Through the curtains I hear voices, pink as candy-floss.
Is this my merry-go-round? Future, present or my past?
An angel approaches, her wings are broken but her hair is gold.
“Are you awake, sweetie?” — she watches from above.
“Xylophone” — I mutter.
“Of course” — she sighs nonplussed.
I have memories. Shards of glass inside a kaleidoscope, turning and transforming. Speeding down the highway, sound of engines, smell of failing brakes.
“Veronica” — I whisper.
The angel strokes my brow, bend her head towards me.
I feel the warmth of her lips against mine.
Is this an end, or a new beginning?
The picture really had something dreamlike in it, and I imagine this to be the type of memory you would have after waking from a coma.
Rochelle selects the picture, we try to find a story somewhere in it and capture it in 100 words. Join the challenge if you dare.
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Interesting take, Bjorn. I felt the dreamlike quality
I saw that dream in the picture…
Beautifully written and told Björn. It’s full of mystery.
I imagine it to be a bit like that pre-lucid moment of wakening from deep sleep.
Yes, especially with the random muttering of ‘xylophone’.
Wow. That was an amazing take on the prompt.
Thank you… sometimes it takes a while to imagine…
Oh, clever!
Thank you …
Great story! I love the way you write.
I try to evolve my writing every week…
Wow – that was so fascinating and thought provoking. Beautifully done – really loved it!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Thank you… a bit hallucinogenic maybe
Love the surreal touches and the terrifying flashback. I hope it is a new beginning for him.
I hope it is… though I think it will be a start with new challenges.
There is a dream-like quality to your story.
Thank you… it comes directly from the image
That was definitely dream-like, Björn. Beautifully done.
Thank you… i wonder what kind of visions and mix of senses you would have after waking up.
Me? Or him? 😉
Or me 🙂
☺😎
The cadence of your words brings out the dream quality, a feeling of lost time.
A lot of lost time I think… just like the faded image.
The imagery and synesthesia–so good. The paragraph: I have memories etc.–magnifique.
Thank you.. I will always remember how you introduced me to synesthesia… in this case a real medical effect I think
The last line is the perfect question. Waking from a coma must be the most disturbing thing ever.
I have only experience from waking up from surgery… I expect coma being that times ten.
I think so!
Sounds like his mind is pulling images back together like all those kaleidoscope flakes to make some sense of where he is. Well done.
I remember waking up from surgery… and it was a bit like this actually (without the trauma)
i feel that he has survived the accident and given a new lease on life. great writing.
I think so too..
I know what you mean about the dreamlike quality. I’m glad you ran with that. If he’s waking from a coma, I wonder if it’s a new beginning. I liked the kaleidoscope imagery. Made me think of a shattering windshield.
It is probably a new (and changed) beginning.
Wow! Unique take. And a new beginning, always 🙂
I think so… wonder how it will be.
Nicely done. A new beginning, I hope.
I hope so to.
The picture did have a dream-like quality to it. You used that well.
Thank you… I tried to imagine it.
I’ve read a lot of near-death experience books. This reads like an excerpt from one. You captured it very well.
Thank you… I tried to imagine… and I am glad it worked
Great take on the prompt. I love your description of the ‘angel’ – “her wings are broken but her hair is gold.”
Thank you… It’s always nice to create images with words… a bit like painting.
In the twilight zone. Beautifully written.
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Twilight or hopefully dawn.
Definitely has that groggy waking up feel. It made me think of The Dead Zone, where the protagonist goes into a coma after a visit to the fair…
I had not heard about that… what a great connection to the picture.
Dear Björn,
Beautiful and dreamlike. Love this!
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you.. .I love to experiment with different styles.
The beginning, a new beginning, the newest beginning. Loved the ethereal feel of your prose, Bjorn. So refreshing.
There is always a new beginning until it’s not.
And when it’s not its the end… making way for another beginning. ❄️🌈
Beautifully written. I had her as dead and in heaven rather than waking from a coma but once pointed in that direction I can see it. I agree there was a dreamlike quality to the picture and the way you wrote it made me think of looking through a mist.
I think it may feel like coming out of a mist when you wake from a coma.
I wouldn’t be surprised.
Love the dreamlike way you took the prompt. I slipped past the title on my first read, but catching it makes all the difference. What a terrifying thing to wake up from.
But waking up is maybe better than the alternative.
Hopefully!
So beautiful!
Thank you
That was lovely – and now I’m going to have to ask my mum if she remembers what she saw when she came out of her coma!
I wonder how it feels… most of this feeling was coming from experience from anesthesia
Loved the kaleidoscopic imagery.
Thank you…. let those colors swirl
Beautiful story, and you’re right, it is kinda like that.
I think it might… sometimes it can be like this waking up from sleep
From personal experience, there is an ‘unreal’ quality to reality. I was medical coma’d for 4 days… I could hear the world around me, couldn’t see it, tried to call out when in pain but couldn’t…. it was like being trapped in helle…and I mean that in the worst way. Needless to say, I now have a DNR order tucked in my wallet at all times, and a tat on my chest (only tat).
I really liked your approach with this story. Wonderfully expressed.
Half the fun is trying to find your very own angle.
I vote for new beginning.
I think so too.
The prompt gave me a dreamy type impression also. Probably the blurred edges. Great story.
And those faded colors too.
Definitely conveys the feeling of drifting through consciousness and dreaming. Nice one.
Waking up is always mixing of what’s real and what’s not
You paint the broken and disjointed thoughts and memories of waking so well. I’m holding out for a new beginning.
I hope so too.
Nice read
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Full of great imagery.
(Have a look at book “Lincoln in the Bardo”
Nice
Beautiful, ethereal. Especially the way you read it.
Great descriptions, Bjorn. You had us there with you. Good writing. 🙂 — Suzanne
I found myself really drawn in to this story – nicely done
That touched me. I work with lights and sirens.
Have you heard about my NuCompanion device? It is a companion for creative people who tend to stick to themselves and don’t talk much. Also, but haven’t tested it yet, for people in coma.