C1 Chapter 1

The stark smell of bleach was overwhelming. Grace tried to fight the nausea rising in the pit of her stomach. She scrunched her eyes at the bright light that was sipping through her closed eyelids. The strong smell of disinfectant filled her nose. She could almost feel her lungs shrinking. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting, as she blinked severely in an attempt to sharpen the blurry images before her.

She heard the beeping of a machine and slowly turned her head toward the source of the noise. She groaned at the feeling of the stiff muscles at her neck; a massage right now would be heaven sent. She examined her surroundings. The room was pristine clean and gloomy, the walls were a sickly green color and the linens were grayish. The place looked nothing like a room where a patient should be motivated to get better. She gazed at herself through the transparent window and noticed she was in a hospital gown.

Her body was powerless and weak. She stared at her lower body, which was covered with a warm blanket, and she flung it aside. Her legs were covered with a thick whitish material that felt unnecessary. She tried to shift her legs, but they felt numb and heavy. She tried once more by shifting her head erratically, and due to the pressure she applied on her body, her head hung upside down at the tip of the hospital bed.

She recollected the last words she heard from a nurse before she was wheeled into the operation room.

"I don't think she's ever going to walk!"

Grace let out a shaky gasp as her thoughts were jumbled with different interpretations on her current situation. All she could remember was being bashed by an incoming car and she blacked out. Her muddled thoughts were halted when a pair of strong hands cupped her head gently and positioned it appropriately on the bed.

Grace lifted her neck and gazed at her saviour. He had thick tousled dark brown hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were a mesmerizing deep ocean blue, silvery light performed ballets throughout. His face was strong and defined; his features seemed molded from granite. He had dark eye brows which sloped downward in a serious expression. His lips were pale and thin and his nose, slender and rounded; a prominent jaw curved gracefully around his neck and enamelled by the sun, he radiated energy and brio. His mountain peak cheekbones appeared chiselled into shape by a master craftsman. He was dressed in a white coat and a stethoscope hung around his neck was an icing on the cake added to his handsome features.

Completely mesmerized by the handsome stranger hovering over her face, Grace extended her right hand which trembled with shyness and placed it on his cheek.

"I must be in heaven because I am looking at an angel!" Grace said groggily, a smile etching on her face.