Comatose

by Graham Saunders

  ~o~

  Emily was now just days away from being discharged from the hospital. The events of the morning of her accident were still not clear to her, she remembered being on Juno but little else and the whole period before waking, the months she spent in the coma were still a closed book to her. But occasionally, as if caught in her peripheral vision and only half seen, there were flashes of disjointed memory which made little sense to her but held the promise that her memory may slowly come back. She was having some vivid dreams about a tragic story involving lovers who were parted by death. It was like a novel she had read and somehow become a part of. The dreams seemed so real to her that she mentioned them to her mother to see if they made any sense to her. Emily told Suzanne what she could remember of the story that emerged in her dream. She found her daughter's story moving but she had never heard it before.

  "Maybe you just made it up when your mind was lost in the coma; you have always had a good imagination. I liked the part about the Sun and Moon kissing. Perhaps you should become a writer like the guy who was staying in your cottage."

  The words resonated with Emily. A writer... It meant something and was an irritation for her not to know what.

  "Mum, there are plenty of things I don't remember, things I don't understand, I guess that's to be expected. But I feel there's stuff about what happened that you are not telling me. Who, for example, was the man at my bedside when I woke up? And why hasn't Tony been to see me for so long?"

  "Well you know your brother Emily, he's always in some trouble. He's got himself into some debt I think, and has taken himself off to keep his head down. I got an email from him telling me not to worry and I'm trying not to. I'm sure he'll be fine."

  Suzanne was careful not to share her true concerns over her son with Emily; her daughter had enough on her plate with her own recovery.

  "Oh my poor Tony, he always needed me to look out for him and I haven't been there."

  "I know you still think that Emily, but he's a big boy now, we should let him make his own mistakes. He knows we are here for him when he realizes that he needs us."

  "I suppose you're right..."

  Emily sighed for her brother who had never been able to truly find his place in the world. "And my other question?" She prompted.

  "There is a lot to tell you darling, but I wanted you to be fully well before trying to explain because... Well because it's hard to believe. Can we leave it a few more days until you are back home?"

  "Hard to believe, what do you mean?"

  "It's a long story and you might find it disturbing. Please Emily just wait until you are back home and fully recovered."

  "You've told me enough to intrigue me. I have to know what you mean by saying it might disturb me, you can't just leave it like that Mum."

  "Oh Emily, I should have kept my mouth shut. Are you really sure... you may struggle to make sense of it."

  "You can't just leave me dangling now... whatever it is I'm well enough to cope."

  "All right, this is against my better judgement but here's the short version... The man who was at your bedside was a man called Alexander Havers; he rented your cottage while you were ill, I wanted your cottage to be looked after, lived in while you were unwell and renting it was the best option I could come up with."

  "Yes, that's fine I understand that... Get to the point Mum."

  ''OK... The rest of this crazy story is mostly from what he told me and I can't really be certain just how true it is. But what happened in reality does fit perfectly with his story... I guess I believe him... I can't come up with a better explanation of the facts. So... Alexander took the cottage as a retreat so that he could write his novel. Shortly after moving in... he met... you."

  "What do you mean he met me, I was in a coma in hospital."

  "Yes darling I know that only too well... let me continue. He met you as some sort of a ghost."

  "Mum please..."

  "I know, I know. I felt just the same when he first told me. In fact he kept it all to himself until he needed to save you... He told me that at first he thought your appearance at the cottage was the symptom of a nervous breakdown but I can say this Emily, Alexander Havers is the most level headed person I know and he truly believes what he told me."

  "OK go on, what did this level headed person say next... Alien abductions?"

  "Do you want to hear this or not?"

  "Sorry Mum, go on."

  "Well it seems that this ghost did not quite know who she was; just that she owned the cottage. It seems that the ghost and Alexander eventually got on well and they cooperated in writing his novel."

  "A novel... that rings a distant bell. This is starting to get spooky Mum."

  "You don't have to tell me that Emily. Anyway, as time went by, the ghost started to understand her situation and in the end discovered that she was in danger at the hospital and also what her name was."

  "What do you mean in danger?"

  "I don't know why, but someone was trying to harm you."

  "Now I know this is a fantasy!"

  Suzanne gave Emily a, shut up and listen, expression.

  "May I continue? It sounds insane, I know, but the ghost... you in some kind of out of body state, told him that she was Emily Wilcox. That she was in a coma and in grave danger. it seems that you were panicking, and you drew Alexander into your troubled state... It seems that you had become rather close over the months... So he knew my name was Wilcox and rang me in desperation, to ask if I had a daughter called Emily."

  "Oh god Mum... this is making my hair stand on end."

  At this point Suzanne who had been struggling with her composure broke down with emotion, she held Emily close and drew her daughter to tears.

  "It was a terrible desperate time when we raced to the hospital to save you."

  "Oh Mum.."

  "The thing is there really was someone attempting to inject something into your intravenous line. Alexander saved you darling; he saved your life."

  Although Emily struggled to believe what she had just been told, there was no doubt in Emily's mind that her mother did believe what she had just revealed to her. Suzanne wiped her eyes. "Sorry darling this is just so emotional for me. Without Alexander and his interaction with this ghost, I may have lost you forever."

  Suzanne had been right; the story was disturbing. Emily felt her blood run cold as she tried to take in what she had just heard. It was an unbelievable story but there were things in it which seemed to mesh with the vague memories and feelings that Emily was experiencing. They were things that made her start to doubt her own common sense and belief in the rational. "So what became of the attempt on my life, what was behind that?"

  "The police took Alexander in for questioning, I think they suspected that he had something to do with it at first, but that was never going to stand up to close examination. Alexander was the one who saved you. The police did get some security video showing the man in question but it was not clear enough for an identification. The police could find no motive and I think the enquiry has lost its priority. The last I heard the police were coming to the view that it was a case of mistaken identity, and that it was not you who was the intended victim."

  "This is all too much to take in Mum, I almost wish I had taken your advice and waited until later to be told all this."

  "So where is this man...Alexander, did you say? I need to talk with him."

  "He moved on when he realised that you would be moving back into the cottage. Stupidly I never took a forwarding address At the time my emotions were raw and my focus was on you."

  "I have to find him Mum."

  "I know... we will."

  Emily looked emotionally drained and Suzanne was concerned that the stress of what she had told Emily might tip her back into a relapse. She need not have worried, Emily was now well on her way back to being unstoppable as her brother had described her.

  A few days later Emily was discharged from hospital and returned to the welcomi
ng security of her cottage. Suzanne had wanted Emily to stay with her until she had fully recuperated, but the pull of the cottage was too strong. Emily wanted... needed to be back home. She did not understand why but the pull of the cottage was so powerful but she seemed energised and at peace when she was back inside it's comforting walls. Her mother was a constant visitor, bringing little gifts: a silk scarf, a pair of gloves, a box of muffins to share. But mainly what she brought her daughter were words of encouragement. Suzanne watched with devoted pleasure at the steady progress her daughter was making now that she was back home and felt that her prayers had been answered.

  Her days of recuperation would give Emily time to contemplate her future and more importantly try and make sense of the story she had been told about Alexander Havers and their bizarre shared life. As she settled in to the embrace of her cottage, she was happy again but there was something missing. It was akin to the feelings of having lost a loved one, like expecting to see a familiar face but just finding just emptiness. Emily had no doubt now that this feeling was linked to the man called Alexander Havers whom she had apparently met and grown close to while she was in a coma. Even this certainty did nothing to aid her memory, as she tried to conjure up the image of his face she found nothing.

  Curled into the softness of her easy chair as the evening fell, it came as a shock to Emily to realise that if she were to pass Alexander Havers in the street she would not know him and that sad realisation seemed to be nothing less than a tragedy.