It was always too bright whenever she woke up in a hospital room. Her eyes had to stay closed even though she was partly awake now, taking in the sounds of the stark room. The beeping of the monitors, the muffled voice of a nurse out in the hall, and the sound of someone’s breathing from the chair next to her bed accompanied by the soft scent of wild flowers. Voice still thick with sleep, she croaked out a quiet “Anton?”












