Crust

And then I awoke, my breath pounding back into my body. I hurled my torso into the air away from my bed; my head flowing behind like a rag doll’s. Something was very familiar about this. I couldn’t open my right eye, it was crusted over with something. I brought my hand to my face and picked at my eye. Some flakes of dried blood lay sitting in my hand as I inspected it with my good eye. What in gods name had I gotten into last night?

I tried standing up, but my entire body was incredibly sore. With great strength of will I was able to pull myself to my feet. My room was a mess. Clothes everywhere, all dirty. I was wearing an old pair of blue jeans and a black tee shirt. I found a glass of water and some aspirin sitting on my bed stand. I didn’t realize how much my head was pounding until I saw them. I downed three pills and took a large swig of water. It felt so refreshing, but it was only a tiny drop into the abyss of my pain.

I figured I needed to clean up, then I would get to figuring out what happened to me. I pulled a new pair of jeans off the floor and grabbed the cleanest, least smelly black tee I could find. With every muscle protesting I drug my body into the bathroom. It was surprisingly clean, much cleaner than I had ever left it before.

I turned on the water in the shower and waited till I could see steam rising from behind the curtain. My first step under the spigot was bittersweet. The pain from the heat burnt deep, but it also started soothing my defeated muscles, melting them like butter in a hot pan under my skin. I looked down and saw a stream of red turn into a pool. How much blood had I lost?

Eventually I obtained free movement in all my limbs and started the long process of cleaning my body properly. The soapy loofah gently removing the most entrenched bits of blood and scabs from my skin. All the weight from my injuries felt cleansed from my body.

I turned off the water and reached for my towel, blue fluffy Egyptian cotton, and began the slow process of drying myself. Fully dry I stepped out in front of the mirror. With both eyes working now I could finally assess myself. Not terribly beaten up, few bruises around my abdomen. A small insignificant cut above my newly opened eye. It seemed it was mostly superficial damage.

I pulled on my clothes and ran a brush through my hair. Everything seemed in order. I turned to head out of the bathroom and slipped on a small puddle of water by the sink slamming my head into the toilet seat. And then I awoke, my breath pounding back into my body. I hurled my torso into the air away from my bed; my head flowing behind like a rag doll’s.

-V-