In your bed

As you shake the sleep out of your eyes, you cannot quite make out where you are. The room is dark, and there is no light coming from the hallway either. You don’t know the extent of the damage to your body, so you don’t want to try to get up just yet. You shake your head slightly to get rid of the last few ounces of sleep, and that’s when it hits you. You are in your dorm. There is no sound. No beeping machines, no nurses shouting at each other in languages you don’t understand, and no family members trying to get answers from doctors. Everything is completely silent. That is, until you call out for the only thing that matters right now.

“Melody?” Your voice pierces the calmness, but you are greeted only with an echo.

“Melody?” You shout again and again you hear nothing. The lack of a response is causing you to worry.

“Melody?” You shout a third time. You are more awake now than you have ever been in your life and it is at the point that you hear it. The faint sound of snoring coming from your right eases your mind. Although it is just barely audible to most everyone else, you can distinctly hear the faint sounds of Melody’s cute snore. It is more like a shallow breath than a snore, but you still tease her and adore her for it.

Now that you’ve realized that she is sleeping, you don’t want to wake her up. You gently roll over onto your right shoulder to reach up and turn on the light next to your bed. The dim light brightens the room enough for you to realize that there is a bell next to your bed with a note attached to it. You grab the note and read it to yourself. Though you just woke up, you easily recognize Melody’s handwriting. You read it out loud, but softly enough to not wake her up.

“Dear Jack, if you need anything at all, ring this bell. I don’t care what time of the night it is, ring the bell. The doctor said you can get up and walk around on your own, but I want to be there to spot you just in case. Plus, we need to talk a bit. If I get even the slightest hint that you let me sleep, I’ll smash you through the table again! Melody.” You chuckle a bit as you know she hasn’t lost her sense of humor in all this.

Not wanting to anger her, you reach over and grab the bell. You don’t want to wake her, but your mouth is dry and you want some water. With a slight flick of your wrist, the bell clangs and Melody springs to life.

“Jack!!! Are you okay? Are you in pain? What’s wrong?” She asks with a hint of sadness and guilt in her voice.

“I’m fine, but I want to get some water. I saw your note and figured that an empty bottle of water would be a dead giveaway that I got up and moved around while you were sleeping. I’m sorry to wake you up.” You say as you watch her come over to your bed wearing the clothes that she during the day.

“It’s okay Jack. I’d rather you wake me up, than see you risk hurting yourself even worse.” She says. “Do you want to get the water yourself, or would you like me to get it for you?”