Lifetime Guarantee
by Andrea Goyan
I open my eyes then snap them shut, gasping. Pain.
The light. Boom. Boom. Boom. My heart. Each beat.
Every one. Thuds inside my head. Crashing cymbals of
pain. Boom. Boom. Boom. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
“His eyes!” A familiar voice, a woman’s, followed
by a squeeze that crushes my fingers.
“No!” the woman says, her voice pitches high.
“Don’t go away again, honey.”
“Don,” A man’s deep voice, not familiar. He
touches my shoulder. His hand heavy and warm. “Don?
You’re in the hospital. I’m your doctor. Your wife Jan is
here. Don? Can you hear me?” His voice is deep and rich.
Honey golden.
I take a breath to speak and gag. My lungs drown
in the sweet stench of overripe bananas.
Boom. Boom. Movement is agony.
“Slowly,” the man says.
Squinting, I hazard another look. Blurry shapes
form, but the shards of light hit like splintered glass.
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