Sleepless Nights Short Stories

Phantom limb

My tired eyes flutter open as the slight buzzing of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling swirl around my ears. A heart monitor to my right beeps with monotone rings. My vision blurs as it fights the bright light trying to invade my sensitive eyes. 

I'm in a small and stuffy that faintly smells of disinfectant. The walls are barren, with little in the way of decoration. 

I'm at the hospital. 

Becoming hyper-aware of my surrounding, I hear the quiet hum of a fan and the faint drip of an IV bag.

There are three people dressed in sleek white coats moseying around my room, monitoring the machines hooked up to me. 

"Hi, Amanda," one of the coated men greets. "I'm doctor Greens."

I'm forced to ignore him as a sudden pain radiates from the top of my shoulder to the tips of my fingers. 

My throat burned like it's on fire, engulfed in flames from Hell. "Where am I?" I croak, managing to get a couple of words out, despite the scratchiness of my throat.

"You're in the hospital, Amanda--Last night, you were in a near fatal car accident." 

Doctor Green's voice is monotone as if the lines had been rehearsed.

"A car accident," I repeat out loud without a second thought. 

All my brain will allow me to remember is that I had driven my friends home after a big night of partying. 

I don't remember a car accident, though... 

"Amanda, you obtained some near fatal injuries in the accident. Your car flipped, pinning your left arm under the weight of the car. Your arm was badly mangled resulting in the need for amputation." The doctor slowly gestures to my left side.

I stare at him blankly, his words not fully resonating in my head, "My arm is gone?"

Wearily, I look down to my left side, only to see a bandage over what's left of my shoulder. 

Panicked, I turn back to the doctor. "Wait--but-- I can feel pain throughout my whole arm! Like I can feel pain in my fingers!"

He chuckles slightly. 

"From time to time, we get amputees that experience something called phantom limb." The doctor looks down at me with an empathetic smile as he tries to reassure me. "You're in good hands, Amanda. We will get you rehabilitated. You have my promise."

I glare at him, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

"I'll give you a moment alone while I go check on your parent's location." Dr. Greens leisurely strolls out of the room as if he didn't just deliver life-changing news.

I close my eyes, completely overwhelmed by what just unfolded in less than five minutes. 

My brain feels muddled and frantic, and I don't know if I want to scream or cry, or both. 

I'm, however, quickly pulled from thoughts by the feeling of icy fingers gliding down my left arm. 

"What the fuck?" I whimper, desperately searching around the hospital room for the culprit. 

I reach down to where my arm would be and somehow feel a cold hand with boney fingers holding my missing arm. 

It feels less like a phantom limb and more like the phantom Death himself giving me a warning. 

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