The alarming sound of pending death was heard through the corridors of Mercy Hospital on that quiet night, as nurses and other medical personnel attended to Cynthia Ramsey’s body which had flat-lined just a little over a minute ago.  “Nurse, please clear the area around Ms. Ramsey’s bed, I can hear a faint heartbeat”.

“What is going on with me? I keep passing out…; I know nobody can hear me, I am at a hospital somewhere in Arizona.  That bastard killed our daughter and then the idiot went ahead and turned the gun on himself, pfft! …loser!”

“Nurse, I am hearing a steady but faint heartbeat but she is not reacting to anything, …she’s in a coma for the time being.  Please make sure she remains stable and alert me if there is any change.” “Yes, doctor”.

“Wow, that soft warm sunlight coming in through the hospital window is bathing my room in a warm yellow glow.  the warmth feels so good on my body… Hmmm, but I still don’t understand why I have those thoughts of my dad and those mangy noisy seagulls so deep in my thoughts that I can practically smell them AS WELL as hear them.”   “My dad? why am I thinking of my dad anyways? I havent seen him in over 10 years.  he wasn’t Gus’ biggest fan and when I told him I was moving in with Gus, he basically disowned me and hasn’t made any effort to contact me, not even when I called him to tell him he was a grandfather, he never picked up the phone.  I’m sure he was there monitoring the answering machine.  So if my dad hasn’t really been a big part of my life for over a third of it, why is he appearing in my ‘dreams’? well…. actually, I really do not remember ‘dreaming’ of my dad at all.  Actually I just remembered being with him when I first noticed the seagulls, but that’s about it.”  “the seagulls, yes the seagulls… to be honest, I actually always liked hearing them; in fact… oh my gosh! if I try hard enough I can hear them now…!”

“Nurse, how is Ms. Ramsey doing today?” “Well Detective Lopez, I am afraid that she is still in a coma, although I have never seen anyone in a coma display such activity in their brain …if you will.” “What makes you say that, nurse?” “well… look at her eye lids, the eyes underneath them are darting back and forth so rapidly.”  “yes nurse, I believe they call it R.E.M. …rapid eye movement.  I believe it means the the subject is having extremely vivid dreams, right?”  “correct, detective Lopez.”

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

“Nurse, vitals please?” “Doctor, her blood pressure is all over the map, she needs to be stablized or we will lose her…”Cynthia’s eyes tried to adjust once again to the warm sunlight enveloping her room with a soft yellow hue.  Funny thing… the times she has been awake in her dismal hospital room, she never really remembered it being so bright and cheery and with this yellowish tint giving it the sense of a beautiful Summer morning complete with the sound of seagulls and the relaxing ocean waves.  “W-w-what? I am dreaming of ocean waves now? I must really be going crazy… I am in a hospital room in the middle of Arizona somewhere and I am hearing seagulls AND the ocean right out of my window!?!?”  “But wait… I think I can open my eyes, hmmm.”

Cynthia’s eyes kept struggling to focus on her surroundings, everything was fuzzy, but covered with that warm yellow sunlight.  She raised her hands to her eyes in order to rub them.  The feeling felt by her eyes was that of pure delight, just like she used to feel in happier days when she would wake up as a teenager in her room in San Diego.

Cynthia attempted to sit up on her hospital bed, she was surprised at how effortless it seemed. she was now sitting up, the back of her hands rubbed the outer eyelids into some semblance of focus.

“Wow, I feel so relaxed…, I am sitting up in my bed, my hospital room is filled with the most beautiful yellow warmth of a perfect Summer morning and the sound of seagulls flying over what seems like a marina, the sound of the ocean waves crashing along the pier.

“Nurse! we are losing her! please, hand me the paddles!” “Doctor, her BP is dropping fast!” “Stand back! 1, 2, 3, CLEAR!!” “no response doctor”, “once again… stand back! 1, 2, 3, CLEAR!!”

Cynthia was trying to make sense of her surroundings and was beginning to be able to see more shapes in her room when the sensation of being pulled by her hair alarmed her.  “What are they doing to me?” please stop! don’t wake me up, I am finally feeling… I am feeling… ‘happy’? but how can I be happy? my daughter was now dead! I cannot understand why I-I-I…”

The sound of the seagulls calling out to each other outside her window startled Cynthia once again. “those seagulls….”   Cynthia held on as she tried to get up.  “…and those ocean waves crashing on a ‘pier’, they sound so real… I must get up and see for myself.”

As Cynthia eyes finished focusing, she still managed to stub her toe on the coffee table in the middle of her room. “OUCH! what the heck??!? who put this table in the middle of my room?”  Cynthia started to massage her stubbed toe only to realize that it didn’t hurt at all. “Hmmm… that is strange, it’s not hurting me at all.”

“Wait… the soft yellow light all around my room, the seagulls right outside my window, the soothing sound of crashing waves on a pier, YES A PIER! and… and… the white couch and the short white coffee table…???”

wait! this is…, this is…  I am Home.”

EPILOGUE:

Thank you all for taking the time to read this story.  It is an honor to be allowed to share this with all of you.  This story has been very special to me simply because it was a great way to exemplify to others the wonders that PlayStation Home has been to many of us.  I have personally witnessed several incidents of individuals who have cried out either for attention or even for help from their ‘real’ lives.