A cooing sound filtered into Reyona's consciousness.
She turned her head ever so slightly and winced as light stabbed through her slitted eyes.
She quickly closed her eyes and tried to figure out why it was so painful to open her eyes.
That was when she realised it wasn't just her eyes that felt assaulted; even her head was throbbing.
Beyond the pulsing in her head, the cooing sound was still there.
It was coming from her right.
Despite the pain she knew she might feel again, Reyona was tempted to find out the source of that soothing sound.
She carefully opened her eyes again and finally saw it.
The playpen was some distance away and she could see a baby inside it.
"Who left a baby unattended?" was the first thought that came to Reyona's mind.
The baby seemed to be having a good time, though, as the cooing sounds only changed in variation.
Reyona smiled and winced as the muscles in her head seemed to protest the sudden movement.
Despite the weakness in her limb, Reyona shifted until she was sitting upright in bed.
She saw a glass of water with a straw in it and bent sideways till her parched lips were touching the straw.
She sipped the water and felt as if a slice of heaven had been handed to her.
She was breathing heavily by the time she sat upright again but at least the sandpaper feeling in her mouth had lessened.
She could see the baby better from that position and she also noticed another sound coming from beyond the big bedroom she was in.
A sound of rushing water.
Reyona wondered where she was, just as she wondered why she was sleeping here instead of being at home with her husband.
Were they on vacation? Why can't she remember that?
Well, getting to the beautiful baby was the most paramount first.
So she scooted to the edge of the bed even as her body protested.
Reyona finally realised why her legs had felt weird at first.
There were removable modern splints on her legs.
The pain racking her body was enough reason for Reyona to understand that she must have been in an accident.
She flexed her legs in the splints and realised she could move them afterall
So she placed her feet on the shaggy rug and gritted her teeth as pinpricks ran through her body.
She inhaled deeply and wondered what was wrong with her, but just like a beckoning call, the crooning sound came again.
Reyona stood up just as a door opened.
"You are awa…What are you...? Shit!" the masculine voice swore as Reyona's limbs crumpled beneath her.
Her hand smacked hard against the bedframe as she tried to hold on to it.
The man got to her just as her butt landed hard against the rug.
A blinding pain shot through her legs just as the rushing water sound shut off and another door opened suddenly.
"What happened?" A woman said as she rushed out of what seemed like a bathroom.
"Beatrice, you are awake!" She screeched just as the man scooped her off the floor and took her back to bed.
"Andrea, she is awake," the man urgently said into his phone.
Reyona wondered if they could all shut up and let her breathe.
The rest of them.
Not the baby who had started crying when the man rushed over.
"Stupid man," Reyona thought. "Didn't he know that babies don't like sudden noises?"
Her head banged so hard that she must have groaned.
"Where does it hurt?" She heard the man's voice close to her ears again.
She shrank away from him and wondered how he dared to come that close to her.
Didn't he know that she was a married woman?
Why was…
A strong hand gently pulled her hand away and a cool cloth was placed on her head.
As much as Reyona didn't want to accept anything from the strange man, the cool cloth was a welcome addition to her throbbing body.
Grams had told her not to look the gift horse in the mouth after all.
So, she relaxed into the pillow and waited for the crippling pain to be over.
Everything would make sense soon.
The door opened suddenly again and Reyona wondered if anyone had any idea how to be quiet around here.
If their intention was to make her head spin off, they were all doing a great job.
A muffled conversation went on somewhere in the room and then footsteps, accompanied by a different scent, approached her.
Even with her eyes closed, Reyona knew it was not that man.
"Ma'am? Ma'am, can you hear me?"
A soft yet firm voice asked her, like she expected an answer.
"Ma'am?"
"Please leave me alone," Reyona croaked out.
Her throat seemed to be stuffed with dirty wool and she doubted that the person heard her.
But the lady seemed to hear her, because the next thing Reyona heard was, "I am sorry, please. I would leave you to rest. I just need to do a checkup on you and confirm some things. I would be out of your hair in no time."
Not soon enough. Reyona thought.
Reyona opened her mouth when she was asked to.
She moved slightly when she was told to.
She opened her eyes and endured the tiny light that the lady shone into her eyes.
"How are you feeling now, ma'am?" The lady asked before Reyona could shut her eye.
"Not fine," Reyona said testily.
"I understand," the woman said, then held her two fingers up to show Reyona. "How many fingers are these?"
Reyona almost rolled her eyes at the silly question.
"Two"
"Good. What about these?" The woman held three fingers straight and bent the fourth.
Really? "If that was supposed to be half, then that is three and a half." Reyona shut her eyes and said, "What is the point to these questions?
"Bear with me, ma'am," the woman said. "Just one more question: do you know these people?"
Reyona opened her eyes grudgingly and her eyes sharpened in recognition as a slight smile creeped onto her face.
"I know her," she said softly.
Celia beamed in excitement "Oh, Beatrice, I have been so..."
Celia turned back when she heard a sniffling sound behind her.
They had not noticed that Toria had entered behind them; seeing Reyona awake in bed had been so overwhelming for her that she just froze in a spot with her hand to her mouth.
Her gaze was pinned on Reyona.
Celia turned back to see that Reyona was actually looking at Toria and not her.
"Come over here, silly girl." Reyona said with a slightly stronger voice.
"Why are you standing there like that? Who are these people?"