WC: 872 "Are you okay?" My eyes fluttered open to meet the source of the sweet, soothing voice of the beautiful young lady sitting at my bedside. My eyes met her misty cobalt stare and my face went red within seconds. I tried to look away and feign ignorance, but the electrocardiogram machine I was hooked up to refused to cover for me. The rush of adrenaline from having fallen head over heels for this bewitching blonde bombshell wore out within seconds, and a pang of pain washed over my right shoulder as I tried to adjust my body into a more comfortable position. I let out a soft yelp under my breath. "What's wrong?" she asked. "It hurts…" "I'm sure it does." She placed her bony, manicured hand on my head and began combing my hair with her glossy nails while asking me, "Do you remember anything that happened before you passed out?" "No, ma'am," I answered. "All I know is that my shoulder is really sore." I tried placing my hand on the spot that I found sore only for an even more intense pang of pain to rush through my body as soon as the tip of my finger grazed the tender flesh. The young lady giggled. "You can call me Melody," she said. "I want you to know the alien you tried to fight impaled you all the way through your shoulder," she said. "You passed out due to blood loss, and the only reason you're alive is because you happened to have a magic healer around." "Melody… I'll remember that," I told her. Turning my head towards her, I looked at her, flashed the most quizzical stare I could muster in her direction, and asked, "What's this about a magic healer, though?" "Yeah. Me." The girl's smile was radiant, beaming even, and I could make out a healthy helping of pride in her tone of voice. With the hand that wasn't attached to the injured shoulder, I rubbed my chin and mumbled, "So magic is real… I have a question, though." "Fire away," said Melody. "I'm sure you have a ton more where that came from at this point, so—" I cut Melody off before practically yelling out, "Can you make me feel less pain?" Melody's flirty, prideful demeanor shifted into a disappointed squint. "Nice try, kiddo," she said. "Do you have any idea how much magical energy I expended to stitch up your damned shoulder? I'm gonna have to wait a week, maybe two if I want to get my magical energy back to full." "Yikes… was it really that bad?" I asked Melody. "Was it that bad, you ask? Of course it was! Would you think I'd be here if it wasn't?" "Well, I'm willing to bet you just wanted to capitalize on the chance to earn points with a stud muffin such as myself." I couldn't believe I managed to say this with a straight face, but there we were. Now it was Melody's turn to go beet red. "In your dreams," she said. "After I sat next to you in the ambulance, this is the thanks I get…" she grumbled to herself. "You were really brave out there, though. It's not everyday that a commoner without any powers steps in to try and fisticuffs an alien that's a head taller than him. You'll always be a hero in my book, even if you took a pretty fat L back there." "Maybe it's for the best I don't remember, then," I told Melody. "Yeah. I got secondhand embarrassment watching you fight, honestly," she said. I hoped she was joking. She stood up from her chair and dusted off her skirt. "I'm really glad you're okay now. I hope your wound recovers fully, and soon." The way that last sentence was phrased, implying that there's a chance my shoulder would never heal fully, struck me as concerning, but I decided to shake the thought off, as I had more important matters to address… …like the fact that this beautiful woman is standing up and leaving while I'm strapped to a hospital bed! I called out for her as she was midway through opening the door and called for her, practically screaming out "Wait!" She stopped at the door frame. Without turning around, she asked me, "What is it?" "I haven't gotten the chance to thank you the way I'd like to. If possible, do you think, uh…" Melody cut me off, saying, "If you're going to ask for my number, I already wrote it down on a sticky note. You should check in your drawer. Give me a call when you get discharged; we could get some ice cream or something." "Ice cream sounds nice. I'll let you know." "It's a date, then." "Is it?" "Shut up." With that being said, the door closed. The pain started seeping in little by little, but the feeling paled in comparison to the thrill of the moment. This was how my crazy adventure began, with a broken shoulder leaving lingering aches in its wake in exchange for a flood of hope and joy that I wouldn't trade for the world. My name is Ben Pearson, and this was my story.