Awakening

There was darkness, a feeling of nothing, the passing of time did not even exist. Then like a bright idea to an inventor, consciousness and sense of existence appeared. Malaki's brain came to life with a weak flicker like a candle dancing in a draft that threatened to make it go out.

The first observation he made was the splinting headache and the heartbeat like sensation in his skull, as for the second, he realized that he in fact could not see. Panic was about to take hold of his heart until he reached up and felt a bandage wrapped not only on his head, but over his eyes as well. Accepting in the explanation he was content to keep laying where he was. The lucid moment did not last though. Soon he was confused and slipped in and out of consciousness.

There was something comfortable and familiar in this place he found himself. The smells of herbs, grasses, and mosses. The faint sound of boiling liquids. It created a soothing feeling. As he drifted in and out of awareness there were faint voices.

"He suffered blunt force trauma to the head. I believe it's a linear skull fracture but can't be certain until tomorrow. I do not believe there is bleeding on the brain. But with the patient's recent seizures I have given him an anti-inflammatory mixture to help with swelling on the brain. At this point that is all I can do. He will either wake up tomorrow or die. This dragon's life is now left to the wings of fate."

In the morning Malaki groaned and shifted to raise his still bandaged head and eyes, the conversation he heard having been forgotten. There was an annoying sound like cicadas in his ears. He thought he would go made from the sound until it slowly went away like a whisper on the wind.

"Easy now," a bodyless voice said from the darkness around him. "Can you tell me your name?" It seemed a straightforward question and Malaki opened his lower jaw to answer and found there was no answer to give. Leaving his mouth open for a minute he finally replied, "I don't know, I can't remember." Resting a foreclaw on the side of his head Malaki tried to force a name into existence but it only brought him throbbing pain. "It's ok," the voice said. "Your memories will come back in time. You can't force it."

"Why can't I remember? Who am I, where am I?"

The voice shushed him. "Answers will come in due time. Lay down and rest." Feeling fatigued, Malaki relented and rested his head back down.