Beth
Beth
Where is she?
There’s a sound ringing in her ears. She tries to focus on her hands, where they are in relation to the rest of her body, which is lying down, inert. But the sound is annoying her. Electronic, repetitive.
An idea flashes into her mind. A hospital. She’s in a hospital.
She’s thinking of the fire. The smell is still distinct in her mind. In her nostrils. Or is it? She can’t be sure. She can’t be sure of anything.
The dizziness has worn off. She opens her eyes. There are sticky patches attached to her chest. A man is talking to her but she can’t focus on what he is saying.
What has happened to her? Is she injured?
That would make sense of course, after the fire.
Smoke inhalation. Shock. What could it be? What’s the reason she’s lying here right now, unable to speak?
Not smoke inhalation. Something else.
The pain in her chest has eased, but her head is still pounding, her fingers and toes tingling now.
Her play. She’s meant to be doing her play tomorrow.
She was meant to be telling him the truth. That she loved him. That she’d always loved him.
It was just that the time was wrong.