3 or Less

Pitch black darkness. I wake up. Vast, warm darkness. Blue tint overhead. Cellphone’s dead. Clock is broken. I simply awaken. No trill binging. No shouting buzzer. No radio rattling. A restful awakening. Eyes close again. Fingers amble closer. Sweet, soft darkness.

Phone rings. (Landline still works.) Stretching into darkness.
“It’s Rob.”
“Hmmmm.”
“Meet me there.” Not a question.
“Emergency Room?”
“Yes.”
“Anything wrong?”
“No.”
“When?”
“Well, one.”
“For lunch?”
“I’ll try….but…”
“I know.”

Open drapes. Winter invades. Nothing in fridge. Breakfast is coffee. Cup is chipped. Yet it functions. Fork tines curled. Everything is damaged.

Patient Lee pleads. “Professor Lee, Speak!” Doctor Lee cares. Nurse Lee inquiring. "Who are they?" One family world? Am I trapped? Am I freed? From what? They’re not related?

Cousins, fathers, sons. Mothers, daughters, aunts. Everyone’s someone.
Desperate, Lee shouts. “Who?”