I awoke to a bright light overhead. My brain was far from confused. “Am I in heaven”, I thought. “Oh my God, she’s awake”, I heard a woman’s voice cry. Then I saw a familiar face standing over me; my mother. I could hear other people in the room with us and when they stood over me as well, I could recognize some and others, I didn’t know. My parents and my older brother were there and the people who I didn’t recognize were dressed in white coats; noticeably doctors and nurses.

“What’s going on”, I whispered, my words slightly slurred. They seemed to understand me, despite my recent speech impairment. “You were in a car accident Autumn”, my father replied. My eyes widened; a car accident?! “You were hit by a drunk driver and you’ve been in a coma for the past three weeks”, one of the nurses added.

So everything; Neverland, the angels, the fallen angels, Alexander, Dongho, they were a dream? A coma induced dream? None of it ever happened? I tried to sit up in my hospital bed, but all the IVs in me pulled my wrists and hands. I squealed in pain. The nurses rushed to the side of the bed to pull the lever on the bed to sit me up.

“You mean to tell me that these past three weeks, I’ve been in a coma?” Everyone nodded. “Wha—what happened to the other driver?” “Typical Autumn”, my brother laughed. I glared at him. “What do you mean “typical me”?” “You just woke up from a coma and you’re already concerned about someone else? You should worry about yourself for a change.” “Well, I want to know what happened to him.”

“The bastard’s fine. Not a scratch on him. All he got was a fine and a nasty hangover”, my brother replied. “Considering what he did to you, his better be in jail by the time you’re out of the hospital.” “How long will I be in here for?” “Judging by the fact you just woke up from a coma, we’ll assess you another few days and go from there. If everything seems okay, we’ll release you”, the doctor explained.

“Well, if I have to be in here for a while, can someone please get me laptop”, I whined. I’ve only been awake for fifteen minutes and I’m already bored. “Here, I’ve been using it”, my brother said handing it to me. “Thanks.”

“We’re going to get something to eat Autumn. We’ll be down in the cafeteria if you need anything”, my father said. I nodded. After everyone left, I turned my laptop on and went into the internet. I checked my Facebook, seeing all these posts to my wall, praying for me to get better and such. I posted my own status saying I’m fine and the doctors said I should be out in about a week.

I suddenly got an itch on my neck. When I went to scratch it, I felt a chain around it. I pulled on it to look at the pendant. My eyes widened when I saw that it was the necklace Eli had given me; his name and the inscription the same as in my “dream”. Maybe it wasn’t a dream after all.

Hmm, I wonder. I typed in Google and searched for recent disappearances in our area; none. Then I tried ones from about a few years ago. Several popped up, but the only one that caught my eye was the headline that read, “High School Senior Disappearance, Possible Kidnapping?” I clicked on it and there, right next to the article headline was a picture of Eli, his senior portrait.

“18 year old Ellison Kim was reported missing since last night. His parents, Andrew and Emily Kim, told reporters that he had gone out with some friends to the carnival that was in town. No one has seen him since then. His two friends who he went to the carnival with, Aaron Kwak and Sungyeol Lee, informed us that the three of them went into the carnival around 10 pm, after it was already closed. The two friends told Eli that they wanted to go home, but he insisted they go in. “We went to the fortune teller’s tent, but Eli was the only one who went inside”, Aaron stated. “Eli had drunk earlier that night at a party we went to and he wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind”, Lee added. “We left shortly after Eli went into the tent.” The missing teen’s parents were disgusted with their son’s friends’ accusations saying, “Our son was a good kid. He would never drink underage.” Any information concerning Eli Kim’s disappearance, contact the newspaper at 587-889-1225.”

I looked around for a phone. When I saw my cell phone sitting on the table beside my hospital bed, I reached for it, dialing the number to the newspaper as fast as I could. It rang about five times before someone picked up. “Hello, I have some information about the Eli Kim case.” “That case has been cold for two years now.” “I know, but, please just let me get in touch with Mr. and Mrs. Kim. I have something of their son’s that they might want.” “Do you have anything to do with his disappearance?” “No, all I know is that he’s alive, but he doesn’t want to come home.” The man sighed. “Well, he was 18, so we couldn’t classify him as a run-away. *pause* Fine I’ll give you their address, but if you do something bad to them, I’ll have you arrested, you got that kid?” “Yes sir. I’m in a hospital bed, I don’t think I can do much from here.” “Okay here’s their address---