The trees had yet to lose their color, the flowers were in full bloom, no yet ready to wilt away. In the park, couples picniced and children played on the slides. Yes, it was a bright, sunny day for those who were lucky enough, but for her the world was dark. It would always be dark.
"Emily, the doctor will be up in a few minutes." She didn't turn. "What time is it?"
"Nine o'clock. He'll be checking your bandages to see if there is any progress."
Emily turned away from the hospital window and gripped the handles of the walker.
There would never be any progress, she thought miserably as she shuffled her slippered feet along the tile floor.
Once reaching the bed, she climbed up and waited for the doctor to come.
She soon heard the heavy footsteps stop at the door to her room. Familiar to her, she looked up. "Hi Dr. Scanlon."
The doctor smiled. "What did I tell you about calling me that?"
Emily turned at the sound of metal being dragged across the floor only to stop in front of her. "A stool." Joe stated. "Let's check those bandages, shall we?"
The pressure over her eyes made her jump.
"I've drawn the curtains and shut off the light," he said as he pulled the bandage away. "We don't want anything to hurt your eyes, as sensitive as they might be right now."
He leaned back. "Now, can you tell me what you see?"
Darkness, she thought. Nothing but darkness. "Just some shadows." she told him, turning her head. "Does this mean that I'm not going to get better?" But the doctor was beaming.
"It means that you are getting better, Emily."
She looked at him in hope. "Really? Are you serious?" He laughed. "You must understand something though. This is only the first step, seeing shadows. You have far more to go." His voice softened as he turned serious. "And there's a chance that there might not be a full recovery."
She didn't care, she wasn't even listening. She was going to get better! She could actually see her friends and family...and colors! She could look at Elizabeth's newest painting and the flower's in Lila's rose garden. She was going to see! And then what he said hit her.
"But I thought you said that I was going to get well." "You may be able to make out shapes and distinguish light from dark, but there's no sure chance that you will be one hundred percent recovered."
Her hopes were diminished. She lowered her head. "Could you please put the bandage back on?" she asked softly.
"Emily-" Joe began. "Please."
He sighed and nodded in compliance. As he wound the gauze over her eyes, Emily, for the first time, welcomed the darkness.
He had picked her up in his silver jaguar for a concert at Jake's. The sky was pelting raindrops onto his windshield; the roads were slick making it hard to navigate. Thunder began to rumble far off in the distance as the rain grew heavier...but the speedometer kept rising. They were both trying to have a good time. She trying to forget the latest argument at the mansion, he trying to forget his latest encounter with Katherine.
With the music turned up, they were just beginning to relieve the tension and have fun.
But at the next corner, the fun ended. The slick roads made the car hard to handle. And all in less than an instant, he lost control.
She never screamed, he remembered. He heard her intake of breath and saw her hand shoot out to grab a hold of the dashboard as the car turned into the other lane and dropped down into the embankement.
The cars skidded on the roadway below, trying to swerve out of the way of the sudden oncoming car.
He pressed the brake, but the silver jaguar only kept up speed as it rolled down. Cutting across the lanes, the car came to a sudden halt as it met the guardrail. Their seatbuckles snapped them back against the hard seat.
It took several minutes for him to regain conciousness. As his eyes opened, he saw drops of rain reappear just as the windshield wiper finished it's job.
His gaze fixed on Emily, who sat in a daze. His mind cleared at the site of her. He had called out her name. It took him three calls for her to turn to him and when she did he gasped. Blood ran down her forehead, her eyes wide.
"I got cut." she stated.
He blinked. Her voice sounded so distant, almost like a child holding out his finger saying "I got a splinter".
He reached for the button on his seatbuckle and moved towards her. "Emily-"
And then he noticed it. The distinct smell of gasoline filled his nostriles.
"Oh, God, we've got to get out of here. Emily, do you hear me? Can you move?"
But she appeared to be in shock, for she only stared at him. He backed up and opened the car door. As he stepped out of the car, pain shot through his leg and his knees buckled.
His jeans sopped up the rainwater as he fell to the road. Looking up, he saw cars parked along the shoulder, people running towards him. Over the roar of the rain and the distant rumbling of thunder, he could hear the ambulance sirens wailing. A blessing.
Reaching out to the car for help, he stood and managed to get around to Emily's side. Through the window he saw her turn her head, her eyes half closed.
"Don't go to sleep...Emily!" he pounded on the window. "Don't go to sleep!"
He yanked the car door open and she fell into his arms. He groped around for the latch of the seatbuckle, and when he finally managed to find it, dragged her away from the car.
But they were still too close. The sky was lit up with red and orange flames as his silver jaguar turned into debris. Emily, eyes wide open, didn't have time to turn her head away...
Tears, like the rain, now ran down Nikolas' face as he stared out the window overlooking the city. His face twisted in torment as he replayed the scene again in his mind.
She was hurt because of him. If only he had driven slower, if only he had been in control. If only he had gotten to her in time.
One moment later and she would have been killed. But one moment sooner and she could have been saved from a life of darkness.
