10

The day started in bright red flames. My whole body felt like it was on fire. Yellows, oranges, and and blues surrounded me, engulfing my arms and legs. As the flames licked up my limbs, closing in on my heart, I heard a scream from somewhere outside of me -- a shriek so deafening my eyes vibrated.

With every shake my eyes opened a little bit more until finally I woke up. The flames disappeared but their sweltering heat remained on my skin.

"Ughhh..."

"Sile! Thank god you're okay. We never though you would wake up," a familiar male voice and a familiar hand greeted me when I awoke.

"Hmmm... Ughh... Who...?" I struggled to get anything out.

"Shhhh Sile. Calm down. The doctors don't want you overexerting yourself," he said. "We're here for you though."

"Arlen?" I closed and reopened my eyes to see my brother sitting on the end of my bed. "Is that you?"

"Yes! Sile, it's me and pops." I could hear the smile in his voice. "We're both here."

"Wha... what happened? Where...?" I asked.

"Shhh Sile. Relax. You're in the hospital. You took a nasty tumble off the roof of your apartment building," Arlen said. "13 stories. It's a miracle you survived."

I looked around and saw my father sitting in a rocking chair near the door of my room. He stood up and took my hand when I looked at him. He smiled. I was still confused.

Just then a doctor in a nice white jacket came in and said, "Sile N'Bhroin?"

I glanced up.

"You've almost made a full recovery. We're discharging you tomorrow."

"Doctor... Thank you..." I said.

"Miss N'Bhroin, one last thing. A fellow patient who says he knows you requested that we sign you up for a meeting with the clinic's psychiatrist. You have a meeting with him tomorrow at 3:00," the doctor said. "You can stay here until then."

With that, the clean doctor nodded to me and backed out of the door. Arlen and my father turned their heads towards me.

Suddenly I felt the flames on my arms again and they began to reappear. I closed my eyes and met the wild fire behind my eyelids.