The first thing Luca was aware of was the sound.
A steady beeping. Rhythmic and close. Then light, pressing against his eyelids before he was ready for it. Then the weight of his own body which felt heavier than he remembered bodies feeling.
He opened his eyes slowly.
White ceiling.
He stared at it for a while without moving because moving seemed like a decision that required more information than he currently had.
A nurse appeared above him almost immediately.
Young woman, kind face, the practiced calm of someone who had been trained to react to exactly this moment without showing too much of anything.
"Mr Carver," she said. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes," he said.
His voice came out wrong. Rough and thin like something that had been sitting unused and had forgotten its own sound.
"Do
