She would like to see someone, anyone.
Maybe she would meet a cute black-haired girl, a gentle soul with an air of serenity. It would be nice to meet such a person. Perhaps she would see one if she could just open her eyes.
Yes, open her eyes. Just a little, to see what was going on.
It took a little effort, but she manged to open her eyes, only to find that it was blinding. It was the sunlight on her eyes and it was too bright to see anything.
She blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the morning brightness. She was relieved when, accompanied by the sound of a curtain being drawn, the light dimmed.
Then a gentle bespectacled face of a girl, framed by short black hair appeared within her view. Perhaps wishes did come true after all.
Wait a moment. Now that she thought about it, she herself was a girl. Why then was she thinking of that particular girl?
"Annie?" the gentle-faced girl asked.
It took her a moment to realize that it was her name. Annie... yes, she was certain it was her name. Her name... her full name was... if she could just recall it, it was... Annie Gloria Billings. She was relieved that she could remember. Then a suddenly chill struck her: What if that was not her name?
"Annie, do you know who I am?" the girl asked.
Annie gazed into the features of the other. The young girl was of average height and had a mature chest size. It took her a moment to recognize the girl. It was Marie. "Big Sister," Annie whispered.
The girl's expression at once brightened. Then there was a moment of confusion, of uncertainty, but it disappeared. "Do you remember what happened?" the elder sister asked.
"No," Annie answered softly.
"You fell off a bridge," Big Sis explained.
"When?" Annie asked weakly.
"A week ago. You've been asleep since."
Annie glanced at the strange surroundings - the plain white ceiling, the shelf with vases of flower, the night stand with a jug and a cup, a tube stuck into her arm connected to a hanging bag. "Where am I?"
"At the hospital - Judy Perkin Memorial."
Annie knew the place. It was far. But far from where? She did fall off a bridge, did she not? She had a glimpse of falling from an incredible height, and another of the cold waters below but somehow the memory was unfamiliar.
Big Sis said, "Um... I should go get the doctor, now that you're up. Just rest, okay?"
Annie nodded once and closed her eyes. She thought of an experiment: try to recall what she looked like. Okay... she was... a small girl of fourteen years with shoulder-length black hair.
The girl then opened her eyes and looked at herself. Judging by the bulge under the blanket, she was indeed small and out of the corner of her eye, she could see some of her long black hair. So her memory was correct. She glanced at her chest and noted its flatness. Was she supposed to be disappointed? There was no reason to be, was there? In fact, she could not decide if she was glad or disappointed to be where she was.
The doctor's arrival interrupted her thoughts. The doctor had questions for her. Many of the questions concerned what she did remember and a few about how she felt. Annie answered as best as she could but she could not recall the details of her accident.
At the end of it, the doctor pronounced Annie healthy but mentioned nothing to her concerning her mental state. The doctor did, however, confer with Big Sis outside the room - Annie could tell by the fact that they had left together. Big Sis only returned after a short interval of time.
Annie did not think much about it. Instead, she closed her eyes to rest.
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