“Where have I been? How come? What happened to me?”
Those were the questions running through Danny’s mind that quiet evening, as he lay on his bed just after everyone had left for their various homes.
He opened his eyes wide, fixing them on the ceiling, yet he wasn’t really looking at it. His thoughts drifted fast, like pieces of paper in the air. He ran his right palm over his head while his chest rose and fell, slower than normal. His mouth opened a little, as if he wanted to ask a question but wasn't sure who to ask.
The room was a little bit dark. The lamp beside the bed cast a yellow glow on the wall, while the sound of the clock ticking in the background made the silence more noticeable. The day had been full of people, surprises, hugs, and smiles. But now, in a quiet moment, his mind still wouldn't rest.
Danny was just 21 years old when everything happened.
A final year student at the University of Lagos, full of plans, graduation, NYSC, a startup idea he had written in his notepad, and the like. But he also had constant headaches, the kind that persisted even after he had tried different types of medicine.
It started with a scan, then more scans, then the news: Danny had a brain tumor. The doctors said it could be treated through an operation.
He remembered being pushed into the theater with lights above his face, the cold feeling of the stretcher beneath him, and his mum’s hand squeezing his one last time. Then it all went black.
When he opened his eyes, it was just the nurse on duty, adjusting his drip like she always did. She gasped, with an expression of surprise, and called for the doctors immediately. The doctor walked in with his stethoscope to listen to his apical pulse and also touched his forehead to feel his temperature. Then he walked back to his office.
A few minutes later, his family members came in to visit. They gathered around his bed, their faces lit with joy they could barely contain. The doctors had told them not to rush him with the truth. "It would be too much for his brain," he said. "Too much shock could do damage." So everyone around him played carefully, like actors avoiding the wrong line in a fragile play.
But Danny noticed. He was confused and curious. Nothing felt right.
Why did his father have a fully grey beard?
Why did his mum move and talk slower?
Why did his sister, who always wore cartoon shirts and tied scarves around her wrist, now speak calmly like a grown woman?
Even little Jude and Jennet who were his nephew and niece, just 2 and 4 years old when he last saw them . They now stood so tall, with more maturity.
He asked questions like, "How long was I out for?” but they answered with laughter or stories that dodged the truth.
After a week of adequate checkups and observation, it was time to discharge him from the hospital. They eventually sat him down and gently told him that he had been in a coma for sixteen years. Tears dropped from his eyes. He could not believe it.
The drive home was long and quiet. Danny sat in the rear seat of the car, looking at the world outside through the window. His sister sat beside her husband in front, occasionally glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
Danny turned his head slowly from right to left and back, trying to figure out what still looked the same and what had changed. Buildings had new faces, shops had names he didn’t recognize, the roads were wider, there were screens on street poles now, and some cars no longer made engine sounds. Everything looked like the future he had once imagined. Just that now, it was real, and he was a stranger in it.
By the time they got home, a surprise welcome party was waiting for him.
They tried to make him feel loved, which he did in a way but there were too many faces with stories he had missed, too many children he didn’t know, and too many hugs from people whose names he barely remembered.
He also saw his colleagues, now married with kids in secondary school.
Now, as he lay alone in his room, the air felt heavier.
He kept doing the math.
I was 21 just before the surgery, so now I am... he hesitated a bit... 37.
When did the years pass? Where was I?
He sighed quietly and turned his head to the side.
Where do I even begin?
At that moment, the door opened gently.
It was his sister, she came checking to see if he had slept. She entered slowly and closed the door behind her. She walked over and sat by his bed.
After looking at him for a while, she reached for his hand.
"You shouldn't be thinking too much," she said, while she lightly rubbed his palm.
He said nothing, but gave her a faint smile.
She leaned closer, softening her voice a bit more.
“It won’t all make sense at once. But you’ve been given something many people don’t get, a second chance. One step at a time, Danny. You’re here now.”
She placed a hand on his chest, gently.
“And you’re not alone.”
Then she bowed her head, still holding his hand, to say a short, simple, heartfelt prayer.
By the time she opened her eyes, Danny had already started to sleep.
She watched him quietly and smiled.
"What matters is that you're here now," she whispered with a sigh of relief.
This is my entry for the Inkwell fictional prompt #229 title, Where did you go, thank you for reading through.