‘White ceiling’, she whispered to herself as she slowly blinked her eyes. She raised her head a bit and looked around, everything was white.

The ceiling, the sofa, and the table too, no one was there. She could see a monitor and an I-V drip hanging beside her. She scanned herself and as she moved she could feel pain in all parts of her body. She raised the blanket on top of her and she could see the needles on her hand. At this, she screamed! So loud it frightened her even more. All her bruises and cuts made it impossible for her to move because every single time they seared against the delicate and soft blanket, which felt like a rough and uneven coat worn by the poor and helpless people, they pained her.

A doctor and a nurse rushed into the room in a hurry. The nurse was holding her hand, repeating the words “Calm down”, again and again. She tried to lose her grip but the nurse was stronger than she thought.

On the other side, the doctor was earnestly writing down something on a writing pad he was holding. 

A man and a woman, who looked like a couple, arrived there a few seconds later. They looked nervous and worried.

They slowly walked towards her as if they had been afraid of her. She stared at them, still unaware of what was happening around her.

Who were they? What were they doing there?

The nurse had let go of her hand and moved over to the corner. The doctor was now gone. He had escaped the stuffy atmosphere that was starting to fill the entire room. Everything was happening so quickly. She was bewildered by everything happening around her.

She didn’t know who she was, or who these people were. She didn’t even know why she was there. But the question that kept bothering her was somewhat strange. What in the world was ‘agastopia’?