The hospital bed
Hello my old friend
I was hoping I wouldn’t
See you again
—
The nurses are great
They work so hard
Those in power don’t notice
Until they’ve raised a placard
—
Someone mentioned patients
Can no longer get flowers
Days and nights merge as one
I count down the hours
—
I lay here hoping…
Waiting for the doctor to say
“You’re finally well enough
To be on your way.”
She swallowed the concoction, trying not to wretch as it burned its way down her throat. It was the only way, the way to see what had come before and what would come next, her spirit journey her grandmother had called it. Sure it had settled within her she closed her eyes sending a silent prayer to her grandmother, 
then opened them and gazed into the burning flame. The dancing embers relaxed and calmed her and soon her mind emptied of all thoughts just focussed on the glowing gambolling flickers of light. Soon they merged as one and a face reflected in the flames, at first she didn’t recognise it but soon she realised it was her own aged features that were looking back at her as the realisation hit her the journey took over.
***********************************************************************
Flinching at the light she blinked wildly. Where was she? The harsh white room didn’t look like anywhere she had been and the smell was so invasive. It was a hospital, a modern hospital. But why? Her people did not attend hospitals, they had no need, they had years of medical knowledge that had been lost or ignored by so many of today’s world.
“Hello?” she shouted but no-one answered. She looked at the machines but they made no sense. Giving up she tugged on the thing that was linked into her arm. It hurt but she thought she would get it loose, she gave another sharp tug and it came out. She rifled through the drawers in her cabinet and came across her clothes and a head scarf, that would do. She quickly got changed then wrapped her headscarf around her arm where the hospital thing had been.
Slowly she emerged from the room and out into the corridors. Everything seemed so quiet. Walking to the closest doorway she peered inside. Gasping at the sight, it was Merriam, the group elder, everything bandaged except her face. She tried to open the door but it wouldn’t move. She moved on slowly, guilt already consuming her at the thought of leaving Merriam behind. At the next door, she could see four beds in the room, two people were turned away from her but the two people closest she could see clearly, Abel and John. Again they were both fully bandaged but their faces were exposed, their bodies asleep. She tried the door but again it wouldn’t open. She turned to move down the corridor again but as she looked down her feet were bare, the clothes she had put on had vanished and she found herself once again in the hospital gown. She tried to move forward but her feet rebelled and she found herself returning back to her room and climbing into the bed. As she glanced once more at her scarf covered arm it had vanished and the thing had reappeared back in her arm. Despite her will to stay awake, her body refused and down her eyelids closed.
***********************************************************************
When she awoke the flames had died down and the cold that surrounded her bit into her skin. Ignoring it she pulled a blanket and rose to her feet. She had to go warn Merriam of what she had seen. Something bad was about to happen to her people, she knew it and she had to stop it. She prayed Merriam would listen.
I love this image, so intriguing. If you want to give it a go too, head over to Sue’s Page Thursday Photo Prompt – Flames #writephoto and join in the prompt.KL 
On this day… 5th May, 1864 – Nellie Bly born
Nellie Bly (May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922) was the pen name of American journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. She was a ground-breaking reporter known for a record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne’s fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field, and launched a new kind of investigative journalism. In addition to her writing, she also was an industrialist, inventor, and charity worker.
About the Writing
Known for developing modern day reporting methods, 
she once went undercover at an insane asylum, where she did such a convincing job of playing “crazy” that doctors, and even the police, refused to let her out. After ten days pleading her sanity, she was released, bailed out by her former editor. Bly spent two hours soaking in a warm bath, then sat down to pen two controversial stories revealing what she had seen and how she had been treated in the “madhouse.”
Bly’s “inside” stories resulted in a heightened awareness of societal problems, and this awareness in turn opened the way in many cases to real social change. As a woman writing about her travels around the world, she opened doors for other women to lead heroic lives and achieve ambitious personal and professional goals.
Did You Know?
The character of Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) in American Horror Story: Asylum is inspired by Nellie Bly’s experience in the asylum.
New2Writing 