Evergreen

Let me tell you about the day I almost died.

It was overcast with light showers, as is usually the case here in the Pacific Northwest. Having taken a much-needed personal day, I didn’t have to worry about work. Sleeping until noon wasn’t normally my thing, but I finally rolled out of bed just after 12:30.

I shuffled my feet along the floor as I made my way to the bathroom. I clicked the light switch on and screwed my eyes shut as the fluorescent bulbs snapped to life. After answering nature’s call, I moved to the mirror. My hair was a mess and I’d slept with my makeup on. Whoops. It was nothing a shower wouldn’t take care of, and I turned the water on as hot as I could stand. By the time I was done, the bathroom was filled with steam and I was halfway awake. I brushed my hair back into a loose ponytail, got dressed, then made a cup of coffee so I could finish waking up.

As I stared out the window of my third floor apartment, I smiled. A lot of people don’t like grey skies and drizzling rain, but I couldn’t get enough of it. My pants buzzed and I set my coffee down to check my phone.

:What are you doing today?:

It was my best friend, Annie. My thumbs tapped out a reply. :Playing hooky from work. You?:

:Sweet! Let’s go see a movie!:

:Is there anything good out?: 

:Duh! Do the words superheroes and Joss mean anything to you?:

:They would if I wasn’t a spaz with no short-term memory! Which theatre should we go to?:

:Silver Center?:

I groaned. :You feel like getting shot today?:

:It’s not that bad.:

:It’s Silver Center. Of course it is, but ok. Can you pick me up?:

:Sure!:

:Thanks. See ya soon!:

*                             *                             *

Annie and I walked out of the dark theatre and into the lobby.

“That was awesome! I can’t wait for the next one!”

“Oh, I know, right? The next three years are going to take forever.”

I nodded in agreement as we rode the escalator down into the mall. Even for a workday, it was packed with people.

“Doesn’t anyone have jobs anymore?” I lamented.

“Maybe they’re all playing hooky, too.” Annie smirked at me.

My eyes narrowed. “Or maybe they have rich parents who can pay for them to go to U-Dub for two years while they ‘find themselves.’”

Annie’s grin faded. “Don’t be jealous, Jess.”

“I’m just giving you shit.” I poked her in the arm and flashed a smile. “Come on, I’m starving.”

One perfectly grilled burger and a plate of golden-brown french fries later, we were winding our way through the parking lot, looking for Annie’s car.

“Today has been awesome. I really needed a break.”

Annie beamed at me. “Good! We’ll have to do this more often.”

“Excuse me, ladies?”

The voice was soft, so Annie either didn’t hear it or just kept walking. I stopped and turned around. A man with an unkempt beard and well-worn clothes was smiling at me. His hands were wrapped around a baseball cap, rolling the bill back and forth. “Can you spare any change? I’d like to get a bite to eat.”

I usually didn’t carry cash, but something had made me stop by the ATM before the movie. I had a pocket full of coins left over from the concession stand. “Sure, I’ve got some.”

Annie had noticed I wasn’t walking with her any longer and had come back. She grabbed my arm as I was handing the change to the man. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

“Helping him out. What’s-“

She cut me off and started to pull me in the other direction. “Sorry, no handouts today. Go get a job.” Her nails dug into my forearm as she led me away. “You can’t encourage these people, Jess. They’ll never learn.”

“What, are you too good to help me? Who the hell do you think you are?”

Annie tried to ignore him. “Maybe we can go out next weekend? Oh, we could go bowling!”

I really wish Annie had let me give the man some change. It was less than a dollar’s worth, and in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing to me or to Annie. But that change must have meant a lot to the man in the parking lot.

“Let’s see how you like it, you damn haji!”

It felt like an icicle jabbed me in the back then my legs became dead weight under me. I knew they were there, but I couldn’t feel or control them. They were deaf to my brainwaves. Annie’s grip on my arm faltered as I tripped and fell to my knees. I had trouble keeping my balance and put my hands out to catch myself from falling on my face. A high-pitched wail pierced my ears and ended in a gurgle as hot liquid sprayed over me. I looked down at the asphalt around me coated in bright red blood. Annie hit the ground next to me, her eyes glassy as her life continued to pour out of the ragged slash in her throat. I started screaming and tried to crawl away but my legs still weren’t responding. The blade bit into me again and it became difficult to breathe. Spots entered my vision and the chill spread throughout my body.  The pain started to fade as numbness replaced it, and then the ground rushed up to meet me.

I woke up in the morgue, just as the medical examiner was starting to cut my chest open for the autopsy. He must not have been used to the corpses sitting up on the table and yelling, because he ran out of the room when I did just that.

Panic stole my breath and strangled my screams. I was covered in dried blood, brown stains splattered all over my arms, chest, and legs. My left side and stomach had several jagged, deep cuts in them, and after feeling around, so did my back. One wound was dead center in the small of my back, and I swore I felt exposed bone.

I started to hyperventilate. After a few seconds, I struggled to get myself under control because I heard whistling. As it turns out, the crude slash in my throat was the culprit.

Why wasn’t I dead? Any one of my injuries should have been enough to shuffle me off this mortal coil. But here I was, cold but not dead. Or maybe I was dead and stuck in limbo? Maybe this was the afterlife? It sure looked like a morgue, though.

Was I a zombie? I didn’t have a hankering for brains, so probably not. Was I some other sort of undead creature, brought back to life at the whim of a mystical being?  Who knows? I needed to get up and get moving before the medical examiner came back and decided to study me—or finish the job.