by C. D. Sampson

Created on: March 06, 2010

               No Color

Two days after his accident at Rincon Point, world champion surfer Dana Mathers opened his grey, thin-slit, eyes. He turned his head slightly and through a patchwork of red, blue, and purple flowers caught sight of his mother sitting on a couch reading a paperback. “Hi Mom. Is your book interesting?” he said.

 “Oh!” Mrs. Mathers said. She dropped her book on the coffee table. It landed with a loud bang and scattered several half-full coffee cups. She hurried to the side of his bed and kissed him on the forehead

 “Hello son, how are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, I guess,” he said, “Except my head hurts and my mouth is really dry. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s out in the hall waiting for the doctor to return with the results of the x-rays.”

He pointed toward the large nylon strap fastened across his forehead. “What’s this for? They’re not afraid I’ll try to escape are they?”

“They told me they put the brace on you so wouldn’t get up or move, so don’t. I’ll go get Dad.”

She smiled at him once again before she walked out the door and into the hall. A moment later, the sound of his mother’s piercing cry broke the silence of his room. Dana pushed himself up, breaking the nylon restraint.

“Mom! Mom! What’s wrong?”

He reached his hand over to the large red button on the wall beside him and pushed it. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t budge. Grabbing them with his hands, he shook each one as if he were trying to wake them up. The alarm aired a deafening, dissonant, buzz.  A hospital aide rushed in, reset the buzzer, and put his hand on Dana’s chest to restrain him. A tall man wearing a white coat walked into the room. Dana’s parents followed behind. At the sight of his mother, he relaxed and lay back down. The aide lifted his hand from Dana’s chest and hurried out quietly. As the man in the white coat and his parents lined up beside his bed, Dana’s father wiped tears from his eyes and then said, “Hello son, I am glad to see you’re conscious and safe.”

“I am safe, but not sound, right?”

 “I better let the doctor explain,” he said.

 The man wearing the white coat, leaned down over Dana. He ran a large hand through his

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