Awakening.

Danny woke up fast, head a garbled mess, eyes blurry and unfocused, every body part feeling like it hadn’t been used in decades, which turns out to be the case. As he thrashes around trying to come to grips with being awake his nurse charges into the room to try and stabilize him. This is a slow process and one that will leave bruises for both of them when its over. But end it does, and when shes finally able to calm him he stares at her in a drug induced calm that will ultimately put him back to sleep and whispers… “where am I?”

When he wakes again, it is slow and measured, eyes dart around the room desperate for information to help him process his predicament. The room is spotless, clearly a hospital room, but not like any one he’s ever seen (of course the only ones he’d ever seen to that point in his life were in movies and on television). It was pained a color of teal he’d never seen before and he could swear it trembled as if ready to peel off the wall and invade his brain. There were no chairs but a bench along the far wall where a giant window stood and out it he could see only the magnificence of the sun, he felt as if he hadn’t seen it in forever, but couldn’t remember why. That was when he realized in a panic that he couldn’t remember anything (except bits like the hospitals in tv shows, and movies, and tv shows, and movies), except his name Daniel… Sportsman, no thats not right, you know what, we’ll come back to that later.

At this moment saving him from the emotional spiral that knowing you cant remember anything (basically, as we already covered some weird bits stuck around, and part of his name… he thinks/hopes/feels) the nurse walks in (this is a different one from the one he wrestled with the last time he awoke, for one its a dude). “Hey there Danny, you mind if I call you Danny, my name is Colt I’ll be your nurse for the time being, and also your doctor. I’m sure you are loaded up with questions so why don’t we start there, yea?”

“Um… ok, well where am I?” he asked, “Thats a great question, your brain seems to be jumping to all the right places. Ok lets… well your in a hospital obviously, this is Seminole University hospital, as I said my names Colt, you have been in a coma for quite a long time, nearly 60 years.”

As Colt says this, Danny looked at his hands and was mortified they looked like his Gran paps, old and well actually pretty smooth if we’re being honest, but still old in a way that should be impossible. He had just turned 17 two weeks ago! As Colt is continuing to talk Danny loses all contact with reality and is violently shoved back into what he can only hope is the past, and away from this awful dream that he can’t wait to tell his folks about. They always told him he had a vivid imagination after all. Instead he’s back to that night, the last thing he remembered, the horrors that will haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’s 2027, he’s just turned 17 as he said. Brilliant party, all his friends and family (well not all, but we’ll get to that later) were there, his parents had wanted to do a game truck for him as they had in the past, but he wanted something retro, so they rented out the roller skating ring (even though he'd only skated like 4 times in his life he’d always loved the idea of it, so he was psyched). He remembers laughing a lot, and his bucket being full, then the sirens began, so sharp and loud that they tore through the eardrums. Laughs turned to shrieks as the DJ had forgotten to turn off the music so the entire scene was backtracked by Duo Lipa (his best friends favorite) which didn’t make any of it better. The last thing he saw were his parents shoving him into a closet professing their love for him...

ANNNNNNNNNNNND he’s back. To whatever this new thing was (though he was pretty sure he was beginning to grasp it all, and it was horrorifing).

“… so as I was saying, Danny I will be your physician for the rest of today, when Corinne will be back for her shift later, but one of us will always be around for anything you need.”

“You said 6o years?” Danny asked more to keep Colt talking than anything else, while he processed the scope of what was happening to him. Thats the moment he noticed the throbbing paint had, in fact, changed colors to a warming orange, everything else stopped in that moment.

“What the fuck just happened to the wall?!?!?!?!” Danny inturupted.

“Oh, that, sorry I forget how much you don’t know, that is a living moss that absorbs the emotions in the room and turns a color that it hopes will bring a level of peace and calm, this particular moss has been with you for close to 20 years now.”

Danny’s mind was like a piston firing off questions so fast that his mouth had no hope of keeping up, and so he just stared at Colt with a look he imagined was the Pikachu mouth open meme he used to share on social media any time he was in disbelief. And as fast as all that came, it went and he looked at Colt and said “we’ll pick this up la…” and he was out.

When he awoke, it was evening, as told by the darkness outside the moss had turned back to that teal color which, now that he had a moment to digest it, was extremely soothing. Something else clicked in his mind, Corinne, his sister had been named Corinne and he always used to call her Connie to tease her, she was six years older than him which would put her at around… old. He was still groggy from, well from everything and trying to math made him want to vomit. The moss stated to turn a cherry blossom color which he found helped immensely. He could really get used to this, he thought to himself as a woman walked in.

Not just any woman mind you, it was her, cheese and rice, older, slimmer, more put together than he’d ever seen her, but her.

“Danny!!!!!!!!!! You’re awake!” she practically yelped as she rushed over to the side of the bed and hugged him in a way that felt like Christmas morning, and every birthday he ever had rolled into one lung crushing experience that overwhelmed him to the point of tears.

She pulled back after what felt like forever (the good kind, not the kind that he realized he’d been experiencing up till this moment).

“Its about time goober.” she said while pushing away tears of her own and smoothing her outfit to look more professional than he’d ever seen her in his life.

“Connie” he said in a way that made it clear that it was literally the only word he was capable of producing in the moment.

“It’s Dr. now Dick.” she said while punching him in the arm, gingerly, but also playfully. He started crying again, and this time it didn’t stop.

She sat next to him and held his hand in quiet for what felt like an eternity, but in real time was less than 5 minutes (its wild how much time can fit into such a small number when you’re emotions are at a Spinal Tap 11 (his dad made him watch that movie and he’d never admit it to him but he secretly loved it)). As he started to feel like he was ready to get the download from his sister about… well everything. That feeling overtook him, the one that let him know sleep was happening no matter what he felt, wanted, desired, you name it.

When he next awoke, he saw that Doc (sister) was still staring at him in the exact same position, only now other Doc (Colt) was also there, and so was the sunshine, the moss had returned to that incredible teal, and there were… other people there as well. 4 in total, a boy about his age (well he age he was when he last knew himself), two youngish girls and one that looked like they wanted to be in a garage band from his dad’s youth (his dad called it grunge, he called it cringe, but he would love nothing more than to hear something to remind him of home). Danny sits up a little realizing for the first time that he has not eaten this entire time, but also surprisingly not hungry.

“Doc… Doc, top of the mornin” he says and puts on his best shit eating grin, the one that used to make Corinne want to spread his atoms across the galaxy, cause of the implication.

“Danny, it is so good to hear your voice, it ha been so long.” Corinne says, with all of the caring that a human being can put into their vocal range.

“I’ve even missed that grin, but only cause I know where you’ve been for the past 60 years.” she chuckles, and surprisingly so does he, he can see the eye rolls form the kids, which confirm for him that they are family.”

“you’ve met my son already, but formally this is my son Colt.” She takes one of his hands into both of hers and stares at him with a love Danny never knew she was capable of. Danny started to sob, but a sob of what he understood to be gratetude.

“What about them, they look about as excited to be here as I am” Danny joked.

“These are Colts kids, Landis, Molly, Maredeth and Rain, come say hi to your uncle, then if you wanna you can head out to the park.”

With an amount of honest joy that caught Danny off guard they each came over and gave him giant hugs. He was beginning to feel drowsy again, and his Doc’s both looked at each other then Corinne said, “This is the moss working with your body to get it up to speed, we weren’t ready for you to wake up and frankly are trying to figure out how it happened, but enough of that for now, rest, we’ll be here when you wake up.

And they were, both of them.

When he awoke next, he dd so, to both “Doc’s” hanging about and the moss had taken on a dark green color that didn’t feel great, based on what he knew of the stuff. “What’s up Doc’s” he delivered with the mix of hopeful levity, and slight concern that was pouring out of him.

“oh, hey, you’re awake, and hilarious” said Corinne still preoccupied.

“Whats that” Danny said while nodding his head towards and pointing at simultaniously.

“This? this is a memory reader” she said showing him in full the stick like object she was holding between her and Colt with a strange apprehension that was unreadable to Danny.

“So, wait, a what reader? Looks like a stick to me” he said still trying to lighten whatever mood had turned the moss its current color.

“Yea, no, not like that kind of reader, but an offshoot of the moss, it comes from a type of tree indigenous to the northwest actually, that when put in contact with a person’s forehead can in fact tell how complete a persons long term memory storage has held up.”

“OOOOOOOOOOK” said Danny starting to feel like he understood what the moss was feeling.

“Yea, if it sprouts buds when placed on the person that means their memory is tip top.” She whispers as she wags what is clearly a dead as fuck stick back and forth.

“So, what does this mean, for me I mean?”

“Nothing yet, but it gives us a starting point to talk about you’re recovery.”

“My recovery? You mean waking up in the future… as Dad, isn’t the end?”

“No, not by a long shot.” she said solomnly.

“Well, what does eyebrows have to say about all this?” Danny asks nodding to Colt.

“Me?” he points to himself sheepishly,

“As we talked about last time… I” he began

Danny cut him off, “I know, moral support, but honestly its kinda creepy that you don’t talk at all, so let me have it, whats your 2 cents?”

“Ummmm… 2 cents?” Colt asked bewildered

“Look I don’t doubt sis in the least, but she has been carrying these convo’s and she looks exhausted from it, I’m just taking this opportunity to tag you in.”

“Right” Colt began, then Corinne shushed him with a straight up palm to the face.

“Look here coma boy…” she hissed, I have spent the last 60 years taking care of you, I’ll take my own counsel about when I am or am not “Tired” you understand?!?!” she stared at him with a look that screamed “understand” so he held up his hands in defeat, and said “You’re right Doc, my bad.” To which she responded without skipping a beat, “Forgiven, now can we get back to you and what the memory reader’s response says about our road ahead??”

“Yes ma’am” he said sheepishly and lowered his head like a scolded puppy.

“Don’t you dare do that sir, don’t you act like a complete ass, and then have the gall, to act hurt when I call you out on it, this is just like that time at NaNa’s birthday party, when you knocked her birthday cake off the table dancing to whatever weird shit you always used to listen to in your headphones, then pouted about it the entirety of the party, when literally everyone was over it, cause mom snapped at you.”

“What are you talking about.” he asked, genuinely courious.

“Exactly?!?! You’re long term memory looks to be shot and we have no idea what will kick start it, but we belie e that hearing, seeing, and being around things the patient recognize help tremendously with the process, and you just happen to have a Doctor who is also the sister that loves you very much, even when you’re being a complete ass!!” She stares at him when finished in a way that dares him to open his mouth to say anything, and he remembers, suddenly, not the time she was talking about, but her with that exact look but with the face of someone much younger. The moss began, at that point to get the cherry blossom color it took the last time, and he immediately became drowsy.

“Listen, Danny this process is going to be very slow, and pretty hard, and while I’m not sorry I yelled at you, I am sorry for whats to come, I love you.” she whispered this last bit as he was trailing off, back to the darkness that has been his life for over half a century.

This time, when he awoke, it was to the smell of something he couldn’t quite place, but knew it was his favorite smell in the world anyways… “What it that smell, and why am I in love with it?” he cooed

“It’s a hamburger, you used to LOVE hamburgers” Corinne said with a smile on her face he could tell was forced.

“well apparently my nose, at least still does” Danny said as he began unconsciously rubbing his hands together which reminded him of another meme of a dude standing by a tree, and he began to chuckle at himself.

“What’s so amusing?” Corinne asked.

“Oh nothing…” he began, to which she immediately interrupted him “I’m not asking as your sister, I’m asking as your doctor, every little bit of info we have about memory triggers could mean the difference between full memory recapture, and…” she let the last bit sit unsaid, because it didn’t need to be said.

“Ok shit, well I was just remembering this old meme…” he started, “...of the guy standing next to the tree rubbing his hands together?” she finished with a spark of excitement that gave Danny hope and actually made the moss start to sparkle in that teal color that made him feel so content, he nodded in aggreement.

“Thats great.” she says as she finally revels the plate of hamburger and fries she had sitting next to her, on what looked to be a rolling able but as he continued to look at it, it rose and morphed into a table that fit across his lap, so all of the food was accessible to him, as he realized that he literally cant remember the last time he ate.

“I’m going to give you two some alone time.” She mused, as he realized that the look on his face was one that left no room for ambiguity about his feelings in this moment. As she left 2 things happened at the same time 1. from the ceiling fell what appeared to him to be a movie screen. 2. The moss began to turn itself almost translucent. Before he had a chance to ask about any of this his sister peaked back around the corner and said “still a big fan of the show Archer, yea?!?” and gave him a wink, as on this screen began to play a show that he didn’t recognize at first, but slowly started to feel extremely comfortable even if he couldn’t place why or how.

When he was done with the meal, sis appeared back in the doorway with Colt in toe. “Doc’s”

he chuckled to himself. “That was incredible”

Then the reverse of what happened earlier began to transpire and as soon as he saw the cherry blossom coloring of the moss cried, “Bed time Already?!?!?!” In the poutiest tone he could muster.

“Talk soon” they both said in unison in a way that should have been creepy, but was not… not at all.

When he awoke this time, he saw first he familiar teal color of the moss and both his Doctors/family, when they saw that he was awake Corinne asked, “What DO you remember???” and he realized, he didn’t know.

“Lets try this again…” she said when she saw the look on his face that read I have no fucking idea. “Do you remember the incident?” and right away his thoughts tracked back to that more than memory he experienced… whenever that was (he realized just then he had zero concept of time as it existed for the rest of humanity). “Not a lot actually” he said not cause he was lying, but because he couldn’t figure out how to contextualize what it was that he “remembered”.

“I remember a party, being happy, I remember loud, incredibly, impossibly, loud noises, mom and dad, a slamming door, waking up here.”

“and that’s it?” she asked in a way that felt like she was really hoping that WAS it one one level, and hoping for more on yet another. “Yea, I mean, no, but yea, its all I can verbalize at this moment, you know, I can… feel more but it won’t form into words, if that makes any sense.”

“It does, 100 %” she said in a way that mixed sadness and joy in ways he didn’t know were possible.

“So, what did happen?” he asked, truly terrified for the first time since he awoke.