Bun

She woke up scared. Her breath came in gasps and her body was taut. A sinking feeling in her stomach and a stinging headache welcomed her. She felt as if something dreadful had happened, but she didn’t know what.

Terrified, she opened her eyes. White walls surrounded her. Clean. Lifeless. A mild aroma of anesthetic, floor cleaner and room-freshener greeted her along with the bright light.

She was numb. The light hurt her eyes, causing sharp pain in her head. She didn’t notice. The walls meant nothing to her. Neither did the smell, or the constant beeping of the machines beside her bed.

Instead, she felt the warm morning air in her lungs and her forehead sweating from the morning run. She felt her muscles clenching and relaxing after the workout. Instead of the room freshener, she smelled eggs. Jake was making breakfast; her stomach growled at the smell, and she decided to hit the shower.

Something caught her eye. The colorful doll sat contrasting against the pale, colorless white sheets beside her. She picked it up, and tears rose to her eyes as she embraced the toy with love, placing warm kisses along the soft furry face of the doll.

In her reverie, her daughter had just appeared, manifested from thin air and ran into her arms.

“Hey bun. Good morning, love.”

“Good morning mumma,” she smiled and reached to kiss her cheek, standing on her toes.
“C’mon now. Go brush your teeth and have your breakfast,” she said, kissing both her cheeks. “And then we will go for a picnic today.”

“Mumma! Really? Yay!” throwing her arms in the air, she ran to the kitchen. “…Daddy… we’re going for a picnic! Picnic!”

She heard her ‘Bun’ laugh heartedly, a laugh she’d grown accustomed to. Her dad would tickle her and feed her chocolates before she brushed. It was their ‘secret’, and Bun waited eagerly for her treat every morning. Smiling to herself, she made her way to the bathroom.

Her laughter died in the background slowly. An eerie silence followed, enveloping her for long moments as her dream shattered slowly around her. The laughter died, and then Jake’s voice faded too. Soon the smells from the kitchen vanished and slowly the walls around her darkened to a light shade of red, slowly turning darker, redder, till it became black.

She screamed.

Staccato visions came to her. Images.

Laughter. Bun. Picnic.

Car. Red light.

Bus. Accident.

Screams. Blood… So much blood.

She wailed again, a blood-curdling scream forcing its way out of her.

Then she fainted.

Darkness came over her, slowly, engulfing her core, lulling her to sleep…

****

The man watched her intently, his gaze fixed upon her eyes. A short man stood beside him, looking at her through the same glass.

“She’s still living the day of the accident,” the shorter one, the doctor said in a cold voice. “Once she goes to sleep, her memory resets and the whole episode repeats.”

The man in the suit had almost flinched when she’d screamed. The doctor, who called it an ‘episode’, stood silently, looking passively at her.

“Did anyone survive the accident?” the man inquired.

“Not that I know of. The husband and the daughter died, and no-one else came looking for her. The cops tried, but in vain,” the doctor said slowly and raised his hand to check the time. “I have an appointment, excuse me”

“Sure thing doctor,” the man answered, his gaze transfixed upon her face looked through the glass. “As of this moment, I have an important task to complete too.”

***

A month later…

The walls were still white. Cold. Dead. Just like the floor. She’d woken up like always, her head hurting against the bright light. But her faculties didn’t register the smells or the light or the pain. Neither did her ‘episode’ start.

Her gaze was fixed at he girl standing in front of her. She looked up at her curiously and smiled innocently. Her eyes- little blue diamonds- glittered and a few pearly teeth showed when she smiled. The woman smiled too, as tears flooded her eyes.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, her subconscious noted that her eyes were blue and not chocolate brown. And that she had a small birthmark on her cheek. But she did not notice any of these things. She saw what she wanted, what she needed to see. Bun.

Her Bun.

Her daughter. Back!

She walked to her slowly; half afraid she’d disappear any second. She took her in her arms as silent tears slowly washed down her face, leaving wet, salty trails. She kissed her repeatedly, trailing soft, warm, urgent, kisses against her cheeks, her eyes, and her forehead, before hugging her tight again.

An image came back to her, filling her vision.

Elise. Fancy-dress Party.

Easter Bunny. Bunny.

Her ‘Bun’.

****

The man stood the same way he did a month earlier, staring at her face intently, with a satisfied smile on his face. He snapped a photo of the mother-daughter and turned to the doctor.

“What’re the chances for her recovery now?”

The doctor still had an unbelieving look upon his face, but he’d expected the question.

“I don’t know how you did it,” the doctor said sincerely, “but now I’m very hopeful about it. Finally she has what she needed: a reason to live.”

“Good I-”

The doctor cut him off. “How’d you even do it?”

“After you gave me her name, I found her home, and a picture of her daughter from the school she attended.” He turned to look at the little girl in the woman’s arms. “And this little angel I found in an orphanage in Australia.”

When the doctor didn’t say anything, he continued.

“Another thing – I found an uncle right here in Ohio who’s willing to take care of them. You should be hearing from him soon.”

The doctor, overcome by emotions, turned and walked away hurriedly, too speechless and dewy-eyed. The man left, after a final glance at the two souls, still hugging, lost in each other.

*****

He caressed the photo under the lamp beside his bed. His fingers slowly traced the lines of both their faces, caressing slowly the love captured in the photo. This was what made it worth everything he did.

He placed it with the rest of the photos inside his photo-album, closed it slowly and looked heavenwards with a satisfied smile…

Daddy loves you Emily.

__END__

-Suraj Chandel.