Lavender & Ice

4. Waking Up

Ashima wasn't sure what was real and what were dreams at this point. She'd felt like she was waking up a few different times now but she must have fallen back asleep before she opened her eyes because the next thing she'd known was that she had the feeling of waking up again. She thought she'd heard voices but she couldn't make out any words. Her brain was too fuzzy and she wasn't conscious long enough.

But this time was different. She could feel how tired and full of ache her body was. But despite her body's wish to remain unmoving, her mind knew she needed to wake up. To get up.

She slowly opened her eyes, taking several long blinks as they adjusted. Once she was awake enough to register what her eyes were looking at, she scanned the room from her position. Not much of note...

She tried to remember where she was. Or what had happened. Something had happened, right?

She slowly sat up enough to prop up on her elbows. Her head protested and she clamped her eyes shut to let the throbbing in her forehead and temples subside to a manageable level. She opened her eyes again and scanned the room. Nothing descriptive of note, tan walls and ceiling, a skylight, the small cot like bed she was in, a bedside table with nothing on it. Across from her bed was a simple wooden table and chair, all bare.

Something just felt off but she couldn't put her finger on it. She stood upright and rubbed her forehead with her hand. "Ugghhh, Ashima. Where are you and what have you gotten yourself into." She mumbled to herself.

She began to shiver and it was then she noticed how cold the room was. Her eyes widened and memories flooded her mind.

The cold. The freezing cold. The Lake. The large, lavender colored native on this planet. Right... She was an alien here.  

Her heart quickened and she shot up from the bed. "I need to find my suit and get out of here." But as soon as her bare feet hit the floor and ran for a few steps, she knew that was a useless effort. Blinding pain shot up her feet at how cold those few steps were. Her entire body shivered.

She rushed back to the bed and dove into the blankets, covering her entire body. In the darkness, she gave herself a pep talk. "Ok, new plan. At least one of these blankets is coming with. But what can I put on my feet?! I won't make it very far if I can't make it across this room."

But before she could respond to her own monologue, she froze. She listened as the door opened and footsteps approached. Don't panic. They haven't killed you yet... she told herself.

A voice came muffled through her cocoon of blankets but she couldn't understand the words. She timidly pulled back the blanket just enough for her eyes to look out. A bald, lavender skinned woman looked down at her with curious surprise on her face. Not feeling threatened, Ashima lowered the blanket enough to sit up, but immediately pulled the blanket back up to her chin and buried her arms underneath for warmth.

The woman asked her something in the foreign language. Or she at least thought it sounded like a question.

The woman reached to the bedside and that's when Ashima noticed she had brought a tray of various items. She held out a bottle of olive green looking liquid, that didn't remotely look appetizing. She knew it was a risk to take in food on this planet. Her system was likely different from theirs, she may have an allergic reaction or intolerance. Or it could be like poison to her where it was a normal every day drink to them.

She gave the woman a gentle smile and slightly shook her head. The woman brought the drink closer to Ashima's face. Ashima brought her hands up to block the drink from coming closer. "Thank you but, no. I know you don't understand me but I don't know if it's safe for my species to drink this." She shook her head again. The woman frowned and huffed but took the drink away, muttering something in her own language.

She traded the green liquid for a glass that had a clear liquid. Ashima took the glass hesitantly and brought it to her nose, smelling it. The woman began rambling off unknown words and Ashima could tell she was annoyed. 

With no smell coming from the glass, Ashima brought the rim of glass to her lips and hesitantly took a small sip, swishing the liquid in her mouth to taste it. It seemed to just be water and she knew she wouldn't be able to go long without it. So she swallowed the sip and waited a moment to see if her body reacted at all, just holding the glass as she sat on the bed.

Again, the lavender woman began rambling off annoyed sentences. Ashima didn't know the words but the sentiment was clear. With a shrug, she took a large gulp of the cold liquid. It felt good on her parched throat. How long was I out? She thought.

When she finished off the water and then set it down on the table, the woman then proceeded to check her over. Ashima noticed how the woman seemed to be touching her as little as possible. Maybe she thought Ashima had something that might be contagious? She wasn't sure. She sat with her body still, her hands on her lap and let the woman do what she assumed was her job. She could only assume that she was in some kind of medical facility.

After a few minutes, the lady gathered all of the items and left the room. Not bothering to say anything to Ashima.

She looked around at her surroundings one more time, the gravity of the situation settling into her chest. She was on a planet that she knew virtually nothing about, other than that she had been warned the people could be temperamental and were not welcoming to visits from other planets. It was why her team were on their way to a planet slightly further away instead of coming here in the first place. So she decided it would be best to wait instead of assuming she could get up and walk out of the room freely. She couldn't risk upsetting the natives. Her life depended on them.

She explored the room in short increments, stretching her legs and arms and trying to build back her energy. She was exhausted. After what she was guessing was about half an hour, she finally realized what was off about the room. There was no sign of electricity. No lights, no switches, no outlets.

The walls were cloth like, instead of firm like drywall, stone, plaster, or even brick. Did these people have any technology? Electricity?

She stared up at the skylight, which seemed to be a semi-transparent material of some kind. Would she be left in the complete dark once night time came? Would they at least provide her with a candle? But the question that worried her the most... would it get even colder in this room?

Did they even have night? She shook her head and stretched her arms behind her shoulders. "Stop with the questions, Ashima, you'll drive yourself crazy." She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "One thing at a time, figure things out as they come."

She curled up fully under the blankets again, warming herself again from the frigid air as she drifted off to sleep.