Comma

By: Rachael Liu

Marlene woke up in the hospital not even having the slightest idea why she was there. So she pressed the bright red emergency call button. Soon, the doctors came in.

“Thank goodness she’s awake,” said a tall man who looked more like a stick than a human.

“Yes, we were so worried about you, Marlene,” says a wide woman.

Standing side by side, they looked like the human version of the number 10.

Behind them, stood a doctor. He wore a white coat and had a stethoscope strapped around his neck.

“I’m afraid you two are going to have to step aside. Young Marlene here needs her vitals.”

Marlene, however, was beyond confused. She wondered where her parents were. Just as she was about to ask this question, she faltered, who were her parents? She didn’t even remember who she was, what school she went to, how many siblings she had, or how she even ended up in this hospital. So she asked the first thing that came to mind.

“What happened to me?”

“You ended up in a really bad car crash, but sustained most of the injuries, and have been in a comma for a year,” said the doctor.

Now that she looked closely, his name tag said he was “Doctor Mason.”

“And who are these other people?”

She thought she saw the slightest bit of guilt in his eyes when he said this. “These people? They’re your parents for goodness sake!”

“Everything is going to be okay,” said the tall man who was supposed to be her father.

“In the meantime, rest up,” said the plump woman who was supposed to be her mother.

For the next few days, all she did was sleep until she was finally able to go back home.

She went home with these complete strangers and thought that she ought to be nice to them because they were her parents, but deep inside, she knew something was off.

She was quickly escorted into a limousine. When she arrived at a sprawling mansion and a huge gate, she was all too surprised. She never knew she was rich, but she thought that she better not complain because this was all too good!

Sometimes she would feel sad for not remembering anything and sorry for her parents who must be heartbroken that their only child doesn't even remember them, but then she would think to herself, you have the picture perfect life; wealthy family, great school, great friends, and good grades.

But as time goes forward, she starts to remember little things that don’t line up with what her family has told her.

One of the most vivid memories she has before the accident is when she was bullied for being poor. But this wouldn’t make sense because Marlene lives in a wealthy family. Had she been lied to?

One night when she was staring at a painting on the wall of a boy and his sheep, she had a flashback of her brother. He was fading away, but she knew it was her brother. But from what her family has told her, she is an only child. Marlene had the nagging feeling that these weren’t her parents.

The last one of her vivid memories is of her mother. One morning when the sun hadn’t come out and the sky was gray, she suddenly had a flashback of her mother, and she was crying. This flashback of her mother looked nothing like her parents that have claimed to be hers. Marlene knew at this point for sure that these weren’t her parents and that they had been lying to her.

Marlene has been put into this perfect life but is now given a choice, does she want to investigate further?