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28 years is a long time to be away from reality. That's how long I was out, they told me--that's how long my coma lasted. I remember waking up lying in a hospital bed, the bright white lights blinding me, my eyes hurting from lack of use. It felt so surreal, the whole ordeal did. It took me a while to orientate myself--to figure out whether or not I was still dreaming.

The first sounds I remember hearing that day was my sister's cry to the doctors telling me that I had woken up. At least...they tell me she's my sister. After being jostled and hugged more times than I can recall, a stir of voices and movement all around me, I finally starting to come into consciousness.

I looked around slowly, my eyes still a bit painful, and saw a handful of people standing in the room. Some I saw were doctors and nurses, others were ones I knew or could at least vaguely recall...the rest were a group whom I had no recollection of.

"Where am I?" I asked groggily, still rather disoriented.

"At the St. Marcus Hospital," a nurse replied, and then smiled at me.

"Why am I in a hospital? What happened to me?" Questions began to run wickedly through my mind as I struggled to jar my memory.

"It was a skydiving accident, Midnight," a short, dark grey wolf next to me said, her voice soft and sweet.

"Skydiving at midnight?" I asked even more confused.

"No, no...Midnight--that's your name," the wolf replied. She took my paw in hers. "Don't you even remember your name?"

"No," I answered honestly. My name...Midnight? What sort of a name was that? I looked across the room to my mirror reflection to get a better sense of myself. There I was, lying there in not much more than a hospital nightgown. My jet-black fur covered my lupine form, and as I squinted a bit, I noticed that my face seemed to resemble the face of the lady wolf holding my paw.

Swallowing hard, I asked my next question with bated breath. I turned to the wolf and asked, "And who are you?"

I'd give anything to take that question back now. Or at the very least, I'd give anything to forget the look of despair in her face when she realized that the part of me that knew her was now gone.

"I'm your sister," she said, tears welling up in her eyes, "Rainwater."

I didn't quite know what to say. I had just been awake for not even five minutes, and I'd already made someone cry. I wanted to ask something more important, but all that slipped out of my muzzle was, "Who named us?"

Rainwater gave a gentle laugh at this and replied, "Our parents were Native Americans."

"Oh," I responded. "Were they really?"

"Yes," my sister answered again.

I paused again before asking my next question. "A skydiving accident?"

The tall, lank fox of a doctor stepped forward to answer this time. "You're lucky to have survived it. Apparently, your parachute never opened."

"I skydive?" I didn't really have any recollection of ever having skydived before.

"You loved it," a zebra standing in the back near the open doorway replied. I recognized this guy, though he seemed to have aged a good deal since I last saw him. He was my best friend, from what I could remember.

"William?" I asked of him, and he nodded. Rainwater looked at him a bit enviously.

"You said that it freed you, that you could truly fly that way," he went on, smiling at me.

"How long was I out?" I asked finally. "What day is it?" Some furs in the room exchanged nervous glances before an answer was given.

"You went into your coma on May 3rd, 2003," the doctor told me a bit heavily. "It is now June 24th, 2031."

I blinked. "2031?" I repeated. My mind quickly did the math. "I've been out for nearly three decades?" That was harsh. That was becoming harder and harder to take in as I realized more and more how much my world was likely to have changed, how everything I thought I might have known would have simply disappeared. I looked to the window, which had the curtains still drawn around them. I started to get up to go look out the window, moving slowly, when I was stopped.

"Take it slow!" the doctor ordered. I glanced at him half-heartedly, then slowly swung my legs out off the bed and set my feet on the floor, sitting upright facing the window. Taking the tubes out of my nose and monitoring patches off my body, I tried to stand. I wobbled for a moment, then fell backwards onto the bed again.

It was then that I broke, burying my face in my paws. I couldn't even remember how to walk. My world was gone. Why hadn't I just died in that accident? What good was I now? I felt a cool paw on my shoulder, and heard the doctor speak again.

"It's going to be a long process getting back on your feet, so to speak," he told me softly.

I looked up at him through misty eyes, and all I could manage to say was, "Why? Why me?" He frowned a bit, dipping his head down and folding his ears back, obviously unable to answer.

"Sometimes, there are no answers," I heard William say from behind me. "Some things just happen, and we can never know the reason why. There may not even BE a reason why."

"Oh, you can say that easily!" I told him. "You didn't just wake up to find that you had been asleep for 28 years!"

"No, but I had to see my best friend miss out on so many great adventures in life," he responded, a bit coldly. "I've had the time to ask 'why' as well, you know."

Again, I didn't know what to say. I was upset, and I couldn't think straight. I shouldn't have gotten angry at him like that.

"I think," started the doctor again, addressing everyone standing in the room, "that this wolf needs some personal time to recover." Everyone took their cue and left, except for the doctor and his squirrelly nurse.

"I'll see you in a bit," William said to me on his way out, and was the last one to leave, leaving me alone with the doctor and nurse.

"So what's the game plan?" I said a bit dryly to the tall fox, who got to work promptly checking my vitals. He went into an overview of learning to walk again, taking it slow, checking other body controls, taking it slow, staying in the hospital for some time longer, and, oh yeah--taking it slow. So I somewhat reluctantly allowed the staff to take their sweet time in helping me recover. I was actually rather torn the whole time--I wanted to see how much the world had really changed, but at the same time, I was afraid of what all would be missing and of how much had really changed, and my hospital bedroom served as a rather safe haven to prolong the inevitable. It's a scary thought, realizing that you don't know how different the world you're soon to step out into might be. You think you have a grasp on things in life, and you suddenly wake up one day only to have reality flipped upside-down. In the end, I could only work slowly, as the doctors were instructing me, and simply hope to soon see at least some remnants of my world.

****

The process of "getting back on my feet" was indeed long and tedious. Countless hours were spent relearning how to walk properly. The only thing that made the whole ordeal endurable was the fact that I got visitors daily. Usually it was only my sister or William, but I'd get the occasional odd friend or relative. Some of them I remembered. The others...well...let me just say that on those days, I felt as if I had taken a few steps back again.

I remember one specific day, close to the end of my rehab, when William came in that ended up changing my life again. He walked in while I was listening to some soft Glenn Miller on the radio, his bouncy walk rather jovial as usual (as far as I remember it), though he seemed sensitive at the same time, a warm smile on his face. He looked at me somewhat oddly before speaking to me.

"I have a special visitor here today, my friend," he said to me somewhat heavily. "She hadn't mustered up the courage to come talk to you until just now. She's waiting right outside."

"Who is she?" I asked, sitting up in my bed.

"Well...does the name Sylvia Shadows ring any bells?"

After thinking long and hard, I had to reply honestly, "No, sorry. Perhaps if I could see her, I might remember. Who was she?" I heard some soft sobbing from right outside the room, and before William could answer, I saw a petite white figure run into the room, rushing right at me, and hugging me tightly, sobbing onto my shoulder. As awkward as it felt to have a complete stranger show so much affection towards me, I found her hug oddly warming for me, and wrapped an arm around her, caressing her gently.

"Sylvia was your girlfriend, Midnight," Williams told me over the gentle sobs. "You two had broken up not a week before the accident. She's been worried about you ever since, but didn't have the heart to come see you until now."

I looked down in wonder at the small mound of white fur still clutching my body. "Forgive me," I said to her, doing my best to console her. "I wish I could remember you--some part of you. You, er, seem like a very nice lady." It seemed to have worked, as she pulled back a little and looked at me with full, beautiful (yet still teary) eyes. My god, she was gorgeous!

"I'm surprised I wouldn't remember someone so beautiful," I said softly, more to myself. She smiled when she heard it though, her vulpine ears perking up a bit. "Forgive me, Sylvia," I said again, "but you're a snow fox, correct?"

"No," she answered in a soft and near-heavenly voice. "A regular red fox--just albino. I wanted to see you--I swear that I did! I still love you. I always have loved you. I'm so sorry for leaving you!" She hugged me tightly again, kissing and nuzzling my neck, and I couldn't help but hug back, her warm body a welcome change from the cold hospital rooms I was accustomed to now.

She pulled back once again, holding my muzzle in her paws, and regarded my face for a moment before advancing on me again--this time kissing me full on. I was shocked at first, but closed my eyes a split second after and simply allowed myself to melt into her deep kiss. It was unlike anything I had a recollection for: warm and tingly, oddly comforting, and certainly invigorating! When she pulled away again, we both looked back at William, who was still standing near the doorway.

He had a peculiar, anxious look about him. "Anything wrong?" I heard myself ask him.

"Oh, no!" he replied merrily, his face brightening up a bit. "Just glad I can see you two together again is all." His tail swished a bit, as did mine. "And you know," he continued, "since you're almost finished with rehab, I think we ought to go out and celebrate once you are good to go. Just the three of us, like the good old days."

"The three of us?" I repeated. "No girlfriend for you, Will?"

He laughed nervously. "I see you don't remember everything about me..." he started.

"What am I missing?" I asked, looking curiously from Sylvia to William.

"I'm gay," he answered frankly.

"Oh. Well...boyfriend, then?" So what if he's gay? A friend is a friend, especially one who sticks around after 28 years of the Sandman.

"Nope," he answered, looking down at the floor, an odd twist in his muzzle.

"Well, maybe I ought to help find one for you," I said, winking at him with a smile.

He smiled back and said simply, "You just worry about getting out of this place, and then we'll see about all that later on. I've survived for some years now--I think I can survive for longer."

Sylvia looked at me, kissing me again lightly, and then said with a slight frown, "I have to be going." She planted her soft lips on mine once more, kissing me passionately. With a final hug she got up and started to leave.

"We both need to go, actually," William added. Waving with a gentle smile on his face, he led Sylvia out of the door, who looked back to blow me a kiss just before she disappeared from view.

****

That first day leaving the hospital was quite an experience for me! I remember the anticipation of looking upon the outside world for the first time. William and Sylvia had come to pick me up, and as I signed all the necessary paperwork, I took that first nervous step outside. My legs almost felt like faltering, but I resisted and followed through as I stepped through the sliding doors to behold the new world.

"Wow," I said as I looked around at the tall skyscrapers surrounding the hospital at a fair distance. I turned back to Sylvia and William and said with a bright smile, "I expected things to look a lot different, but the world looks the same as I left it!"

"Well, the surface barely changed, really," William informed me. I carefully placed a hindpaw onto the pavement sidewalk in front of me, taking my time to make sure it was all real. Once I was satisfied, I bounded off, running a ways on the sidewalk before pausing to let my two guides catch up.

"What," panted William as he ran up, "was that all about?"

"I'm sorry," I exclaimed giddily. "It's just...wow...you know? This!" I cried out, thrusting my arms wide open and looking ahead, as if to embrace the wonderful world before me. I felt a single tear fall carefully down my face. "You have no idea," I said, turning back to them. "No idea what it's been like in there," I nodded to the hospital.

Sylvia looked concernedly at me, walking up to me. She was shorter than I had noticed in the hospital room, only coming halfway up my chest. Hugging me gently but meaningfully, she looked up at me and said, "I know we don't, honey. But we're here for you all the same."

"I know," I beamed down at her, hugging back and kissing her lightly on the cheek. "And thanks," I added. "It's been a nightmare, and I don't think I would have pulled through without your support."

"Well," William interrupted, "shall we be going?" I nodded and followed him as he led the way around the corner of the beige and lifeless building, leading us to a parking lot.

"The cars are certainly different then how I remember them," I noted. We hopped into a small red convertible, the top down for the nice, breezy day, with William at the wheel. I frowned a bit as I got into the back seat with Sylvia. "I just realized that I'll have to learn how to drive again."

"That can be easily arranged," Sylvia said, caressing my arm.

"And what about a job?" I asked. "What did I do before...?"

"Not a heck of a lot, my friend!" William guffawed, and pulled slowly out of the parking space. Once we exited the parking lot (I noticed the gate system was still the same as ever), we were off in a flurry as tall buildings whipped past me, my eyes struggling to keep up. Downtown turned into the highway, the highway turned into a country road, and I couldn't help but howl with excitement. I pointed my muzzle straight into the air and let out a long, heartfelt howl. The air whipped around my body in jubilation, and I felt like a kid again. I felt free, totally and utterly without restraint, and I eagerly took in the world's sights, sounds, and smells during the long drive.

We were deeper into the country, the rolling hills blanketed with trees, and I was about to ask where we were headed when we turned a long corner, and my unasked questioned appeared to be answered. In the near distance, upon a high cliff overlooking the sea, the road wound up to greet an ostentatious mansion. It was entirely white, and looked to be like one of those old Southern plantation homes, the porch and second- and third-story balconies on the front side supported by huge white columns.

"I hope you don't mind," Sylvia started with a mock Southern Belle accent that made me smile even further. "We decided to retire to my villa until this evening's festivities."

"It's a wonderful villa," I replied, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"I'm glad you like it, because it's going to be your home as well for a while--as long as you'd like, in fact," she said warmly in her regular voice.

"Really?" I asked, a bit confused. "Why's that?"

The small vixen frowned a bit and said quite honestly, "Your home had to be sold at auction. We tried to save it--we did. They got us in the end with some legal mumbo-jumbo about how you hadn't been there for years."

"So I'm homeless now?" I asked nervously, feeling my stomach flip.

"No!" she answered concernedly. "Not as long as you've got friends like me or William willing to take you in. I would never dream of seeing you homeless!"

That comforted me some, and I kissed her lightly just as we pulled up into the rounded driveway in front of the villa. I got out and looked up at the grandiose mansion, noting the fine curves and décor of its outer faces, and couldn't help but smile. This looked like the start of a good life, I thought to myself as Sylvia unlocked the front door and invited me in.