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Hearing

by Izzie

Hearing was the last sense to go. It was strange how he would never have guessed that. If he’d ever thought about it, he would have said touch; but that was before he found himself in isolation, shut away from all the human comfort of a hand holding his. So perhaps hearing was the last to go because touch was no longer an option.

It didn’t vanish smoothly, though. He had been trying to focus on the sounds around him, perhaps to distract himself from the pain. The hiss of the oxygen that was pumped into the tent surrounding him was almost impossible to hear over his own labored efforts at breathing. When was the last time he had felt someone else’s skin against his? He couldn’t remember now. He could remember the last thing he had seen before his vision faded, though. Could still see it, on the inside of his eyelids—his partner’s name in large red letters, floating in the corridor beyond him. No, that couldn’t be right, could it? Words didn’t float. But he was sure that was what he had seen.

It all seemed too much, so he listened again to the noise of his breathing, vaguely aware that it sounded worse. The pain seemed to be fading now, and that was a relief. He thought he could hear someone saying something that sounded urgent, but everything coming through his ears now was distorted. He couldn’t tell any more where the sound was coming from, or what was making it. It seemed that the sounds of his own body were getting louder, his pulse thumping and juddering, blocking out all other noises. Its rhythm was so irregular that he lay completely still, wondering what it could mean. Then it stopped, and he stopped too, all thought suspended.

~oOo~

A low muttering infiltrated itself into his mind. For a while, he ignored it. He was floating in whiteness, but it nagged at him, pulling him away. He had no energy left to fight. The muttering became louder—or was he getting closer to it? He couldn’t tell, but knew somehow that the sound was familiar.

Slightly puzzled by this thought, his attention hooked on to the sound before he could stop it, and it pulled him further away from that effortless place he had been in. The murmur was making more sense now, as if all he had to do was try and he might remember what it was that made it seem familiar. But whatever it was, it was too much effort for him to do anything, and he gave up. The whiteness continued to fade, along with his barely restored consciousness.

Next time he heard the sound, it seemed clearer. He almost thought he could hear words in it, but wasn’t sure. He still couldn’t summon up the energy to listen hard enough, although he wanted to, very much. Maybe later………..

~oOo~

“Hutch, c’mon buddy, I know you’re in there. Wake up, now. It’s time to wake up. I know you can hear me, pal, all you need to do is listen to my voice. I’ll keep talking till you remember to wake up, okay? I know you’re tired and hurting, but I need to know you can hear me. Open your eyes, just a little, huh? Then you can sleep again. Please, Hutch, don’t give up now.”

~oOo~

As if someone had flipped a switch, the distant sound suddenly made sense. The tone was urgent, and the words were asking something so simple, in a voice so familiar, how he could refuse?

~oOo~

“Hutch? Oh, babe, welcome back.”

The End

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