Choosing a path

Every day is the same, I have been stuck with myself forever, and truth be told, I don't really make a good friend. It has been myself and my thoughts, thoughts that have been my only solstice here.

I've almost forgotten what it's like to feel or see anything. The perception of touch has all but alluded me, it's been far too long. I wouldn't even remember what sight was like if I didn't know what it was like beforehand. These common things we take for granted mean everything when you don't have them.

.....

Today has been the same as last, a dark fog of nothing but warmth.

I try to think of how to escape every day. But what can you do when you are the only lock and key.

As if trying to ignite something deep inside of me I delve deeper into my hatred, I hope I can find something to awaken me from my eternal darkness.

I start to think how this wouldn't have happened if I just had more. More power, money, time, privilege, if only I had more. I start to think that if I just took what I needed from others, I could achieve what I want. I realize this is law, this is how the world worked, I see that others have done this to gain what they needed, and so could I. It was just that simple.

I was pushed to the limit, and because of how I was treated I gave up. If I just had more, people could see that I was better, and they could treat me like something. I could stand above everyone else, they could look up to me.

I could be a god.

Is this burning passion something someone at the top felt? Was the desire to overcome all the urge that drove them forward? Could we see eye to eye if we ever met?

Even if I am powerless now I could just become better.

Even if others stop me, I can just overcome them.

Even if others stand above me, I can just become better than them.

As if I had just discovered some hidden path, a light started to shine brightly. It slowly started to expand larger and larger, I could feel my blood rush, and I could feel a stinging sensation in my hands.

Exilherated I start to grasp at the light, I felt like I could reach it if I put a little more into it.

I felt reborn as my senses came back to me one by one.

I could even hear something, it sounded mumbled, it sounded like voices! I COULD FINALLY HEAR!

I muster all I can to reach out towards the light, and when I start to grasp it more and more of it fills my vision. My world of black is slowly replaced by this divine light.

Like a glass mirror shattering into a hundred pieces my world of darkness shatters, it is now completely overrun, nothing remains of what once was. It was a nightmare of eternal darkness, and I had just woken up.

I was given a second chance.

.....

As my eyes grew adjusted to the bright light, I could vaguely make out objects, over a small period of time my focus grew clearer and clearer. And very soon I begin to make out my room, it was extremely well decorated and looked to be a hospital room.

Instantly many things connected in my mind, obviously with the amount of time I spent alone I figured I must have suffered something pretty severe. My mind and body felt as heavy as lead, and there was this annoying ringing going on in my head. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat, I could feel pins and needles all around everywhere but my lower body. And that's when I saw a figure standing next to me.

The figure in question looked to be a doctor, judging from his attire at least, I also noticed he was holding some kind of high-tech clipboard, at least that's how I could describe it. He looked to be visibly confused, he looked between his clipboard and me, as if trying to decipher something.

Soon the doctor began to say something, I could see that he was talking but I couldn't understand anything he said, it was like the sound he was speaking was being transmitted through a thick goop.

( Quotations surrounded by the * symbol represent something the protagonist cannot understand )

*How do you feel sir?*

I could roughly make out what he was saying, and I tried to translate it, 'Cow do you eat?'. Extremely confused, I began to think I did a poor job in translating.

I could only look up at the doctor with extreme confusion, and that's when sparks flew in his eyes, he seems to have understood that something was wrong with my hearing. To confirm this with me he wrote something down on his clipboard and showed it to me.

'Do you have trouble hearing? '

Able to read I shook my head in confirmation, the doctor noticed, and wrote something down on the clipboard.

A moment later a part of the wall beside me opened up to reveal a hidden cabinet, a robotic arm then out from inside and picked something up from within, it then handed the object over to the doctor. I couldn't really make out what the object was, but I could tell it looked advanced. After the device was handed over the robot arm folded back into the cabinet and the wall closed shut, it was fascinating that that kind of technology existed.

Looking at the object in his hand the doctor pressed a button on the side of it, a light turned green, and with a nod, the doctor walked over to me.

He said something, but of course, I had no idea what he said.

*This is a hearing aid, I'm going to put it on."

Bending over to reach me the doctor brushed my hair aside and applied the device behind my ear, I didn't intend to struggle and let him do what he needed to.

A could hear a small mechanical clicking noise as the device stuck to my head, and giving it a tap the doctor ensured that it wasn't going anywhere.

A part of the ringing in my head subsided greatly. And trying to confirm if the device worked the doctor spoke.

"Can you hear me Sir?"

A smile widened on my face as I heard what he said clearly, but trying to reply proved difficult. My mouth felt dry, and trying to move my tongue led to nothing, it didn't seem like it wanted to move at all.

So I nodded my head, and the doctor looked happy. It seemed he already knew I wouldn't be able to talk, but he was happy that we could communicate easier.

"That's great to know!"

"By the way, I bet you want to know where you are."

I actually did, from what I knew this was no simple hospital room, all I knew showed that this was something special, so I nodded indeed curious as to where I was.

Seeing my nod the doctor began to tell me.

"You sustained a horrible injury and were taken here to recover. Currently, you are in the special ward, a part of the hospital designed for special patients. In fact, this room was made possible due to the contributions of the Scalzetti's, your benefactors. They generously donated experimental medicine to help you recover, and they have been financially responsible for your care since the beginning."

The Scalzetti's!? How was that even possible, why did they help me? I knew who the Scalzetti's were, everyone should, they had that much influence. This made me rethink everything, I just couldn't understand why those giants would help someone like me though.

The doctor seemed to notice the shock in my eyes and added something else.

"You saved someone important to the Scalzetti's and were given the highest care possible for doing so."

Me, saved someone important to the Scalzetti's? How laughable, hey wait a minute... I've only ever saved one person. No. Why. It was the little girl? Now that I think about it many things seem to make sense, there was something special about that little girl, just remembering the clothes she was wearing should've told me she was someone important. But why was she alone? If she were part of the Scalzetti's she should've had bodyguards? Unless she was just a child and got curious about something.

But that begs the question? Why did she save me? Why would someone of higher status help someone like me? She could've left me to die, she could've just walked away. But she turned back, she saw that I fell in helping her. She saved me.

The doctor gave me time to think as he mulled something over on his clipboard.

But I thought enough, whatever, someone saved me, just because she gave me a second chance didn't mean I was going to treat her any less differently. In fact, maybe I could use this to my advantage.

My arms were heavy but I ushered the doctor closer by waving my arms, I wanted to write something on his clipboard. The doctor picked up on this and handed the clipboard over to me.

I wrote down my first question, a question that was vital for my future.

'What injuries did I sustain, don't sugarcoat it.'

After I finished writing I handed the clipboard back to the doctor. He mulled over my question for a second before responding, it seemed to have surprised him that this was my first question.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you have received several permanent injuries. I'm sure you've realized by now but you've lost all function over your legs, you received massive damage to your spinal cord. You got lucky it was just your legs that lost function."

Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, the doctor carried on.

"However, your muscles have also atrophied badly, we've done our best just to keep them as is. Due to the experimental drugs you were taking, it wouldn't be weird to see some adverse side effects, such as a change in your personality or a decrease in your cognition. Other than that though, your general condition is bad, many of your nerves died, and as a result, many of your bodily functions should be significantly worsened."

This does pose a problem...

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