Birthright

By RJ Palmer

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 - 2011 RJ Palmer

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October 7, 1969

Harsh white light shone insistently on her eyelids. The woman surfaced slowly from the depths of a long, unnatural slumber, becoming slowly aware of her surroundings as her senses began to attain clarity and focus. The low buzz of electronic equipment, the steady beep of a cardiac monitor and the soft whisper of a respirator droned monotonously near her left shoulder. The cool, crisp smell of alcohol and astringents suffused the air under-laid by the stifling odor of illness. The mattress on which she lay was thin, inadequate next to the steel it cushioned and her back ached from long hours of lying prone.