Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

56

Beeping. What an annoying beeping sound. I don't remember it being there all along, but I also don't remember anything being there at all. I found myself in a blurry glow. It was quiet. Peaceful. But now that peace is disturbed by that annoying beeping sound. I try to figure out how to pronounce the words to ask if it can stop, but I can't even come up with a single word.

Suddenly, I become aware that my chest is rising and falling, because I'm breathing. The beeping continues to penetrate my ears and even with my eyes closed, I can see the bright light shining on my face. I already have such an intense headache and I'm sure it will only get worse once I open my eyes. Yet I seem to forget that thought completely when I hear a familiar voice next to me.

'Kimora?' Shiori asks softly. I feel a warm energy moving on my hand. 'Kimora?' I was right: the headache is only getting worse now that I open my eyes, but still I gladly receive it if that means that I can see Shiori and Sato. They look at me with tears in their eyes, but they still have a warm smile on their faces. 'Oh, luckily you've awoken..' Shiori exhales with relief.

As my body and brain slowly start to wake up, all kinds of questions come to mind. Awoken? Of what? What's going on? Where am I? Why am I lying in a bed and am I connected to all kinds of wires? Why does that monitor beep like that?

'Hello, Kimora,' I hear a soft voice say. I turn my head and feel a twinge of pain, but I try to hide it. 'I'm doctor Zanick,' the young man says with a warm smile. 'You're in the hospital. Do you know your full name?'

'Hospital?' I mumble, not understanding. What am I supposed to do here? I try to focus on his question and answer it. 'Kimora Sasaki,' I say. He nods and smiles. 'How do you feel?' My first reaction is to pretend there's nothing wrong with me, because I want to keep myself strong, but then I realize it's probably better for me to answer honestly. After all he's a doctor, and apparently something serious happened that put me here.

'Tired,' I sigh, trying to let my body relax now that I've thrown that out. Immediately I feel a stab going through my back, so that I reflexively bring my hand there and feel even more pain. 'My arms and back hurt..' I mumble. I look at my arms for a moment and see that there are parts that are wrapped in some bandages. 'What happened?' I mumble.

Dr. Zanick looks at me patiently. 'Do you know who these people are?' I glance at Shiori and Sato, who look at me with concern. I feel something warm going through my body. It feels so great that they're here. Of course I know who they are. 'Shiori and Sato,' I say fondly, 'the parents of my best friend.' My dead best friend. I brace myself for the sting of pain that I will undoubtedly experience now, but to my surprise it doesn't come. Maybe I'm not fully awake yet. Dr. Zanick nods. 'Do you know what city we are in?' This can be a trick question. 'I don't know where we are right now,' I reply, 'but I last remember being in Tokyo.'

He's smiling. 'That's right, we're still in Tokyo.' I look at the light he has in his hand. He sees me looking at it. 'I'm going to run some tests with you.' He starts by shining the light in my eyes and checking me. Every now and then I have to look in a certain direction, so I do. 'Don't be alarmed,' he says, getting closer to my eye. I feel how they close by themselves before he can touch it. 'Would you like to follow my hands for a moment?' he asks as he begins to move them. I do what he says. I still have to do all kinds of exhausting things, before he nods approvingly and seems to write something down on a clipboard.

'I was climbing,' I say, remembering now. My parents were angry with my test result and I had enough of it. I couldn't be there anymore. I had gone for a jog first, after which I had seen Shiori and Sato with so much joy and love, that I decided to leave them be. I came to the mountain and I started to climb. 'And then there were fireworks,' I exclaim in exasperation as I slowly get to my feet, ignoring the stings of pain. 'It hit the rock face and I fell down.'