Coma (Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

At that moment, hearing his heavy breathing,
I would have said yes to anything. He had me. Completely. But I was
nothing if not a control freak, and wasn't gonna let myself be
played like this. I turned around to face him, keeping a serious,
I'm-not-affected-by-you expression. He lifted his gaze, breathing
heavily through slightly parted lips. We stared at each other’s
eyes, speechless. I couldn't read his expression correctly, so I
said, “Sure.”

“Sure, what?” Zack replied, his eyes not
braking from mine. That startling green irises were once again
replaced by the black of his pupils, leaving only the dark blue
band in view that usually encompassed the green.

“Answer to your question.”

“What que...Ah, that. Okay,” Quickly, he
bowed his head, and went straight back to the bench. I narrowed my
eyes, and tilted my head, smiling.
Was he...? Was this genuine?
Could he be just as affected?
I went to sit next to him, but as
soon as I did, he jumped up, clumsily excusing himself, and left.
All by myself, I started laughing. There was no telling who was
crazy there. Him or me.

~*~

After work, Zack was waiting for me in front
of Mario's. Since yesterday, chemistry had changed. He seemed a lot
more reserved, keeping his distance, and maintaining conversation
on a basic level only. Even on the bus, he leaned toward the
window, and stared out the entire ride. I couldn't help but think
that yesterday brought this on. The wicked side of me wanted to
test this out, so I moved my knee toward his. As if burnt, he moved
closer to the window. I turned my head toward the aisle to grin.
Yap, he had issues with our close encounter. Guess I wasn't the
only control freak on the bus.

The psych ward was an intimidating facility
resembling one of those spooky horror movies. Monumental building
with bars on every window, all covered up in ivy, and wild,
overgrown garden around it. Here and there, inside the high grass,
were remnants of once probably groomed roses.

Zack had influenced a nurse to arrange a
meeting for me, so I introduced myself at the desk, pretending to
be Sophie's friend. A large man all dressed in white came to take
me to see her. I prayed to God she wouldn't scream, or say she
didn't know me. Before we got on the bus, Zack assured me that if
it happened, all I needed was to act innocent, and keep up my
pretense. The staff thought she was crazy anyway, so it wouldn't be
odd.

Walking down those creepy corridors cemented
my decision never to reveal my secret to Mom and Dad. This could
have easily been my home if I did. Graveyard silence made our
footsteps echo, adding to the creepiness. Several doors had
scratches on them as if Freddy Kruger was the in-house decorator.
We reached Sophie's room, so the guard stopped, saying:

“Wait here, miss,” and disappeared behind the
door. Several moments later, he came out saying, “You may enter.
Don't worry, she's not dangerous.” I gulped, repeating
not
dangerous
in my mind.

Zack went in first, and I followed. Sophie
was sitting on her bed, running one fingernail under the others.
She was a tiny person about my age, or a year older, very thin,
with messed up, chin length, curly hair. An oversized sweatshirt
had slipped down one shoulder, revealing a worn out grayish T-shirt
with several holes.

“Guard didn't say there were two of you,” she
said to my surprise, widening her big, blue eyes.

“You can see him?” I whispered, equally
goggling my eyes.

Sophie snorted, and lifted one side of her
upper lip. “Shouldn't I be surprised that you can?” She retorted,
and shifted her legs to form a lotus position. Black sweatpants
revealed her pointy knees through several cuts.

“My name is Zack,” I was glad he jumped in,
“And this is Lyra.”

“Sophie,” she extended her hand to shake
Zack's, and I reached over her bed to shake hers. “Lyra? What kind
of name is that?” Her eyes rounded waiting for my answer.

“Constellation,” I sighed, pointing up.

“Oh, okay,” she snickered, “Why are you
here?”

“I need your help,” Zack didn't beat around
the bush. “I read your file, and I think you might know something
that could shine some light on my situation.”

“I doubt that my records have what really
happened to me,” she let out an annoyed snort.

“That's why we're here. Could you tell us
what really happened?” Zack sat on her bed.

“Sure, why not,” she said, not particularly
interested.

“Thanks,” Zack replied, and folded his hands
in his lap.

“When I was six, we were on the road to my
grandma's,” Sophie began her story. “We stopped midway in a hotel.
There was a pool, and I drowned.”

A gasp escaped my mouth, completely
involuntarily.

Sophie looked at me, and then continued as if
nothing had happened, “They managed to rescue me, but I fell into a
coma. While in coma, my soul lost all the memory except the fact
that we were going to grandma's, so that's where I went. I hung out
at grandma's until my memory slowly returned, and then I went back
to hospital and reintegrated with my body. After waking up from
coma, I was left with this wonderful gift of seeing others in the
same situation,” with aggravated expression, Sophie motioned toward
Zack. I swallowed a knot. “That's how I ended up here. Nobody
believed me,” anger colored her voice. Zack opened his mouth to ask
something, but I interjected.

“You said your soul went to grandma's,” I
said, “But he is like me, material. Not a soul.”

Sophie laughed, “Contrary to any belief, soul
is just as real. I hate calling it a soul, though. It was me, real
me, but not visible to others. Like someone changed the station,
but not quite, leaving a part of me in this channel, and moving the
most of me to another channel.”

“How many people have you seen like this,”
Zack asked, his voice rather strained.

“Too many to keep count,” Sophie sputtered,
and readjusted a pillow behind her back.

“You seemed rather certain that you went to
grandma's because that was the only thing you remembered,” Zack
continued, and Sophie nodded. “Is it the same for others you
see?”

“Without exception. Last memory is your
destination.”

“But we’ve never met,” I said to Zack,
shocked that I was his destination. Briefly, he looked at me, and
then back at Sophie.

“One more question,” Zack cleared his throat,
“Could you leave your grandma if you wanted to?”

“I don't know. I didn't try,” Sophie replied.
“I was six. A lot of things didn't cross my mind,” she
chuckled.

“But have you heard from others about that
problem?” I asked, anxiously staring at her big blue eyes.

“They didn't say,” she exhaled loudly. “You
have to understand, I didn't want them around. Seeing them ruined
my life,” she bowed her head, her golden locks following. “Last
visit I had, before you, was a teenage boy from my school. He
didn't care what his presence did to me. He was so self centered,
and angry about his situation, so once he realized I could see him,
he made my life a living hell. He would come to my class, and
scream next to my ear the entire time.”

“I'm so sorry,” Zack said, and put his hand
on her shoulder.

“So am I,” my thoughts went back to my own
encounters. Oh boy, I've been lucky so far, “I know how you feel,”
I breathed, imagining myself in her position.

“At first, I was happy to be locked up in
here. It was safe, and far away from them,” Sophie got up from her
bed, and strode toward the window, grabbing the bars with both
hands. “What was once a safe heaven, now is a prison,” she tugged
the bars.

I felt so sorry for her. If anyone could
relate to her situation, it was me. Thank God that didn't happen to
me. Knowing her situation, I was determined never to acknowledge
any ghost's presence ever again. I looked at Zack, and his eyes met
mine. There was compassion in his gaze, and I was thankful he was
considerate, and didn't complicate my life.

“When did you start seeing them?” Sophie
turned around, and asked me.

“I'm not sure. It's been like this my whole
life,” I replied, thinking back.

“Were you ever in a coma?” She strode back to
her bed.

“Not that I know of,” I said, and turned to
Zack. He was quiet. Learning he was somewhere in a coma must have
been hard on him, so I asked Sophie: “Are you sure it has to do
with coma? Could something else be in play?”

“I can't rule out other possibilities, but in
my experience, it was always about coma.”

Zack suddenly stood up, and said to Sophie:
“Is there anything we can do to help you?”

“No-one can help me,” Sophie lowered her
gaze, and twirled her thumbs in her lap.

“Arrange a meeting with your doctor. I'll
come, and we'll show your doctor that it's real,” determination was
in Zack's voice. My eyes bulged.

“Why do you think she'll listen?” Sophie
snorted, but her face showed a hint of hope. “I've been telling her
for years that it was all true—”

“Trust me. I have an idea,” Zack's gaze was
distant. I remembered him saying that to me several days ago, and
he came through.

“Sophie,” I said, “What have you got to lose?
Let us try.”

“Okay,” she said, reluctantly. “What's the
worst that can happen, right?” She let out a slightly hysterical
giggle.

“Don't tell her why you're asking for it,”
Zack said. “Just set an appointment in the afternoon. We'll come by
tomorrow at the same time as today, and then I’ll explain the
details.” Sophie smiled, and nodded. Zack turned to me and said,
“Let's go!”

“Sophie,” I hugged her, and my eyes watered.
I felt as if I was hugging an alternative version of me, “I'm glad
we've met.”

“Likewise,” she said with a faint smile, and
we parted. I saw her lashes swept away a tear.

~*~

Zack hasn't said a word until we got on the
bus. I tried to start a conversation a couple of times until the
bus had arrived, but he motioned for me to stay quiet. At my last
attempt, he said to wait for the bus, and that it wasn't wise to
talk to
myself
while still near that dreaded facility.

On the bus, several people were sitting in
front, so we went to sit at the back where our conversation
wouldn't be heard.

“We have to help her,” he said as soon as we
sat down. So far, I haven’t seen him so driven.

“I agree. Poor girl. What do you plan to do
with her doctor?”

“She's in there because no-one believes her.
If I can get her doctor to believe I'm real, she might have a
chance to get out.”

”I get that, but how are you gonna prove your
existence?”

“A set of tests,” Zack smiled, and twisted
his fingers. Something sparkled in his eyes.

“What kind of tests?”

“Sophie is locked up, so she cannot possibly
know what's going on outside her room,” he paused.

“Go on,” I said.

“I'll ask the doctor to go to the office and
write something on a piece of paper. When she comes back to Sophie,
I'll recite what I read, Sophie will repeat it for me, and I'll
give Sophie the paper to hand over to her doc.”

“Oh, that's brilliant!” Taking the paper from
the office should be a great punch line. Copperfield worthy. “But
what if her doc isn't willing to try that in the first place?”

“That's easy. I'll convince her doc to give
Sophie a chance by whispering into her ear that Sophie deserves
it.”

“Like you did with the nurses?”

“Exactly like that,” he flashed a grin.

“What if she sees a floating paper and freaks
out?” My mom would, I thought.

“Do you ever see floating stuff?” Zack didn't
wait for me to answer. “As soon as I take something, it becomes
invisible to this realm. That's why I have to give it to Sophie to
hand it over. She'll be like a bridge between realms.”

“How do you know that? You can't see what
this realm sees?”

“I learned the hard way,” he started meddling
with the hem of his shirt. “Just like anyone, I have to eat. It's
not like I can go to a store, and buy what I need. First couple of
days, I was starving, so I went to a grocery store, and tried to
steal an apple. It goes against everything I believe, but the pain
was excruciating, and I decided one apple wouldn't hurt.”

“I would have done the same, but that doesn't
answer my question,” I replied, wondering why he looked embarrassed
about stealing. Who wouldn't have done it?

“I didn't get to that part, yet,” he threw a
bland look my way. “The woman that worked there had just arranged
apples into a pyramid. She turned her back, and I grabbed one apple
from the top, but she turned back around that instant. I froze in
place, unable to move, holding an apple flat in my hand. She looked
at the top, noticed a missing apple, and didn't see I was holding
it in my hand, right there in front of her. Just like you, I
thought she would see a floating apple, but instead, she was
confused, and looked around the floor for it.”

“Oh, okay then,” that got me thinking. What
if someone less moral was in his place? Could someone rob a bank,
and get away with it? Unease formed in my gut remembering Sophie's
high-school ghost who would be the kind that might cause havoc, but
Zack was way ahead of me, saying:

“There is one problem, though,” he looked up
at me, his eyes rounded. “It seems all realms are under intelligent
design. If Sophie is not supposed to get out of there, I won't be
able to take the paper.”

“What?! But you made her think it was a done
deal. How could you do that, Zack? That's false hope, that's
playing with her emotions—” I was furious. Putting myself in her
shoes was easy, and I wanted to punch him for being so
insensitive.

“Calm down, Lyra. Here me out, okay?”
Certainty in his voice made me nod, but I still felt the urge to
smack him. He continued, “The fact that we were led to her must
mean something. We would have never met her if it wasn't meant to
be.”