You were sleeping so soundly! But morning wind is necessary for your health too, you know. Besides you need breakfast and your morning meds," The nurse said as she opened the window curtains.

"I think my sleep cycle is a bit messed up. But, seriously? Do I need to take all those meds again? It does feel a bit bright though," John replied.

The curtains by the window were gently moving like flowing water. John realized that the morning sun was rather different than his dream world. The sunlight was rather warm but comforting in Entrock but the same didn't apply for the earth, as the sunlight here was brighter and painfully hot. Maybe it was because of the fact that the area John lived in was a tropical region and it was summer; but who knows.

"But of course. They are necessary. Now eat up. You will go through a final checkup today. If everything is alright then you will get released this afternoon," The nurse said with a smile.

"That sounds great," John smiled as well.

John drank the warm soup slowly. Afterward, he took the meds one by one with a bitter face. The nurse left soon after. He felt alone but that gave him the opportunity to appreciate the world he had assumingly dreamt off. Sometime later Kyle and Mariah entered the room.

"Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" Asked Kyle.

"I'm fine. Where's dad?" Said, John.

"You know him. That workaholic jerk," Explained Mariah as she remembered how hard, Edward worked.

"Haha. He never changes," John said.

"Are you really alright, John?" Inquired Mariah as she was genuinely concerned.

"Actually much better than yesterday, Mom,"

"That's great," Mariah looked somewhat relieved.

"By the way John, what should we do about your studies? Do you want to continue from this year or start from the next?" Kyle inquired with a smirk.

"I think I need some time to think about that," John replied with his poker face.

"Yes. Give it a good long thought. It's your future after all," said Mariah.

"I know, mom," Answered John as he smiled.

"Are you taking your medicines? What about the food? Are the doctors treating you with enough care?" Mariah still seemed worried.

"Calm down mom. Everything is alright," John tried to console her.

"I can't help but worry, John,"

"I'm really okay, mom,"

Mariah looked relieved to hear that from John. In these past two years, she lost about twenty pounds of weight just by worrying too much. Turned out that the brain consumes quite a lot of energy as one worries. However, after seeing John last night her mental health had dramatically improved. It's not often, your son awakens from a full two-year coma.

"Miss Nurse, my little bro hasn't done anything weird to you, has he?" Kyle asked as he made an inquiring face.

"Oh no. He's such a gentle kid," replied the nurse.

"Oh! Gentle? Sounds kind of fishy," Said Kyle as he expressed suspicion.

"Oh! Come on. Am I trusted that little?" John protested.

"Indeed! Ah ah-hah haha," Said Kyle as he burst into laughter.

"Geez. Something is wrong with this world," John looked annoyed.

"Enough teasing Kyle. Let's go. You have work, remember?" Said Mariah as she giggled.

"That reminds me, did you get any promotions?"

"Sadly just one. I've been made a senior officer."

"I'm still surprised that you can actually handle that bank job," Exclaimed John as Kyle wasn't the desk job type. Yet surprisingly he hung in there.

"Practice makes a man perfect. Besides, that job was actually bliss for me. Bye, buddy. I need to head to the office now, or my boss will have my head,"

"I need to do some household works too," Said Mariah.

"Bye guys. Take care," John said.

"First take care of yourself then worry about others," Replied Mariah with an orderly tone.

"You got me there, mom," John replied as he giggled.

Mariah and Kyle left while laughing. At noon the doctors conducted a CT scan of John's whole body. The scanning process felt tedious to John. John was not a big fan of getting inside a large rotating machine like that. Maybe that's why he never liked cars or any moving vehicles. Or was it because he had motion sickness? We'll never know. Afterward, they started questioning John.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Your scans show that you are physically healthy. But how do you feel? Any fatigue; or uneasiness at all?" Said the male doctor. He was a middle-aged man; was rather harsh, as he talked about, John's condition.

"Yes. I feel very uneasy from the scan. Can we not skip these things at all?" John answered in a choppy tone.

"Of course not! Any real issues I should be concerned about?" The male doctor asked with a suspicious look.

"To be honest I still feel a bit doubtful about those dreams. John said and consequently thought, "You talk as though that's not your problem! I'm paying you, you know! Or rather my family is."

"You mean, about your adventures?" Said the female doc. She seemed like, she recently became a doctor. She was rather polite and that felt quite charming to John.

"Yes," John said and thought, "What else would I mean!? Am I the only person who thinks that this whole thing feels weird?"

"Don't worry, that's normal. This often happens to recovered coma patients,"

"You can stay in the hospital for a few more days if you want to," Said the male doctor in an uninterested tone.

"No doc. I think I need some fresh air."

"Why the hell would anybody would want to stay in this mess!?" John thought.

"I see. In that case, I will contact your parents. If all the paperwork is complete then you would be discharged as early as this afternoon. However don't overthink things from now on," Said the male doc.

"Thank you for the doc, "

"I hope you fall by the stairs or something." John thought

"Don't forget to take your meds," The female doctor politely advised John.

"Of course. Please be safe. I wouldn't want your beauty to be ruined," John thought as he fantasized.

The doctors left after finishing the checkup. Soon a different nurse brought lunch and some meds. She was also rather young. "This hospital is amazing. Maybe I should have stayed after all!" John thought.

"More soup? Awe, come on!" Exclaimed John.

"Don't behave like a child. You're a grown man aren't you?" Said the nurse.

"Really!? Grown man? Would you go out with me in that case?"

"Aww, you have a poor taste of humor,"

"Damn it, she's pitying me! Was my sense of humor always this low?"

"Take your meds too afterward," with a sigh the nurse said after checking John's vitals on the monitor as it was a routine thing to do.

"By the way, where's Miss Elle?"

"She's on break. Now, finish your meal,"

John drinks the soup with a despair full face and the meds with an agonizing one. The nurse left soon after. John felt constantly isolated but he didn't have regrets. Around three o'clock the nurse- Elle visited John.

"I heard you are going to be released soon,"

"Yeah. It's a shame I won't be able to see you anymore. Wow, that was fast!"

"Don't lose hope. You might get another chance next time,"

"In that case, I'll break a leg and come back right away,"

"Hahaha. Don't bother,"

"Awe! Miss Elle, do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Curiosity,"

"I have a younger sister who's a first-year high school student,"

"Which high school?"

"Not telling." The nurse giggled as she finished the final run-through of John's vitals; checking for anomalies.

John sat there with a disappointed look. Elle left the room promptly. After some time Kyle came and informed John that he will be discharged now. Kyle headed back to complete the rest of the paperwork. John couldn't stand to be inside the room anymore. Thus John slowly got up and left the room only to bump into a young girl in the hallway.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going," Said John in a dramatic way.

"Shut up four eyes. Are you blind or something? How dare you crash into me!?" Replied the girl that crashed into John. she had decent clothing yet looked quite fit.

"What! You're the one who crashed into me!"

"I don't have time for this. Next time, watch it four eyes,"

"Wait; have we met before?"

"I don't remember ever meeting a dumbass like you,"

"What a tomboy and yet what a body!" John thought.

John met up with Kyle and headed home. On his way, he noticed that lots of old buildings were demolished and new ones had arisen. The scenery did seem rather foreign to John. Their house too had changed. The furniture, decorations, were all different.

The garden in the back of the house had loads of plants that John couldn't even recognize. The living room's big TV got even bigger. The most shocking discovery was that John's black and white TV had died from a short circuit.

John's room was on the second floor and so was Kyle's. John's room was the same as ever. His room had a fridge, a single bookshelf, a king-sized bed, and some useless other furniture. John called his furniture useless as he never used them, to begin with; especially the chair and the table. The bookshelf was rather sad though as he rarely read the books, to begin with. The dusty room sent him back to memory lane. While sitting on his own chair in his room, John thought about his studies. All of his friends were in college. Should he start college and skip high school? This thought bothered him for a while. After some time he thought that he would definitely not skip high school. "How could I leave behind beautiful girls at such a delicate age?" John thought with a smirk on his face.

Soon the Browns started having their family dinner. The room was packed with different furniture. The ceiling even had an oversized chandelier. From the outside, it was a normal dining room, yet from the inside, anybody could tell that quite a bit of effort was put into decorating that room.

"How is the food, John?" Asked Mariah.

"It's really delicious. I was sick of soups. Is it me or does the chandelier look bigger?" Replied John.

"Don't forget to take the meds afterward," Kyle said in an annoying tone.

"I know, I know."

"We all know you must be forced to take meds. So don't play dumb John," Said Mariah.

"Don't spoil him too much. He needs to learn what's good for him, himself," Exclaimed Edward.

"Seriously honey, give it a rest already," Mariah said.

"By the way, where is Erica?" John asked. He hadn't seen Erica today at all.

"Apparently she won't be visiting us for a while," replied Kyle.

"Got dumped already?"

"In your dreams. She's busy with work,"

"What kind of work does she do?"

"She's a loan officer in our northeastern branch,"

"Oh, so your relationship with her changed from business to romance! Ah! So that's what you meant by finding bliss in work, huh?" John looked annoyingly happy.

"Don't be so jealous little brother,"

"Why should I be jealous of you!?"

"Hahaha. Do I have to spell it for you?"

"Don't bother. Anyway, I'm done so I'll be heading to my room,"

"Already? Alright go and take your meds and get plenty of rest too," Mariah said.

"I know mom,"

John left the dining room. After coming back to his room John took the meds with a bitter face. Afterward, John lied down and tried to think about the last two years. "Everything feels so hazy now. Were they really just dreams?" Soon John fell asleep and dreamt of Entrock.