The Family Mission

Chapter 6

"Awaken, my sweetheart..."

Scarlett woke up, surrounded by a bright whiteness that she swore made her eyes squint. Looking around, she realized she was all alone.

'Where.. Am I dreaming?' Scarlett pondered in her head, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Yes. You are dreaming." A voice whispered out, leaving Scarlett with a surprising sense of familiarity. Scarlett tried to speak out to respond, but her words were caught in her throat. Being the stubborn person she is, she kept trying, all to no avail.

"Don't tire yourself out, love." The voice soothed."Have you even been able to speak in any of your dreams before?"

'Why, yes actually.' Scarlett thought sarcastically, even though she stopped nonetheless.

"Watch your tone, young lady." The warning belted out, sending chills down Scarlett's spine.

Did.. Did this person just read her thoughts?

'Why should I?' Scarlett responded, although she was still very confused. 'I don't even know you!'

"You don't have to yell. I'm right here, sweetie."

'No you're not! I can't even see you!' Scarlett pointed out.

"Scarlett, calm down. You're safe here, love."

Scarlett froze. She knew she didn't know this person. But, what's with all the pet names? Not to mention the fact that that knew her actual name.

A small voice sounded in her mind with the slightest hope inside of it, but Scarlett quickly shut it down.

'How.. How do you know my name?' Scarlett asked, nervous about what the answer would be.

"Sweetie, I'm the one who gave it to you."

That's when it hit her. She knew now why it felt familiar.

Because it was familiar.

The voice from before started screaming in her mind, and she tried to calm it down as fast as she could, even with the sense of it nearly smacking her in the face.

There's no way. There's simply no way. She kept telling herself that.

But, who else could it be?

She never asked it aloud, of course. But she thought it really hard.

'..Mom?'

Scarlett was prepared for the laughter. She was prepared for the question of who she was talking about. She was prepared for the hope rising in her to be shut down completely.

The response she got, though, she was not at all prepared for.

"It's been so long, my child.."

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"What do you mean she's in a coma?!"

Howard's outburst caused the heads of everyone remaining in the hospital hallway to look up, mirroring each other's nervous expressions.

"Sir, calm down." The doctor tried to explain coolly to Howard, who was clearly a spilt second from blowing a fuse.

"Your daughter is not in a 'coma', per se. She's just sleeping. Stressful situations, along with extreme feelings of grief, can cause fainting in most cases."