Life as I Know It Read Online Free PDF Page A

hands.”
    I felt the wetness on my face and knew I was crying, though no sound escaped my lips. The nurse tut-tutted and patted my hand sympathetically.
    “That’s right, Jessica,” he said. “Have a good cry. You’re probably still in shock from the lightning strike. You’re a very lucky young lady, you know.”
    I nodded, leaning my head back on the starched hospital pillows, and gave a deep, shuddering sigh. So it had all been a nightmare. I’d been hit by lightning but the rest of it had been a ghastly, unsettling dream caused by nothing more than the shock of what had happened to me. I was still me, still Jessica Taylor. I peered down at my ringless fingers and wanted to sob for joy.
    Glancing up, I watched as the nurse made his way back down the ward in search of a dustpan and brush. There were no small children hiding in the shadows, no husband trying to convince me I was his wife. As soon as the nurse was out of sight, I turned my face into the pillow and wept with relief.
    I found it disconcerting to realize how my mind had workedon things while I had slept. In the dream I’d pictured myself much more damaged by the chance lightning strike than it appeared I actually was. In reality, there was no drip in my arm, no heart monitors attached to my chest, and no large bandage round my neck and shoulders. It was as if I had prepared myself for the worst, and now I was pleasantly surprised to find myself almost unscathed. A very young Chinese intern came to see me soon after I’d finished the rather spartan hospital breakfast of cornflakes and toast. He introduced himself as Dr. Chin and assured me I’d gotten off very lightly.
    “The burns to your back and shoulder are minimal,” he explained. “We have dressed the wounds lightly to prevent infection, but they are superficial and should heal in a few days without leaving permanent scarring.”
    “No antibiotics required, then?” I asked.
    He shook his head, peering at a chart that had been hanging at the foot of the bed. “We only admitted you to the ward because you had not regained consciousness, but your two-hourly observations through the night have proved satisfactory.”
    “Did my heart stop at any time?” I asked anxiously.
    The intern shook his head of sleek black hair. “No, no, nothing like that. You are a very strong woman.” He paused before adding, “You sleep very deeply, Ms. Taylor. You have been asleep since yesterday. How do you feel now?”
    I thought about this for a moment or two, then grinned at him. “I feel fine. Can I go home then?”
    “We will wait for the consultant’s ward round,” he said, nodding. “But I am sure everything will be okay.”
    He started to leave, then turned back to me and smiled. “Do you know that once, the Chinese believed lightning to be a very unlucky omen? It was thought that lightning was a sign of God’sdisapproval. I do not think you are unlucky, though, Ms. Taylor. In fact, I think you had a very lucky escape.”
    You are not kidding, I thought, watching him scurry off down the ward. I lay back gingerly against the pillows, careful not to snag the light gauze dressing on my left shoulder. In my mind’s eye I pictured Grant and the four children. They had seemed so real at the time, and I wondered from where I had conjured up their names and images. It occurred to me as my mind drifted into a light doze that it was strange how I could remember the dream so clearly. I gave an involuntary shudder. It also occurred to me that I had indeed had a very lucky escape.
    The ward round consisted of four white-coated doctors hovering around a fifth in ascending order of rank, clustering together at the foot of each bed in turn. It was immediately apparent which was the most senior doctor, and, from the obsequious half bows of Dr. Chin, who stood on the farthest outer ring of the gravitational field of the consultant, I ascertained that my doctor was probably the most lowly figure among them. The