You make me smile :)

CHAPTER 8: The 'Nightmarish' Reality

Sam woke up, feeling all groggy and bored. That was literally the longest leave she had taken from work in her lifetime. She tried to sit up and was successful in doing do - that too on her own. She felt thirsty, which was strange, as she had been on fluids ever since she was in the hospital. She called for Anna, and to her surprise, she heard a high - pitched, melodious voice instead of her usual tone. Her voice sounded like the ringing of a hundred bells at the same time - so loud and clear, and melodious as ever. She was never of the singing type, but now her voice itself had turned into a beautiful melodious one leaving her baffled for a minute or two.

But, of course! She was too busy to be thinking of her change of voice and just wanted some water urgently.

"Anna? Anna! Where are you?" she cried while looking up the table by her bedside, trying to find her cellphone. "Where is it? I'll be damned! Nurse! Nurse?" she called out. It seemed that nobody was out there. She looked up at the wall clock, just to find that it was well past midnight.

"Don't these people do night shifts?" she said to herself in a disgusted voice, which didn't sound so disgusting after all.

She wanted water urgently, so she decided to walk to the nearest water-filter. She prepared to get down from the bed, where she'd been lying since a very long time. Her feet, barely touching the smooth, mosaic flooring felt a sudden chill, which was imparted to every part of her body. She was having conflicting notions about whether she'll be able to stand on her own feet or not. She took a deep breath, put her feet firmly on the ground and put all her weight on her two companions, her two legs that had never betrayed her.

She could stand! She was overjoyed at her progress and felt like dancing, but her throat felt a sudden sting due to paucity of water in her system. She started walking slowly, one step at a time, finding it hard to keep up her balance. She walked into the hallway and felt rather exhausted, but kept going as she desperately needed the wonder liquid.

"Real quiet.", she heard a voice from behind her.

"Excuse me?" she said, turning back to look at the person.

"It's really quiet out here, at this time of the night. Really peaceful. No people running around, no lives are in danger. It's just...perfect " said the stranger.

"Yeah man, whatever." said Sam, she could have cared less.

"Here" said the stranger, handing her a glass of water.

Sam was shocked, but took the glass from his hand and drank all of it in a split second. Now, she felt better, very relieved...at peace,just like the stranger said.

"Thanks. For the water, but how did you know I was thirsty? I didn't say I was...at least I don't remember saying anything." said the confused Sam, sitting on one of the chairs in the hallway.

"You tend to learn...with days of practice, of course!" the stranger laughed as he spoke.

"What's so funny? What practice?" asked the curious Sam.

"The kind of practice that comes from watching over somebody, endlessly for days. That too in their sleep. It seems tedious at first...but as time begins to pass, you tend to learn more and more about the person, their needs....actually, you get to know everything about them just by looking at them" said the stranger.

"Oh yeah, really? And you know that how? Have you got a relative of yours admitted over here, or what? Or is it somebody else? Your girlfriend, perhaps? Or do you read minds?" asked Sam, not believing an inch of the man's peculiar theory. 

"You can think as you please. And no, I haven't any relatives here. I'm just a stranger to the person I'm looking after right now." said the stranger with a smile on his face. 

"Yeah. Ok..Whatever." said Sam, with a public display of disinterest.

"So..What do you do for a living?" asked Sam, just for the heck of it. The truth was that she wasn't really interested to know about the stranger, but anything was better than getting back into that horrifying hospital bed of hers.

"I'm an artist." replied the stranger. "You should know that you'll look great on a canvas. A true, blue beauty. In fact, I'm just on the verge of finishing my masterpiece." he said.

"Look man, seriously? Are you hitting on me? I am a patient..in a hospital..wearing a dull cream coloured hospital outfit..I haven't brushed..or bathed in a very long time..and I can't make out the difference between a dream and reality ever since...and you are seriously calling me some frikkin' piece of art? You are crazy..and I am even crazier, sitting here and talking to you - some stranger who draws and paints stuff to earn a living! I am out of here!" exclaimed Sam, gasping for breath as she said all of it in one breath.

She started walking towards her room, and her silly bed, trying to walk as fast as she could.

He was left confused, trying to process all that she'd said in such a short while. She looked back to get a glimpse of him - he seemed hurt, and she felt horrible. But what could she have possibly done? She had never been the apologetic type. So she walked away.

Next morning, Sam opened her eyes, just to find Anna by her bedside. She felt a sigh of relief that all of what had happened last night was nothing but a mere dream.

She sprung up and hugged Anna, catching her by surprise as she'd been stroking Sam's hair gently with her fingers.

Anna was overwhelmed and hugged her back..and they enjoyed a moment or two of sisterly love...until Sam saw something while hugging Anna. There was a huge canvas, with a portrait of Sam wearing the hospital outfit which didn't seem dull at all.

"Anna, what is that?" she asked, pointing to the canvas.

"Isn't it amazing? It's a portrait of you...and you look absolutely stunning in it! Even with the whole hospital outfit..you look so pretty in it Sammy! Isn't he an amazing artist?" said Anna, dancing with joy.

"Isn't who an amazing artist? Anna! What's going on?" asked Sam, the tension in her voice seemed evident.

"See for yourself! And, by the way, I think he likes you...so be nice. And you'd be surprised to know that he's the son of one of your clients on the 'most influential list' ! " giggled Anna, with excitement.

She ran out of the room and brought someone with her when she returned. Sam immediately knew that it was the man she'd mistreated in her dream last night..then she glanced at her portrait..and the canvas..and saw the signature under her portrait - 'Alex K.'

"Alex K. as in Alex Krause? Son of billionnaire David Krause and the artist who was hitting on me!...dull hospital outfit!! It wasn't a dream? Oh no. No no no no no no no no no...this can't be happening to me! It's got to be a dream. Common Sam, wake up! Wake up, or I'll pass out!" Sam mumbled to herself, pinching her arm in an attempt to escape her nightmare. But nothing worked.

AFTER ALL, IT WASN'T A DREAM.