The profound blackness only lasted a few seconds till I could feel it lift from my eyelids, although they hadn’t opened yet. Now, it was just emptiness. Nothing, not even darkness, filled my vision. It was just empty. Gradually, I relaxed my eyes and they fell open to a hazy scene. An indistinct figure was pacing back and forth at the foot of what now appeared to be the bed I was laying on. As the prospect became more and more clear, I realized the figure was another person with their hands covering their face, their fingertips rubbing their eyes wearily.
The man turned toward me and dropped his hands.
"Lily!"