I woke up with a pounding headache, my eyes slowly fluttering open. As my blurry vision started to clear, I realized I was staring up at an unfamiliar thatched roof ceiling. Confusion and panic set in as I took in my surroundings - I was lying on a crude bamboo bed mat in what looked like a small hut made of wooden slats and dried grass.
"Where...where am I?" I mumbled out loud, my voice raspy and dry.
I tried to sit up, but a searing pain shot through my left shoulder and I cried out. Looking down, I saw my shirt was torn and bloody. I gingerly touched the area and felt a thick bandage wrapped around what must have been a wound.
The sound of approaching footsteps made me freeze. The bamboo door covering opened and a wizened old woman stooped to enter, carrying a wooden bowl. She rega
