Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Upon Finding You Lying on the Floor in the Bathroom

Having ascended the old wooden stairs I began my short walk down the hall toward the bedroom when I noticed something peculiar; the top of a person’s head on the floor, peeking out at me from inside the bathroom. Upon further inspection I found that it was you, lying in the fetal position asleep/passed out/dead in the bathroom. I laughed to myself and told you to get up as I brushed my teeth above your still body. When you didn’t respond I rinsed out my mouth and got down on all fours for a closer inspection. You were in fact not dead, but merely in some kind of very deep sleep. I ascertained this fact by putting my ears within an inch of your lips, listening intently for the comforting sound of a soft breath the way a lifeguard might, having just pulled a drowning person from the water. Thankfully hearing a short breath I began saying your name loudly, shaking your shoulders, and even hitting you firmly in the ribs, but to no avail.
I had not seen you drinking that night but instantly wondered if you had been without me knowing it. Not often had I seen you (or anyone else for that matter) collapse from sheer exhaustion immediately before or after using the bathroom, and it was at that moment that I began to worry. I had heard in health class about alcohol poisoning and how people who binge drink until they pass out run the risk of never waking from their alcohol induced coma. But perhaps you hadn’t been drinking at all and had in fact slipped on the floor after getting ready for bed and knocked your head on the marble counter and here I was stupidly shaking your shoulders while you lie unconscious in need of medical attention.
With no conclusions to the mystery of why you were asleep on the bathroom floor I don’t know why I did what did next. Instead of investigate further I decided to take my chances and bet that you were either very tired and not wanting to be wakened or that you were simply sleeping of a night of drinking and there was nothing I could do for you regardless. I was exhausted as well and if you were sound asleep on the bathroom floor, so be it. I wasn’t about to stay up any more either. Turning the lights off in the bathroom I walked away slowly, trying to convince myself that you were fine while praying that I would see you in the morning at the breakfast table.

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