Stuck in The Nothingness

The sensation began as a mere tingling, steadily pervading my body. As the world's numbness receded, indistinct noises filtered into my ears. Their words remained elusive, my mind shrouded in fog. But amidst the confusion, Orryn's familiar lips tenderly kissed my forehead, breaking the monotony.

"Please come back to me," His voice, a velvety lure, beckoned. My toe responded with a faint twitch, attempting to hold onto the lifeline pulling me towards consciousness. But as he departed, my grip loosened, plunging me back into that inert state, with only my thoughts for company.

Time lost its meaning. I felt adrift, yearning for Orryn's return to anchor me to reality.

"I...I miss you," Fleya's voice, soft as a petal, grazed my ear, her slender fingers encircling mine. "They say you may never wake up, but you have to prove them wrong."

Her wavering voice stirred something deep within me. Though I knew I'd awaken eventually, I could fathom the bleak picture my stillness painted. Imagining the toll it took on young, hopeful Fleya filled me with remorse. I yearned to comfort her.

Suddenly, a jubilant scream from Fleya punctured the somber atmosphere.

"Fleya, what happened?" Nikon's alarmed voice echoed as he burst into the tent, anticipating a threat.

"She moved, Nikon, she moved!" Fleya's voice quivered with excitement.

"Are you sure?" Scepticism edged Nikon's query, given my unchanged, dormant appearance.

"Yes I'm sure," Fleya asserted, "Her fingers moved when I held her hand."

Before Nikon could reply, hurried steps approached. "Fleya, are you hurt? I heard you were in danger."

"She moved, Orryn, she moved!" Fleya's repeated exclamation held a mix of delight and insistence.

"Are you sure?" Orryn's voice, threaded with doubt, met my ears, "She seems the same to me."

The tent was charged with hope and apprehension, with every heartbeat amplifying the suspense.

A hush fell over the tent for what felt like an eternity. Everyone's eyes must've been on me, gauging every breath, every tiny movement. I yearned to shout, to make a grand gesture and reassure them. But my body felt trapped, disconnected from the commands of my mind.

"It was just a small twitch, but I saw it. I felt it!" Fleya insisted, her voice a blend of excitement and desperation.

I mustered all my strength, attempting to send another signal to my limbs, longing to respond to Fleya's plea.

"Fleya, sometimes we see what we wish to," Orryn murmured, his voice filled with pain. "We've been hoping so much, perhaps—"

"She just moved!" Nikon excitedly interjected, cutting him off. "Look at her fingers, they're twitching!"

Sure enough, with all the strength I could muster, I began to twitch my fingers. It was the tiniest movement, but it felt monumental.

Gasps echoed throughout the tent. "Bring Seraphina, quickly"

Orryn quickly knelt beside me after his order, his hand clasping mine gently. His voice, thick with emotion. "Nadya," He whispered. "Please come back. We need you."

The weight of my stillness pressed heavily upon me, an anchor chaining me to an ocean floor while the world buzzed above. I felt a delicate touch, then the familiar sensation of Orryn's lips against my forehead.

"I need you." His confession was barely a whisper, a tether trying to pull me back from the abyss.

Despite my best efforts, a chasm remained between my awakened mind and my dormant body. Orryn's presence receded, replaced by a flurry of voices and movement.

"Seraphina, she moved just now, though it was slight, could she be waking up?" Orryn's voice shimmered with hope.

"Not necessarily," Seraphina's clinical tone responded. "There could be a number of reasons why. I won't know for sure until I check her out."

"So she could still stay like this..?" Fleya's voice was fragile, like thin glass on the verge of shattering.

"As I said, I won't know until I examine her," Seraphina murmured, her voice softer, gentler.

A subtle charge in the air signalled the onset of Seraphina's magical assessment. The energy felt like tendrils, starting at my feet and slowly, meticulously making its way up, scanning, probing, seeking. It felt intimate, even invasive, particularly as it neared the confines of my mind. I instinctively resisted, pushing back against the intrusion.

"S..she's awake.." Seraphina announced, her tone cautious.

"She's going to wake up!" Fleya's excitement was palpable.

"No… you misunderstand me," Seraphina corrected gently. "Her mind is awake, but I don't know when her body will follow."

"What does that mean?" Orryn's voice, edged with frustration, demanded clarity.

"It means her mind is active," Seraphina elaborated, pausing slightly before continuing on. "Nadya can hear and feel everything around her, but she cannot move."

The weighty pause that followed was thick with unspoken emotions, punctuated only by the rustling of the tent's fabric.

"Has she been like this the whole time?" Orryn finally inquired, his voice layered with anguish.

"No, there was no brain activity the last time I checked on her," Seraphina responded, her voice threading a delicate line between hope and caution. "This must have recently happened."

With that revelation hanging in the air, I yearned more than ever to breach the divide, to return to those who waited so anxiously by my side.

"Will she ever fully return to us?" Fleya's voice quivered as she spoke.

Seraphina sighed, "Now, it rests in the hands of the Fates."