Alix's  POV:

      She glanced at the clock and almost passed out.  

      It was only 5:30 am.

    Goodness, had all that happened been a dream?

   She got up and looked at the calendar.

    "What?"

  How had an entire year gone by for her not to remember it?

     What happened to her?

   She heard her phone ring and picked it up.

     "Hello?"

      "Alix, you okay?"

    "Yes, no, maybe, ugh, I am not sure."

       "Dad, since when has it been 2026?"

     " I am sorry to tell you this."

      "Tell me, what?"

       "You have been unconscious for a year."

     Alix was stunned. She dropped the phone.

      Where was she?   Whose clothes were these?  

     She did not recognize them at all. 

    Why could not she remember, anything, past February 14, 2025?

       The last thing she recalled was losing something, a secret admirer's note and the rest was a total blank.

        "Ah!"

      A nurse came into the room and smiled.

     "It is good to see you too."

    "Miss, where am I and why am I in these ugly clothes?"

    The nurse laughed.

    "You are on the third floor of the hospital, Miss Kubel. The outfit is the hospital gown given to you the day you were brought in here."

     "Hospital?  I am not sick."

     "No, and that is the strangest thing. We cannot seem to figure out what made you end up in such a long coma."

         "You were unconscious when you were brought in on February 14, 2025, at 6:00 pm."

        Alix shook her head, she refused to believe this was real.  She pinched herself to see if she would wake up and snap out of it. Only, everything stayed the same.

         The nurse took pity on her. "Young lady, if only it were that simple to escape reality," she said.

     Alix cried. She did not understand.

        The door swung open and he walked into the room.

      "Hi, Alix!"

     "Max, it is so good to see you."

    "Oh, so you do remember me?"

   "Yes, why would not I?"

   "You were passed out for so long. Everyone was starting to get worried about you."

       Max handed her some fresh flowers. Alix sniffed them.

        "Thanks, they're my favorites."

      "Yes, I know."

       The story continues in Chapter 6

    until then, bye-bye, little owlets!

   Summer out!