left. A few hours later, I got a call from Dana’s mother. You all had an awful car accident. She told me that you had passed out, so I scrambled to get into the car, drove to their house, and rode in the ambulance with you.”

She stopped to blow her nose with a tissue. “That was the most stressful time of my life. I waited and waited, and waited, for you, but you never woke up. Until now.” She stroked my hair and then stopped quickly. She dabbed a tissue to her eyes.

When she put down the tissue, I could see her eyes were red from crying. You could just see the pain and hurt on her face, which was understandable. She had lost her husband, and then her daughter was in a coma.

“Why did you get a divorce?” I asked as politely as I could, without seeming rude or disrespectful.

Droplets of water hit her knee which her dress did not cover. She dabbed her eyes again. “I went to this hospital room with your father every single day. Sometimes we would stay for the entire day, other times we would be there for a couple of hours. Your father said that you may never wake up and that we should get on with our lives.”

She blew her nose loudly. “I told him that when we decided to have kids, it meant that we had an obligation to take care of them and to always be there for them. I said that if he dared to leave his eldest daughter in her time of need, then we might as well sign the divorce papers right away. And as you can see, he is not here now.”

She handed me the tissue box. I took a tissue and cried into it. I do not know why. I do not even remember him. Maybe it is just realizing that this happened to a poor and sweet woman, that is making me emotional.

I tried to get up to hug the woman, but I felt a huge weight pulling me back down to the hospital bed that I was confined to. My mother said, “Don’t strain yourself.”

I felt so much sympathy for my mother. The worst part of all of this is that she had to endure everything by herself and without comfort from anyone. She got a divorce partially because of me, she had to struggle with the fact that her daughter was in a coma for a year, and she had to deal with everything by herself.

My mother sat silently in her chair. My eyes drifted towards hers. If you looked deep into her eyes, you could see the chaos, heartbreak, and danger. Aside from all of that, her eyes still shined with hope and joy. There was a twinkle of goodness and hope that never seemed to go away. A star that stayed and glowed brightly in the sky.

For a while, we sat basking in the silence. What else could we do? We just sat, both of us stuck in our thoughts.

I stared at my mother. She tried to act calm, but I noticed her eyebrows were slightly lowered, and she bit her lips, and the way that she played with the ball of tissue in her hands.

I forgot how hungry I was until I smelt chicken noodle soup and turned to see the doctor, stumbled back into the room, with a tray in her hands.

“I’m deeply sorry to have kept you waiting for so long,” she said while walking towards my bed. “Look! I brought you the soup that was promised.”

She almost sat the tray down on my lap, but then the ground began to shake. It shook lightly at first, but then it began to shake more violently. My happiness quickly shifted to fear. The bowl of soup shook, having hot broth droplets sprinkled out.

The doctor set the tray down on the coffee table and helped me out of bed. I crawled under the bed with her and there was barely enough room for the two of us. My mother crawled under her chair. I read the doctor’s nametag and it said, “Dr. Greene.” Dr. Greene leaned in close and whispered in my ear. She said, “Calm down, Brooklynn.”

I took ten deep breaths and soon the shaking in the room stopped. We slowly and cautiously got out from under the bed. Dr. Greene tried to help me up, but I was able to stand without her assistance. Mom reached her arms to support me, but I did not need her help. I slowly walked to the other side of the room and back while Mom stared at me in awe.

“This is great!” she shouted.

Dr. Greene nodded and waved her hand dismissively at my mother. “Let’s go, Brooklynn. We must get an MRI for you.”

I was about to reply, but my mother answered before I could.

“If her results come back okay, will she be able to be discharged today?” The doctor responded to her, but I could not hear her over the sound of my heart pounding.

What if they find something seriously wrong with me? Will I have to stay in the hospital for a few more days, or weeks, even? It was strange how fast I was able to stand up, considering I had not even been able to sit up in bed before. Some good thoughts might give me some luck.

****

After we were done, I was finally able to go back to the room with my mother in there waiting for me. My Jello and soup, which had turned cold, was waiting for me on the small brown coffee table.

I had eaten most of my Jello when Dr. Greene walked back into the room.

“Your daughter is healthy and suprisingly, ready to be discharged. I need you to sign her discharge papers in the lobby and then you two can finally leave here.”

My mother squeezed my arm excitedly as she rose to enthusiastically shake hands with the doctor. “I will sign those papers right away. Thank you for helping my daughter this past year. I cannot believe I can finally take her home.”

“You better believe it because it is happening right now. Have a wonderful time together, and I hope to not have any more emergencies with your family in the future.”

The doctor watched as my mother hurried away and quickly sat down in the seat that she had been sitting in. She spoke to me in a hushed voice and kept anxiously looking at the door.

“I am Natasha Greene, and I am afraid to inform you that you are in danger. I will need you to trust me if we are to help you stay safe.”

A strand of her dark black hair fell in front of her eyes. She looked more dangerous than a doctor should look.

I gave her a stern glare and never broke eye contact while I said, “What type of doctor are you?”

“I am not a real doctor, Brooklynn. Right now, you need to be extremely careful, even around your own mother. In a couple of days, my brother is coming to take you to a safer place. Bad people are after you right now, and it would be dangerous if they ever got ahold of you.”

I started to giggle. This was ridiculous. She was ridiculous. “You are crazy.” I said to her.

She looked at me sadly. “One day you will see that I’m trying to protect you.”

Right at that moment, my mom walked into the room. “Was Brooklynn good for you?”

Natasha nodded but did not take her eyes off me. I felt the need to bury myself in a jacket, or just to do anything that would get her to stop staring at me. Natasha let my mother take me home and I was relieved. We could not have gotten out of that hospital soon enough.

When the automatic doors opened, we were welcomed by freezing frigid air. I had no jacket and began to shiver as my fingers also started to burn.

Mom noticed me and said, "Here, I can’t have you freezing or catching a cold right before we get you home. Take my jacket.”

Her jacket didn’t fit me quite right, but it was a better option than freezing.

I hurried into the passenger’s seat and noticed the huge amount of clutter on the floor, but I pretened not to notice.

“Are you ready to go home? My boyfriend is watching your sister and his own daughter at the house right now.”

The thought of my mother having a new boyfriend already made me a bit uneasy, but I tried to bottle up my feelings and try to give him a chance. That’s the least she deserves.

“I can’t wait to see Bubbles.” I speak. I missed that little fish of mine. Hopefully Marissa hasn’t killed him yet.

Mom sighed. “Honey, Bubbles is in fish heaven now.”

I groaned loudly. “Why does nothing good ever happen to me?”

Mom just turned up the volume on the radio. We rode in silence the entire drive home.

When we parked Mom turned and asked me,” Do you know where we are?”

That was an easy question.

“I’m home.”

My New Life

We parked in front of the tan-colored house on Newman Lane. The tan house that I used to live in all the time. Our tan house. My house. The house that had my room. Home. I’m finally home.

The front yard has less grass than I remembered. Most of the lawn was either really dry, or non-existant. Gopher holes covered the ground.

We walked up the three little stairs to the porch. I raised my hand up to knock on the door, but then I hesitated. Am I ready to be back?

I ignored my doubts and knocked loudly three times. Bang! Bang! Bang!

I could hear the footsteps pacing, people shouting, and objects falling on the floor. Instead of my sister, Marissa, opening the door, this strange man answered instead.

“Hey, Joyce. Is this the famous Brooklynn?” I realized that this man must be my mom’s new boyfriend. I looked over my shoulder at mom who kept looking at the man and then at me very anxiously.

“Hi,” I said nervously,” I’m Brooklynn.” I gave the man no time to respond before I slid past him and into the house. Mom and my boyfriend walked in after me.

“I’m Brad.” said the man. I nodded absentmindedly. Marissa was sitting on the couch reading another thick book. I walked over to her quietly and put my hand on her page.

“Are you doing good in school?” I asked her.

“I’m doing pretty well in school. How was the hospital? Was your doctor nice? Did you see a goat?”

I looked over at Mom in confusion, and then back at Marissa. “A goat?”

Mom shook her head at Marissa. “We weren’t in a vet; we were at a hospital which is for humans.”

Mom and Brad sat on the other side of the couch, talking amongst themselves.

A little girl, probably about five years old, sat at the center table in the living room and colored something silently. I walked over to her to introduce myself, but before I could get a single word in, she said,” You’re Jessica and I’m Alexis. I’m in first grade. Are you do not sick anymore?”

I shook my head, suppressing a smile. “No, I’m not sick anymore. Is that man your father?”

Alexis nodded while humming and bobbing her head to music only she could. “Yep, your mommy and my daddy are dating.”

“I know now, I’m just going to my bedroom now, okay?”

“Okay.”

I walked up the stairs and heard each step creak and groan with each step I took. I walked down the hall until I stood a foot away from my door. I traced my fingers over my doorknob and opened the door.

Everything looked exactly the same. It was as though I had never left. My white desk had a thin layer of dust, which I brushed my finger lightly across.

My bed. My bed had light pink blankets still folded neatly over the mattress. I traced my hand up and down the bed. I undid the blankets and laid down. My eyes started to flutter close until I heard a small voice beside me.

“Brooklynn, do you want to play with me?”

I look up to see Alexis standing at the end of my bed. I politely shake my head. “No thank you. I’m really tired.” I laid my head back down and sank it into my pillow.

A couple of seconds later I heard her bumping around in the hallway. I shouted, "Be careful!” and I heard a crash. I got up to go see what had happened.

Alexis was lying on the floor with tears in her eyes. “I hurt myself. My side, tummy, and my head hurts.”

Mom and Brad walked over. Well, walking was a bit of an understatement. They rushed into the hallway as though they were trying to finish a marathon.

“What happened to my baby?” Brad asked while kneeling on the floor next to Alexis. He rubbed her back. I rolled my eyes at the sight of them.

Brad was acting as though Alexis was a baby, or as though I had injured her myself. Alexis was barely hurt. Either way, this will teach her not to be jumping around in the hallway. I walked back to my room and slammed the door.

I curled back up in my bed and my mind wandered as I got closer and closer to sleep.

I sat on a wooden chair in a room that was dimly lit. Natasha Greene sits in front of me. She sits with one leg over the other, and with her arms crossed. She looks more scared than usual. She whispers while avoiding my eyes.

“I have spent twenty years protecting everyone, but then you show up, and you’re going to be the reason that somebody gets killed.”

“I’m not in any type of danger,” I say.” I won’t be hurt, and neither will anyone else on my account.”

“Listen to me!” Natasha shouts. “You are in danger!”

Natasha shoves me backwards and I wake up from my rest.

I gasped for air. My heart seemed to be going a million miles an hour. I looked around anxiously. Thankfully, I was still safely in my room.

It was just a dream, I reassured myself. Then why did it seem so real?

Once, a child was born rather extraordinarily. Whenever her anger got the best of her, fire or lava would explode from her hands. Her parents loved her, and loved her gift, but others in her village were fearful of such a powerful child, and with good reason, because she could rarely control her powers.

One day the village elders made a plan to protect the village from the girl. They were to trap her in the woods and leave her to live in isolation.

The mother pleaded with them to change their minds, but they refused. So, at sunset the mother led her daughter out into the deepest parts o the woods and left her.

Confused and scared, the girl sank to her knees and tears rolled down her cheeks. The earth listened to the sorrow of the girl and gave her a way to be able to watch her family and village, but still be safe.

Soon, she was turned into a volcano. Whenever a volcano erupts, it is the temper of the daughter inside bursting.

Mothers. Mothers are supposed to be comforting. They are supposed to hug you and tell you that everything will be okay when you've given up hope.

Well, I'm here to tell you that not all mothers are that cuddly and cute. My mother abandoned me. She left me to die as a child. I was raised by a man who found me in the woods. Eventually, I ran away. I can take care of myself. After all, I have done that my whole life.

My mother is a coward and disloyal. She gave me up because she was supposed to marry a rich man, but he didn't want children and didn't know that she had a child. So, instead of taking care of me and leaving him, she left me, and never saw me again.