AUTUMN LEAVES

“We left the ceremony together?”

“No, Auttie. There was no ceremony.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Autumn rubbed her temples, willing her brain to function.

“Left where then? I –”

“Oh sweetheart, you’re awake!” Linda said rushing into the room.

“You got us all worried,” she whispered as she kissed Autumn’s cheek. “You got the hockey world all worried too,” Linda winked and pointed at the door.

Before Autumn had the chance to process what Linda said, a tall figure occupying most of the door stared back at her.

“Hi,” was all that the hockey superstar said. With a small wave and a kind smile, he walked towards Autumn. He looked so casual in his gray t-shirt and black shorts.

“Honey, no need to pinch yourself, Sidney Crosby is really here – in the flesh,” Linda chuckled as she gave a pale Autumn a side hug.

As Sidney inched closer to her bed, Autumn got more nervous. “Welcome back, Dr. Scott,” he said softly, his smile growing. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Autumn was frozen in utter silence. She gazed at Sidney like he was a ghost. Sidney’s smiled turned into a frown when Autumn remained still, studying him with curious eyes. He waved his hand in front of her face, trying to get a reaction from her. Autumn shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his. “But it felt so real,” she whispered.

“Sorry, what’s that?” Sidney asked confused. Autumn covered her face with her hands and shook her head.

“Maybe I can come back later,” Sidney said to Tiffany and Linda as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He watched Autumn cover her face with the blanket to avoid looking at him.

As he was about to step out, he turned back and saw a pair of green eyes peering at him. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he repeated with a dazzling smile.

Once Sidney was gone, Linda clasped her hands and told Autumn, “this morning I caught that young man sleeping next to you in this very bed.”

Autumn’s eyes went wide with shock. “He… what?”

“I know, I found it odd at first. But when he was all embarrassed and attempting to explain himself using medical excuses of all things, it was actually very sweet.”

“So it wasn’t a dream?” Autumn whispered with a distant look on her face.

“Autumn? Can you hear us?” It was Linda’s turn to wave to get her attention.

Sighing, Linda gave Autumn a quick kiss on the forehead and turned to Tiffany. “Tiff, I have to run, I have clinic hours. Make sure she eats and call me if you need anything. Bye girls.”

“Auttie, you must be overwhelmed, but it’s normal. How about we try to eat something first, hmm? Nate should be here any minute now. He’s bringing your favourite butternut squash and maple soup. He dropped everything when I called him. You’ll be happy to see Nathan, right?” Tiffany tried cheering her up.

“Did I dream it all?”

“What are you talking about, sweetie?” Tiffany asked with a deep frown.

With a look of concentration, Autumn managed a complete sentence. “You said, Sidney….Crosby and I left together before my accident, right?” Tiffany nodded. “Where were we before the accident?”

“You had that meeting with Mario Lemieux – You were stressing about it all of last week. It was for the major gifts program here at the UPMC. Sidney joined the meeting last minute, remember?”

Autumn’s jaw dropped as the memory of their meeting came rushing back. Sidney walked her to the car. He was the last person she saw before waking up in the hospital.

“Sidney said you took the elevator together on your way out after the meeting, and then you said your goodbyes in the parking lot before you drove away. You forgot to put on your seatbelt by the way. He had you under his spell, didn’t he? You must have been too consumed by his presence. I mean he’s straight up gorgeous.”

As Tiffany went on and on about how handsome Sidney was, Autumn spaced out. She closed her eyes for a few moments.

“Do you remember that Dicaprio movie we watched, Inception?” Autumn question interrupted Tiffany.

“What about it?” Tiffany asked with a tilt of her head.

“Let’s just say that I had the longest, weirdest dream. My dreamcatcher was like the spinning top from the movie, but not really,” Autumn mumbled. “It was like an alternate reality, a parallel universe,” she whispered still trying to process it all.

Tiffany chuckled, “parallel universe? Was Thor at least there?” she asked, knowing it was Autumn’s favourite superhero.

“No, though I had another superhero save my life,” Autumn spoke wistfully as she gazed at the closed door.

“Well, Sidney did say you were mumbling his name when you started waking up. Seemed pleased with himself. Were you dreaming of him?” Tiffany asked with a conspicuous smirk.

“Like you have no idea,” Autumn chuckled softly at first. Then her chuckles turned to full belly laughs making her wince in pain. Tiffany rubbed her back as they laughed together.

Tiffany cleared her throat, “Sidney did save your life in a way. He also kept you company,” Tiffany said with a wink.

“He did?” Autumn asked eagerly.

“Oh yes. In addition to sleeping next to you of course, that hot weirdo visited you every day.”

Autumn’s eyes sparkled, “really?”

“Yep. I also saw him talking to you. But I have no idea what he was saying.”

Autumn shook her head and blushed. “I kind of, well… I dreamt that he slept next to me and that Linda – not you – walked in on us.”

“Huh? You think you heard or felt something and wove it into your dream?” Tiffany asked and Autumn shrugged.

With a hand on her chin, Tiffany pondered what Autumn had just told her. “I once read a book about the patient experience during a coma. Stories varied. Some claimed they were aware of what was going on around them, some had nightmares, while others don’t remember anything. Of course you have the delusional bunch who proclaim to have gone to heaven and back. You haven’t seen a white light, have you?”

“Nope, but I did have a white dress at some point,” Autumn giggled.

“Shut up! You dreamt that you married Sidney Crosby?!”

“Not exactly,” Autumn said grimacing. They laughed some more as Tiffany took the spot that Sidney occupied last night.

“I don’t know how Sidney Crosby managed to fit in here, he’s huge,” Tiffany noted and Autumn blushed once more.

“Oh look at you. You have a crush on him. In that case, I should tell you that I don’t think he was visiting you and sleeping next to you out of trauma or obligation like others were saying. I think he really cares about you, Auttie. It is so clear to me. He seems like a sweet guy, and let’s not forget, sexy as hell!”

Autumn felt her stomach do a flip at Tiffany’s words. Real life Sidney seemed to like her.
There was a gentle knock at the door. “It must be Nate. Just to warn you, Jessica is with him. She insisted on coming to see you,” Tiffany said quickly before the couple entered the room.

“Hey, you’re alive, oh my god, come here,” Nathan rushed to Autumn’s side and hugged her. “How are you feeling?”

“A little disoriented and sore. But I’ll be fine,” Autumn replied as she shifted her eyes to look at Jessica Hunter who gripped Nathan’s hand tightly.

“Hey Autumn,” Jessica said quietly. “I’m happy that you’re doing better. Nate and I were very worried about you.”

“Thank you, Jessica,” Autumn said with a tight smile.

“Listen, I’m sorry about the other day,” Jessica said as she briefly looked at Nathan. “Nate and I talked it through and I admit that I overreacted. I trust him and I know that what happened between you two was a long time ago. I shouldn’t have acted all jealous. I’m sorry.”

Autumn decided to forgive Jessica, despite how hurtful she was to her a few days ago. Jessica was a good person who simply got blinded by her love for Nathan. Autumn stretched her arm towards her friend’s girlfriend and squeezed her hand, “don’t worry about it. I’ll pretend that you said none of… well, whatever it was that you said.”

With a devilish smile, Tiffany said to Jessica, “your celebrity crush was here not long ago. He’s coming back later. Here’s your chance to make Nate jealous.” The group erupted in laughter at Tiffany’s remark. Autumn watched Jessica cover her eyes in embarrassment and Nate flip Tiffany off then put her in a headlock. She saw tears of happiness in Nate’s brown eyes as he giggled when Tiffany tried to tickle her way out of his stronghold. She couldn’t have asked for better friends.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Nate asked, his laughter dying.

“I’m just thinking of what would have happened to you idiots have I not survived this accident,” Autumn said with a soft chuckle as she wiped her tears.

Autumn spent the late afternoon with her friends and some colleagues, sipping on her favourite soup and contemplating her whole existence.

Her mother’s dreamcatcher did work at the end. It did catch that bad dream where she chose Mario over Sidney, where she was a cheater, where she left Sidney and chose a life without him. But in that same dream, she loved Sidney and he loved her back. She also made up with her mother.

She thought that it wasn’t too late to make some of her dream a reality. She was given a new chance, a renewed attempt at living a happy and meaningful life. She could forgive Shona and get to know her. She could have a mother.

As for Sidney, she knew she had fallen for him the moment their eyes met in the waiting area of Mario Lemieux’s office. Maybe he was being a Good Samaritan when he saved her. But he visited her every day. He even fell asleep next to her. She did not dream it all. Maybe there is a future for her and Sidney. She did not dream it all. So, as Autumn chatted with her friends, she kept a close eye on the clock, anxiously awaiting Sidney’s promised visit.

Notes

Hello!

So, things must be clearer now? I hope you liked this story twist. I'm expecting conflicting opinions in that regard ;D

More to come!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers :) I'm making a chicken instead of a turkey this year, because ... why not?! :D

Cheers,

Charlie