A Good Life

Anna had known the blindingly bright hospital lights, the white walls, and sheets for as long as she could remember. Their glaring brightness emphasized the cleanness of the room, devoid of life.

She'd been taken outside on occasion, but with her condition it was never often or long enough. But outside she'd seen colors that she could only see on her TV, or imagined in her dreams. And when she would return to her room in the hospital, it's sterility would seem more oppressive than usual.

'But, all in all, I've lived a good life,' Anna thought. The doctors and nurses were kind, they would get her gifts, for her birthday, or even without occasion. They taught her how to read and would buy her books when she asked. They'd even bought her a phone to surf the web and see the world from her hospital bed. Although she didn't have parents, the hospital staff had helped to provide warmth in her short 14 years of life.

As she reflected on her life, she sighed. 'This is it I guess,' although she'd hoped to live older, and had studied to maybe one day cure herself, she could feel her time was up. She'd grown even skinnier over the past few weeks, due to her condition acting up a lot. She'd have random inexplicable hemorrhaging, meaning she'd spent the last few weeks in and out of surgery, growing weaker, and weaker, barely lasting until today, her 14th birthday.

"It's alright, we're here," the nurses and doctors would whisper gently. Holding her hand and stroking her head.

Anna wasn't afraid of death, even though she'd hoped to live, she'd grown up with the expectation to die. She'd shared her room with others who would move in and would move on before her. Their lifeless and stiff bodies contrasting the liveliness they'd showed the preceding months and weeks. It felt weird, knowing she'd soon be like that as well.

She was tired. She had been for the last few days, but now especially.

'I wonder how long this'll take?' She knew every breath was counting down her remaining time, and felt ashamed that she was reluctant to breathe another as it meant her time was growing shorter. She thought she was prepared to die, but she realized with every breath she was disappointed that she couldn't live longer.

Breathing became more laborious, as the light she saw seemed to slowly dim, her consciousness was growing hazy.

"Thank you… For everything" she managed to breathe out.

Everything slowly faded darker, and darker, the noise muting, she took one last breath, and as it was let out, nothing.

Nothing is what she'd expected; she had thought a lot about death as it had constantly been present in the hospital, and in her life. She imagined it'd be like a heavy sleep, the one's where you're not cognizant of anything, and you wake up with no sensation of time having passed. Except you don't wake up.

And that was what happened…

Until she woke up.