I am sailing on a beautiful spring day off the coast of California, the sky is so blue it looks like it was painted with an artist’s brush. The water is so clear I can see all the wonders of nature as they swim by playfully, waves lapping against my sailboat gently rocking me as if I were in a baby’s cradle. I am happy and content not knowing why but a calm has come over me that I am powerless to explain. Sea creatures come and visit saying all is well and they sing songs so beautiful they cannot be expressed in words. A dolphin swims nearby leading me to a place I know I will be safe from harm as we navigate this blue paradise on our way to heaven. All is well, all is well…
Suddenly I am snatched from the jaws of deep sleep as if a giant hand has grabbed me and pulled me into the world of consciousness . I am horrified, terrified and disoriented all at the same time. I let out a blood curdling scream that would wake the dead as I deal with the reality of the scene that confronts my waking moments. A scene so bizarre, I think I must be dreaming but quickly I realize this is no dream it is a waking nightmare.
I am immersed in a bathtub of icy water naked and freezing. I survey my surroundings and find I am in a bathroom somewhere, I don’t know where. I don’t recognize the bathroom or tub I am in and even worst I don’t know how in the hell I got here, wherever here is. I am not constrained in any way but somehow I feel I am a prisoner. That’s when I feel the pain in my side , at first dull then becoming overwhelming as I look down at the source of my distress, a long jagged sutured incision on my left side. Oh, my God what the hell has happened to me.
It hits me like a brick up the side of my head as I realize I’ve been drugged. Reality pours over me as I remember the events that transpired prior to my incarceration in this bath tub prison. I was in a nightclub talking to this chick at the bar … That’s the last thing I remember. Then I woke up here in this tub.
Somehow, I manage to drag myself out of the tub still reeling, and stumble through the door into what appears to be a motel room. My head is still spinning but I manage to make a coherent call to the front desk and explain my situation. They call an ambulance and soon they arrive sirens blaring .
The cops kick in my door and rush in to find me awake but cowering in a ball on the floor. They have the decency to cover me with a towel and the paramedics come in to examine me. They are shocked but somehow not totally surprised.
“Sir’ the female paramedic says regretfully. “ I hate to inform you, but you have been drugged and someone has removed your left kidney and left you here. These people drug their victims at a bar and bring them to a motel and harvest their organs and sell them to the highest bidder. It is a big business and they make thousands of dollars. “ she further says.
I learned a hard lesson, always keep an eye on your drink when you are in a bar around strangers that sometime mean you harm. It only cost me a kidney to learn that lesson. I guess I should be happy, it could have cost me my life.
The Beach
Simply Shorts Page 10