AUTUMN LEAVES

“Did you want your dream of us to be caught in the webs?”

The echoes of Sidney’s voice were phased out by a painfully familiar beeping sound, much to Autumn’s dismay.

Her body was numb. Her eyes were too heavy. Her mouth was dry.

“Autumn.”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Mom?” Autumn whispered, still unable to open her eyes.

“No, it’s me. Open your eyes. God, she’s not too responsive.”

Her breathing got harsh and her heart rate picked up when she saw Sidney smile softly at her, her dreamcatcher dangling from his hand.

But Sidney’s face started fading away behind the teal feathers of the dreamcatcher.

“Auttie. Wake up.”

“No, come back!” Autumn shouted and thrashed her head. “Where’re you going?” she asked, clutching her hospital gown to her chest.

Opening her eyes, she saw the person who was actually asking her to wake up. It was not Sidney.

“Tiff, go tell him I need to talk to him! He may have gone to my office!”

Tiffany scrunched her eyebrows and looked at her sister concerned.

“Auttie, please calm down. You’ve been in a car accident and you’re at the hospital now,” Tiffany said as she clutched Autumn’s face, forcing her to focus on her words.

“Again?” was all that Autumn could ask.

“What do you mean ‘again’?”

Autumn looked around her. “Where am I?” she asked alarmed by the familiarity of this hospital room. She’s been here before. And that room was definitely not in Maui Medical Center.

“You’re at the UPMC, sweetie. You were brought here after you collided with a truck. You were lucky to have survived,” Tiffany said with a tear in her eye.

“What… how? I… the ring ceremony… I was feeling sick…”

“Honey, please try to relax, okay? Everything will come back to you eventually. Here, have some water.”

Tiffany helped her drink and settle in bed. Autumn was in a daze throughout the routine procedures that a doctor and two nurses performed. She could indeed feel her legs, her hands, she could swallow, she could see, but for the life of her, she could not string two thoughts together. Where was she before that accident?

Tiffany asked the medical team to give her some alone time with her baby sister.

“My head hurts,” Autumn complained.

“You’ve been in an induced coma for the last three days. With the amount of blood you lost, we had no choice. You do have a concussion too. That explains the headaches and why you’re a little confused. Otherwise, you’re surprisingly doing well.”

“Three days? Concussion?” Autumn eyes widened.

“Give it a few hours, sweetie. You’ll feel better. You do know who I am though, right?” Tiffany said with a smile. Autumn nodded slightly.

She closed her eyes again as Tiffany adjusted the curtains to block as much light as possible.

“Is Sidney here?”

Tiffany froze. Her hands dropped from the curtain. Turning to face her sister, she did not know what to say. Autumn tilted her head expectedly.

“You’re asking about Sidney Crosby? If Sidney Crosby is here?” Tiffany finally asked and Autumn nodded.

“Why would he be here though?” Autumn whispered to herself as Tiffany joined her side.

“How do you know he was here?” Tiffany asked with amazement.

“He was?” Autumn’s eyes brightened at that affirmation.

“Yes, he was here moments ago, when you stirred awake. He was the one who called the doctors. You must have heard his voice?” Tiffany questioned. “You couldn’t have seen him, he said your eyes were still closed.”

The two looked at one another and shared different levels of confusion.

“Why was he here, Tiff?” Autumn asked, scared from the answer. Things have started to clear in her head.

“Well, the poor guy witnessed your accident. Your SUV collided so hard with the truck that the truck tires blew up. Crosby was nearby and thought there was a shooting or an explosion, he said. He was the first at the scene and the one who called 911. Paramedics told me they found him sitting next to you on the front of your car, trying to stop you from bleeding to death. He was in a state of shock for a few hours after that,” Tiffany told her shakily, leaving the gory details of how her body broke the windshield and landed on the hood of her white car.

“You got us all so worried, you idiot! Please watch where you’re going next time, okay?” Tiffany hugged her sister very gently not to break her already bruised ribs. Autumn squeezed her eyes shut and took a shallow breath.

“Why was Sidney there? Did he follow me?”

“No, honey. My understanding is that you two left together, then you went to your car,” Tiffany answered as she stroked her sister’s hair.

“We left the ceremony together?” Autumn asked, holding her breath.

“No, Auttie. There was no ceremony.”

Notes