Home Sweet Home

Kira struggled to open her eyes. Her brain was sluggish, her eyelids heavy. She was disoriented and dehydrated. The pungent smell of disinfectant gave her an idea of where she was. She saw the white ceiling, heard the patient beeping of a bedside monitor. Her eyes watered at the bright sunlight flooding the room. ‘Miss Hewitt!’ A woman’s happy, high-pitched voice made her wince. ‘I’ll go get the doctors!’ Before Kira could see who it was, she heard hurried footsteps leaving the room. Two minutes later, she was still in the process of trying to sit up when the door was pushed open and a horde of doctors rushed in. ‘No no, you shouldn’t get up!’ One of them laid a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back. She was given a battery of tests and asked a myriad of questions. ‘Does your head still hurt?’ ‘Your back?’ ‘Any dizziness, nausea?’ ‘Can you follow the light?’ Forty-five minutes later, the doctors were finally satisfied that she was completely awake. The room soon cleared, leav