***
Rhapsody let out a tired sigh as she kicked off her shoes in her apartment. She had stayed at the hospital until three in the morning, expecting Aria to awaken at any moment. The fact that she was singing had given her hope that the young woman would awaken soon, but her brain activity had remained unresponsive throughout the entire night.
Unable to make her mind calm down enough for sleep, she grabbed her tablet from the nightstand and began flipping through the latest news articles. She began chewing her lower lip as she saw the toddler’s mother on the first article in Google News. The reporters had obviously gotten their grubby hands on her after the doctors had discharged her son with a few light bandages.
The first headline was titled: GIRL IN COMA HEALS BURN VICTIMS THROUGH SINGING.
Doctors are still refusing to comment on the miraculous recovery of a toddler treated at the Harbor View Burn Center, but the mother of the toddler claims that the teenage victim from last week’s acid attack healed her son through song, even though she is in a coma. Several YouTube videos have surfaced throughout the day showing the young coma patient singing in an unknown language. Linguistic experts have confirmed that the words depicted in the songs are not gibberish, but an actual language. Without a frame of reference to decode the language, the translation of her words will remain a mystery. Neurologist Mike Draper claims that even if it is another language, the chances of her being able to translate it if she ever awakens are slim. Most coma patients do not remember anything that occurs while unconscious.
Several other burn victims were discharged around the same time who also claimed their injuries were healed through song. Lacking any confirmation from the doctors who work at the burn center, most people are taking these claims with a grain of salt.
Rhapsody frowned as she looked at the comments below the article. It was amazing how obnoxious some people could be when hidden by the cloak of anonymity. She could understand the doubt some people expressed, but the name-calling and character abuse was inexcusable. The user names were as silly as the views expressed in most comments.
User: OnlyJesusHeals – ‘Don’t beleive this article! This girl is pozzesed by a devil! Is it not written: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.’
User: AllFundisGoToHell – ‘What is it with u crazy religious nutjobs! This is a freaking hoax, nothing more! How freaking gullible can u b? Healing with music? OMG, u people r SOOO freaking stupid! And lern hwo to splle!’
User: IAmTheAntiChrist – ‘Can you think of a better place for my master to come into this world than a burn center? Gates of Hell anyone?’
User: IWasThere – ‘I was there, and saw it with my own eyes! I watched the neurologists arguing with each other about it being impossible, even after they made sure all of their equipment was working. Dr. Lorenzo admitted to everyone in the room that the only possible explanation for the events was that Aria’s consciousness was residing outside of her brain. This is NOT a hoax! If you don’t believe me, go set yourself on fire and you’ll find out firsthand!’
Rhapsody pursed her lips at the last comment, sorting through her perfect memory for a matching face to the comment. Whoever they were, they knew who Dr. Lorenzo was. None of the hospital staff or patients would have suggested that someone set themselves on fire, so it had to have been one of the visitors. There had been several relatives accompanying the other burn patients who witnessed Maria’s miraculous recovery. The fact that they spelled consciousness correctly indicated that they either knew how to use a spell checker, or had an IQ higher than a hundred.
She scrolled down until one comment in particular caught her attention.
User: MAADIGO – ‘I’m not saying this isn’t a hoax, but if she truly is healing people by singing, then would it be possible to use a recording of her voice to heal people? Just a thought…’
Rubbing her tired eyes, she navigated to YouTube and listened to one of the recordings that had been uploaded. It wasn’t quite the same as hearing it live, but it was still transcendental in its beauty. There were over one-hundred million views so far, with over one-hundred thousand comments. The comments were almost entirely positive. The few negative comments were left by typical internet trolls that had nothing better to do than broadcast their discontent like an attention deficit child.
Shutting off her tablet, she forced her mind to slow down. Taking even breaths, she focused on relaxing each muscle in her body sequentially. After several minutes of forced relaxation, she felt her mind drift into slumber.
Still Alive Page 5
