Paint It Black

By Rangi Krishnan

Genre: Medical/Cerebral/Science Fiction/Fantasy/Mystery.
Emily suffers a small bleed in the brain and falls into a coma. However, she finds herself waking up some place unknown and then goes about trying to unravel the mystery of the place all the while attempting to find a way to get back home.

Teaser
Snippet from chapter one
Amittance:
Twenty four hours earlier, Emily’s parents, George and Catherine, had discovered their daughter collapsed on the floor of her bedroom. She had recently moved out of a flat in Wellington and back in with her parents as an interim measure.

The twenty three year old was breathing but they could not get her to respond. An ambulance was called and, with a myriad of emotions reflected on their faces, the two watched as the ambulance officers loaded their daughter into the back of the van. Soon after, the pair jumped into their car and followed closely as the ambulance carted Emily off to Wellington hospital.
“So, what’s going to happen now?” asked George as he stared at his daughter while Catherine looked hopefully at the doctor.

Teaser
Snippet from chapter two
Washed Up:
As Cora knelt, she stared down at the sand covered figure lying before her. It was female going by the general shape and features, or so she presumed. It wore unusual clothing; dark blue leggings and some kind of lightweight shirt that was smooth to the touch. Her skin was pale looking and she had an unusual head of hair that was shoulder length and black.

Cora reached down and brushed some of the grey sand away from the face and then pulled one of the eyelids upwards. It revealed bright blue eyes. Upon seeing this Cora took in a sharp breath and pulled back quickly. She had never seen anything like this creature before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rangi Krishnan
• Release date: Mar 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463336458

Rangi Krishnan

Rangi (short for Ranganathan) Krishnan was born in 1962 in India. He arrived in New Zealand with his family in 1970 when his father secured a teaching position at the Tauranga Boys' College.He had a career in government for some time before deciding to explore other possibilities. After moving to Marton, a small town in the country, he was encouraged to write by the local Rangitikei Writers' Group and so it began...You can find other works and creative writings at https://www.ephiinspired.co.nzYou'll find, among lots of other things, a collection of short stories. These include:--Adventures in Book Coverland -- February 2020--Haunted House -- First published 1980 - The Hillsdene Reflector--Haunted House -- The Story Behind the Story - March 2020--Kitty Conundrum -- Interactive children's book for the android tablet but also available just as a story--Seesaw Kitty -- Interactive children's book for the android tablet but also available just as a story--Tiki Tour North Island -- Published May 2014--My Wife's Garden -- Published may 2014--Tiki Tour Wellington -- Published November 2013--Potatoes -- Written May 2019--The Future Of Parking Spaces -- Written June 2019--Tractors -- Written July 2019--Trampolines -- Written September 2019--Tidal Wave -- Written September 2019https://www.ephiinspired.co.nzTrust you will enjoy the writings.

Book preview

Synopsis

Genre: Medical/Cerebral/Science Fiction/Fantasy.

Emily suffers a small bleed in the brain and falls into a coma.  However, she finds herself waking up some place unknown and then goes about trying to unravel the mystery of the place all the while attempting to find a way to get back home.

The story touches on the nature of reality, how we learn, change in personality and other cool stuff - enjoy.

For my girls, Grace and Sacha:

Always time for a good yarn.

Acknowledgements

Also, a thank you to my friends, Sue and Marianne, for their feedback.

Published December 2019

Marton, New Zealand

© Copyright 2019 Rangi Krishnan

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Other Stories by the Author

Paladins Unbound

First Published November 2019

Available on website:

https://www.ephiinspired.co.nz

Haunted House -- First published 1980 – The Hillsdene Reflector

Kitty Conundrum -- Interactive children’s book for the android tablet but also available just as a story

Seesaw Kitty -- Interactive children’s book for the android tablet but also available just as a story

Tiki Tour North Island -- Published May 2014

My Wife’s Garden       -- Published may 2014

Tiki Tour Wellington -- Published November 2013

Potatoes -- Written May 2019

The Future Of Parking Spaces -- Written June 2019

Tractors -- Written July 2019

Trampolines -- Written September 2019

Tidal Wave -- Written September 2019

Paint It Black

Chapters

1. Admittance

2. Washed Up

3. Awakening

4. Daylight

6. Council

7. Decision

8. Beast

9. Bonfire

10. Mind Meld

11. Rescue

12. Acceptance

13. Storm

14. Anniversary

15. Sleeps Long Goodbye

Chapter One

Admittance

Memories are a fragile thing. Sometimes they are crystal clear and reflective like staring into a mirror. Other times, they are as elusive as the one that got away. And then there are times when there is a fine line between fantasy and reality. It’s a place in between where everything is illusion and at the same time, rooted in the real world.

Emily was in one of those states where everything was jumbled up. Her head was a rush of noise drowning out everything but the fleeting images that billowed in and out of her cinematic range. She couldn’t tell up from down or whether the person leaning over her was real or someone imagined. Then, without notice, everything was black and silent.

The doctor leaned over Emily from one side of the hospital bed where she lay, peering intently into her eyes pointing a small flashlight. He was a tall thin man, clean shaven with a dark complexion and receding hairline. He moved the light from side to side. The pupils remained fixed staring upward into nothing. There were family members standing on the other side of the bed awaiting the prognosis.

We’ve done the initial bloodwork and Emily is clean of any substances he said as he straightened up and casually slid the small flashlight into the top left pocket of his white house coat.

She is totally unresponsive. The initial scans showed a small bleed in the brain which caused a seizure. Upon seeing the concerned reaction to this news, he quickly continued:

But that appears to have settled with medication and there appears to be no serious brain damage detected which is good news.

Twenty four hours earlier, Emily’s parents, George and Catherine, had discovered their daughter collapsed on the floor of her bedroom. She had recently moved out of a flat in Wellington and back in with her parents as an interim measure.

The twenty three year old was breathing but they could not get her to respond. An ambulance was called and, with a myriad of emotions reflected on their faces, the two watched as the ambulance officers loaded their daughter into the back of the van.

Soon after, the pair jumped into their car and followed closely as the ambulance carted Emily off to Wellington hospital.

So, what’s going to happen now? asked George as he stared at his daughter while Catherine looked hopefully at the doctor.

At this stage we’ll just monitor her and with some luck your daughter should come out of her coma. We’ll do everything we can. In the meantime, we’ll make sure she is as comfortable as possible replied the doctor trying to reassure them.

Looking at the tired faces before him, he went on:

I suggest you two head on home and get some rest as you look like you could use some. If anything changes, we’ll get in touch with you.

Both Catherine and George nodded as the doctor left their presence to continue his rounds neither feeling reassured by his words. They stared at their daughter with worry and concern as Catherine continued to hold Emily’s hand.

But the doctor had been right about one thing; they were both feeling exhausted and could do with some rest. They had both remained near Emily since arriving at the hospital. Soon after, the couple gathered their belongings and grudgingly left their little girl in the care of hospital staff.

The drive home was subdued. George, a man in his forties and used to working with numbers felt completely out of his depth. He was used to dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s". He hated not knowing what was happening and knew this wasn’t something he could fix.

He hated not being in control; that was his wife’s domain. That’s probably why they worked well together he figured and said so jokingly on more than one occasion to their friends.

He had wanted to ask a lot of questions of the doctor but he also knew he would only get angrier as the ‘I don’t know’ answers piled up. They had told them as much as they knew and he knew they couldn’t tell them what they didn’t know. George also did not want to upset his wife any more than she already was, so he kept a tight rein on the incessant questions welling up in his mind.

He looked across at his wife who sat silently staring out the front windscreen although not really seeing anything. George knew it was a dumb question but he was going to ask anyway.

Are you okay sweetheart?

Catherine snapped her head towards George and let loose a tirade that started with What the hell George! and finally ended with the car door being slammed shut as the vehicle came to a standstill in their driveway.

He wasn’t sure whether it made his wife feel any better but in some weird way, it had relieved some of the tension that had been building up within him. He smiled at the absurdity of this as he watched his wife make her way to the front door of their house.

In the house, Catherine busied herself in the kitchen preparing something to eat and drink; not that she felt like eating anything, but because it kept her from thinking too much. Rambo started rubbing himself around her ankles purring loudly and Catherine placed a plate of food down on the floor. The big ginger cat did not hesitate and got stuck in devouring the meal as it had been some time since he last ate.

She heard the front door close as George entered the house. She heard his heavy footsteps as he made his way upstairs. Catherine knew him well enough to know that he had somehow managed to be extremely restrained throughout this whole ordeal and she was grateful for this.

The jug boiled and turned itself off. Catherine reached for it and poured the hot water into two mugs mixing the coffee as she did so. Then she gathered the two mugs in one hand, a plate of corned beef sandwiches in the other and headed upstairs to join her husband.

As Catherine entered the bedroom, she heard the water running in their ensuite bathroom. George looked up from where he was seated on the edge of the bed. He watched her as she made her way towards him.

She wasn’t very tall and her long dark hair