Awake at a Different time

Wilderness Experience

CHAPTER. Three

“You have got to be kidding me”

oh no, I’m sure she didn’t mean it. she has to be joking.

“No hun I’m not, why would I even do that. I think you need to sit down now you are looking rather pale”

Mum says while leading me back to the bed.

One year!, one year!!, as in 365 days or given my type of luck, it might just turn out that the freaking year was a leap year.

How have I been asleep for One year and I didn’t notice. That explains why I look so good, with or bruises or any scars but one year is a lot. I’m going to have a rough time wrapping my mind around this one.

“Ally, are you alright? can you hear me? Ally? Hun? Please say something”

ooh shoot,Mum!

“Yes Mum, I’m alright, I got lost in my head there for a second”

“Ooh I was worried you might have had a stroke or something, how are you feeling in general. Can you give me a 100% assessment of all you are feeling?”

100% assessment of all I’m feeling, what is that even supposed to mean. What is she now, my shrink?

Instead of saying what I am actually thinking which I’m sure would invariably hurt her feelings, I end of saying

“Oh Mum, I’m fine. Just the sore joints and muscles. I’m really ok other than that”

Yea apart from the small fact that I’m 18 now, and I have no freaking idea how.

I had plans for my eighteenth birthday, not exciting plans now that I think about them, but they were plans none the less.

“Would you like me to get you something to eat?, I’m afraid we do not have anything fancy like you would like, but I have the essentials. To keep your energy up and help you stay alive”

“ yea, sure, I’m starving anyways so I would eat literally anything” I say while watching my mum walk to a cupboard in the other side of the room probably to find something to whip up.

She stands in front of the cupboard for a while seeming a bit lost for a moment. She looked like she didn’t know where to go next. I’m assuming she was thinking of the best thing to give me right now. I have seen her do it before, but this time I’m sensing more of confusion coming from her.

“Hey mum, no need to fuss, just give me anything right now, you can switch into your fancy cook mode later” I say trying to ease her stress.

She turns to give me a nervous smile before she carries out the tiny camp stove from the corner of the cupboard. I wonder why I didn’t see it sooner, since the first thing I did when I woke up was to scan the entire room. It also hit me that the wood house had no other essential room extension.

You know the essentials like the toilet, bathroom or kitchen. It was just a big square room furnished with the barest minimum of furniture.

I turn my eyes back to my mum and her tiny stove, just in time to see her scooping oats from a tin into a tiny pot that she had placed on top of the stove.

“Hey Mum, where are we by the way?” I ask, trying to sound as aloof and unbothered as I possibly can, while deep down, with every second ticking by I was getting one step closer to just knocking myself out to end all this craziness.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask just yet” she says clearly trying her best to give her total attention to the oatmeal she was cooking.

Yea right, like making oatmeal could be so interesting and attention demanding.

“Well I asked, so......? What is going on?”

She gives me her signature once over look again, then went ahead to scoop the oatmeal into a plate, then placed it on a tiny stool and finally she placed it before me before she said

“We are at a place called “Green county”, and it would appear that we live here now”

“ It would appear?, what the hell is that supposed to mean” I nearly shout, I say nearly because in my current state, I can’t manage to pull off anything serious even while I’m giving it all I’ve got.

Mum gives me a stern look and ignores me while I go on to wonder why the hell I’m having oats and honey.

Is this some kind of wilderness experience trip?

To see how it feels like to be poor?

I just woke up !! I’m not ready yet!!

“I’m going to ignore your language and tone this one time Ally, but don’t make it into a habit while talking to me or anyone for that matter, or so help me God, I will be the one to knock you unconscious this time. Eat your oats, I will tell all you need to know when you have gotten some rest okay?”

“What other rest do I need, I literally just woke up from a year long nap” I whine but out loud this time

“Okay, that’s fair enough. How about you finish your meal, and we can have a long talk about why and how we got to be living in a tree house. I don’t want you choking or passing out on me now, I only just got you back” she ended while running her hand through the spaces between my cornrows. Ahh that never failed to be soothing, mum knew that, and I think it helps her cope too.

I went to work on eating my oats, when another thought came to me half way into the meal.

“Where is my phone anyways, I hope I didn’t lose it in the crash?”

“ oh it’s in one of those boxes over there”, she says pointing to her right, where sure enough, there was a stack of boxes. Ooh good, at least I have something. The relief I felt was nice until Mum says again

“I don’t think you would be needing it, since there is no electricity”

“What do you mean no electricity now, what is all this one again. You couldn’t get at least something solar powered or a generator for your tree castle in the green county. How have you been surviving madame?” Sarcasm was all I had at this point and I’m don’t think it would get me anywhere except exhausted and annoyed, but I just couldn’t help it.

“How I’m I supposed to see at night or charge my phone or wherever else I need electricity for” why did she say we were here again? I don’t get it.

We lived in a huge house my dad left us, he died a months before my accident, but he left us a lot to make sure we were nothing short of comfortable. Now why my beloved mum left our mansion to stay in a tree house is beyond my understanding but I’m sure I can get her to change her mind. Unless she lost all her money and the house, in that case I have a trust fund which I was supposed to get when I turn eighteen, and the good news is ; I am 18 now, which means I can take care of her and me without breaking a sweat. I can only imagine what she went through all those days watching me sleep nonstop. I get why she must have thought it was a good idea to come out here to clear her head. I admit the tree house had a soothing effect to it, so I get why it makes sense. I just need her to realize since I’m awake now, that it’s time to go home.