Chapter Two

Suddenly Terri became aware of a dull throbbing in her head. “Where am I? What happened?” She struggled to open her eyelids, but could not. The lights in the room caused the throbbing to worsen.

            “What is going to happen to her right hand, Doctor?” asked a familiar voice. The voice belonged to Terri’s mother. “How can she sound so calm?” Terri silently asked herself.

            Terri coughed. “Terri, open your eyes!” her father’s muffled, worried voice commanded. Terri tried to lift her eyelids once again, and this time succeeded; the lights had been dimmed significantly. Terri’s mother lavished her with hugs and kisses. The doctor pushed through Terri’s mother and father and spoke gently to Terri, explaining her condition.

            “I’m Dr. Rushing and you are at the Clear Water Springs Medical Center. Do you remember the car accident that you were involved in earlier this evening?” Terri nodded. “Good. You’ve fractured your right wrist and have broken three fingers on your left hand. Your spine is still intact, although you’ve fractured several of your ribs. The good news, however, is that you will walk again. Your back and torso will need some physical therapy though.” He continued to chatter to her for some minutes before bidding the family goodnight.

            Terri let her eyes relax and she slowly let sleep creep up on her. She suddenly jerked her eyes open, and looked at her mother.

            “Where’s Sagel?” she asked, surprised by her raspy voice.

            Her mother approached her, taking her right hand gently in hers. “Terr-Bear, the truck that hit your car caused quite a bit of damage to the front end.” She paused, not knowing how to proceed. “Honey, Sagel’s air bag didn’t open and her head hit the car window. She...” Her voice drifted off or Terri had just ceased to listen. But it didn’t matter, Terri knew what had happened to Sagel. She had died in the crash and that maniac truck driver had killed her. Despite the fact that she was severely dehydrated, tears gushed down Terri’s face. Her mother tenderly mopped up the tears, talking in a soothing tone.

            “Terri?” a soft voice called. “Terri, please wake up.”

            Terri struggled to open her eyes. “What time is it?” she wondered. She looked at the digital clock on her night-stand. The clock’s black numbers stated 8:49 P.M.

            “Terrrriii!” a voice squealed, excited. Terri looked toward the source of the voice, and found it. There stood Mina, Sagel’s 12-year-old, younger sister. Mina, a dark-skinned, dark-eyed girl, was standing in the hospital doorway. She was wearing a dark red bindi on her forehead, displaying her Indian heritage.

            “Hi, Mina,” whispered Terri, choking.

            Mina crossed the room and took Terri’s hand. Terri noticed a small, thick photo album in Mina’s left hand. Terri visually inspected the tiny album.

            “Here,” Mina placed it on Terri’s chest. Terri picked it up and glanced at Mina, who nodded. Terri opened the album and flipped through it, very slowly.

            Tears sprung to her eyes. Inside were pictures of the night of the accident. Terri’s car was unrecognizable. There were photos of the truck that had hit them; its hood and windshield were no longer there because both had been demolished. Turning to the next page, she found the pictures of her and Sagel immediately following the crash.

            Filled with remorse, Terri couldn’t bear to look anymore. “If only I had been able to get the car off the road...she’d still be alive.” A soft hand began stroking Terri’s hair; Mina’s mother, Kirin, was standing beside her. Terri hadn’t heard her come into the room.

            Kirin took the album from Terri and laid it on the night-stand. “I don’t want you to think that this was your fault! There is no way you could have prevented the accident...remember that!”

            “I’m sorry, there’s only one chair in this room, the others are in other rooms,” Terri managed to say between sobs, apologizing unnecessarily.

            “That’s okay,” Kirin replied, “Mina can just sit on my lap.” As she said this, Mina climbed in her lap, fidgeted, and finally settled down, looking very comfortable. They talked for some time about the crash and about the truck driver who had hit them.

            “He was drunk, very drunk,” reported Mina professionally.

            Mina and Kirin rambled on about various other subjects not related to the crash, but Terri was only half listening to them. Her mind was spinning, and she was trying to register the information she had just received.

            “Well, it’s almost ten o’clock, Terri, Mina and I had better get back home now,” Kirin said in a soft, fatigued voice.

            “Thank you so much for coming; it was really nice to see you,” Terri said, not knowing what else to say.

            Kirin kissed Terri’s temple and gave her right hand a few tight squeezes. “You remember what I told you, this was NOT your fault.” Then she took Mina’s hand and led her out of the room.

            For several long moments, Terri stared blankly at the black TV screen. “He was drunk, he was drunk, he was drunk!” were the words that continued to run through Terri’s mind. Each time she repeated these words, the more angry and enraged she became. Sleepiness mingled with rage dueled; and ultimately, sleep won.

            Terri eyes reluctantly opened. She was awake, but groggy. The idea of more sleep didn’t appeal to her, so she opted to fully wake up.

            “Hi, Kiddo,” a nurse said when she saw Terri’s eyes open. “I’m glad you woke up on your own; I didn’t want to have to be the one to wake you.” The nurse went into the bathroom and turned on the light and the shower. The nurse walked out the bathroom and looked at Terri, who looked bewildered. “Oh, I guess I forgot to mention to you that I’m the nurse who’s going to bathe you.”  When Terri nodded, the nurse approached the bed and pulled off the covers. She gently disconnected Terri’s IV and the oxygen machine.

            “Okay, I’m going to get you up. If you hurt, tell me.”

            The nurse and Terri hobbled to the bathroom. The water cleansed Terri’s skin. The nurse chattered to Terri about various subjects ranging from her son’s twelfth birthday party to a car sale taking place on the corner. Terri listened distractedly to the chatter. Her mind was back on the meeting with Mina and Kirin. She couldn’t stop replaying the conversation she had had with them.

            The nurse began to wash Terri, right arm, then left, right leg, left leg, one foot, then the other. The nurse checked to make sure all the soap was out of Terri’s hair and turned off the shower. The nurse then proceeded to towel the water off her body. Terri allowed the nurse to assist her in redressing. They struggled back to the hospital bed and Terri collapsed on the thin mattress. The nurse reconnected the IV tube and oxygen. Bidding goodbye, the nurse left the room. Once again, Terri was left in deafening silence.

            Terri turned on the TV with the remote control at her bedside. She found an episode of Looney Tunes and settled back in her bed to watch it. Sleep wrapped its arms around her within fifteen minutes.