Recovery

by Edwin F. Kindler II

Fire. Fire raging everywhere. Where should I turn? What should I do? The smoke fills my lungs. I drop to the floor, searching for air, but there is none. I feel weaker, tiring, nothing less than dying. Is this really what dying feels like? It’s not so bad. I’m calm.

Then, I’m lifted. Big hands carry me out through the door. I feel air again, but cannot breathe it! The hands lay me on a bed and attach a pump to me. I start to feel my lungs empty. I feel better. I open my eyes. I cannot see! What has happened to me?

The hands lift me into some sort of car, I think, and we drive away. We arrive at a hospital, I know because of all the things they put in me. I go to sleep. When I wake up, I am annoyed with the attention I am getting. I tell them to go away. After they leave, I fall asleep again. I am in the hospital for two months.

When I can leave, I find that I cannot find my way around. A friend tells me to get a seeing- eye dog. I file a petition for one, and the day draws near when the dog is to come. When she arrives, we are good friends immediately. During the course of a few days, she shows me what she can do. Finally, she is mine! After the men who raised her leave for the last time, I sigh. I have healed after my ordeal, I have a dog, and I am ready for a new house, and a new life.

Visit the Library Home Page                                                       Read the latest Library news in The Circulator