She Is Not Me

NOTHING NEW

The door opened and closed. That small sound itself gave her a headache. Her eyes felt heavy and her body was as if she had been hit by thousands of trucks.

The accident, the fire, her mother, Alex.....

Everything flashed inside her again. No! She could not let that happen. She wanted to see her mother and Alex again. If she had helped them, they could have lived. Maybe it was all wrong. Maybe they are still alive.

She slowly opened her eyes. There she was lying in a bed, having a needle injected into her vein. She looked around but could see nothing as there was a white curtain around her bed. She knew that she was in a hospital, but she wanted to see her family.

Ada was surprised by the sound of the door opening again.

"It's been days, right? Maybe you should take some rest. I will look after her." a woman said.

"No, I should be beside her when she wakes up."

This time, Ada was intrigued to hear it was her mother's voice. All the sadness she had inside her turned into curiosity and joy.

"Mom?" she called with a weak voice.

"Ada?" Both the ladies spoke in unison.

They both ran towards her.

"She woke up!" Her mom squealed with happiness. She held Ada's hand and sat beside her.

"Let me go and inform the nurse." said the other woman. She gave Ada a smile and walked out of the room.

Ada's mom looked at her and kissed her hand with happy tears in her eyes.

"I am so glad."

" I am much more glad than you, mom." Ada whispered.

Ada wanted to ask so many things, but she enjoyed the moment. She got to see her mom in perfect condition. She could ask for nothing more. It was too good to be true.

Within a few minutes, a male doctor and a couple of nurses stormed into the room while Ada's mom adjusted the bed. The doctor did some checkups and wrote them down.

"Welcome back, Ada.You were in a medically induced coma for two weeks for a brain injury. We have been constantly monitoring you and we are sure that you will continue your everyday life without any problems. You know, it's natural to feel confused now, but we might need to do a couple of tests before we send you home. Are you okay with that? "

"Yes, I am."

"Okay Ada, can you tell me what year it is?"

"2017—"

With her answer, everyone's expression changed.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Uh, the car we were travelling in got into an accident and Alex helped me and my dad, but---" she teared up. She felt embarrassed, but she did not want to remember that nightmare again.

"Oh, honey..." her mom held her hand again and gave it a pat.

"Ms. Jones, could you please come see me and Ada get some rest, okay? Let us know if you feel uncomfortable," said the doctor.

Her mom gave her an assuring smile and left the room with the others, leaving her alone.

Why did the mood become so serious suddenly? Where are Alex and Dad? How did Mom survive all that? Of course, she was glad to see her mom again, but the ends didn't meet perfectly.

Many thoughts ran through her mind. Maybe it was really a dream. A dream that her mind made up for her. Everything was very confusing.Thousands of thoughts jogged in her mind, and without even her knowledge, she fell asleep.

After an hour, she was woken up by her mom.

"Honey, they need some tests to make sure you are all fine." Her mom said.

Ada woke up and scanned her surroundings, but she could not see her dad and Alex.

"Mom, where are Alex and Dad?"

" They are on their way, honey. They will be here by the time you finish the test. "

" Are they okay?"

" Yes, Ada, everyone is fine," her mom answered.

But Ada could only feel relieved when she saw them in person.

"Ada, I told you, they are fine. No need to worry about them. You are important here. okay? "

Her mom helped her to a wheel chair and then a nurse took her out of the room to run the tests.

Even though there were some patients around, the corridors were too quiet to be a hospital. She could hear the sound of the car horns in the distance. She noticed it was night. Outside the glass window lay the night sky with no clouds to be found.

The next few hours went by with running some tests, and at the end, she was taken to the doctor.

"Ada, how are you feeling?"

"Good as a person who woke up from a coma."

"I can see that," said the doctor with a smile. "We have something important to tell you. We don't expect you to believe it right away. "

What is with his expression again? How serious is it that he should make that face?

"It's 2022, Ada."

What!!! How could he say that so easily? He skipped five years at once!

Ada could do nothing but sit there and let him continue what he was saying.

"Actually, you recovered very quickly, but it's common to forget some things after a brain injury. The good news is that it's temporary. We are sure that you will get back your memories of the past 5 years."

Everything was more confusing to her than before. if she forgot the last 5 years, what did she forget? How did she end up in the hospital? And did they really have an accident five years ago? Is the last memory she has true?

" Then did I really face an accident 5 years ago?"

"According to the medical history, yes. But it was a minor accident. You just had a concussion and minor surgery. "

"Why is that my last memory?"

"We are not sure. Give it some time, Ada, and everything will return to you". He said this in a tone of assurance.

Then he explained how she could return to her normal life and how she could continue her studies as it would help her to regain her memory faster. He said that he already informed her family about all of this ordeal and said they would help me through this.

As soon as she finished talking with the doctor. The nurse took her back to her room.

When she entered the room, she was greeted with an embrace from her father.

"Ada!I am sorry. I should have come sooner. "

Ada couldn't help but smile by the relief she felt to see him again. Her mother was there beside her bed. Ada can tell by her expression that she knew everything and had told her dad about them.

Ada was led to her bed. Her father helped her to get into bed. All this time, she could not see Alex. As she was about to ask her mom about him-

"Hi, nerd!" A manly voice came from the door. As she looked at the door, there he was, six feet tall and looking very familiar.

At first she couldn't recognise him, but as soon as she saw his brunette hair, which touched his eye brow, she knew.

"Alex!!!" Ada shouted with joy.

He came running and hugged her tight. She was so happy that they were all together again.

They talked for hours.Apparently, Ada was now a high school senior and third-year Alex was in college. Her dad is now running a small business, and her mom is helping him run the business. It was fascinating to learn about her life over the years, like a character in a story book.

" Liam would be happy to see you again," said Alex.

"Who is Liam?"

"You really did forget the past five years-"

"Alex, don't joke around with this," his mom warned him with a knock on his head.

"Okay, He is your boyfriend."

It was one of the many bizarre things she heard from her family in the last hours.

"And don't worry if you don't recognize anyone at school, half of the school will know by tomorrow that you have lost your memories. "

"How?"

"Did you see Ms. Sherly this morning?" Once she hears something, the whole town knows."

After catching up for some more minutes. Ada's mom told her to get some sleep. Her father and brother went back home and promised her to come back the next morning. Her mom had a small bed beside her to sleep in.

"Mom, are you asleep?"

"No honey, what is it?

"Do you remember the accident 5 years ago? What happened that day?"

"Yes, we were coming home from your grandpa's house and got into an accident. We were all safe, but somehow you fell out of the car. You were unconscious, but it wasn't something fatal."

"Are you sure, mom?"

"Yes I am. How can I forget that day? I was freaked out so much that even now the staff there would recognise me" she paused. "You know, we were so lucky you turned out fine. After that accident you were more energetic than before."

"Then what happened to me this time?"

Her mother remained silent for some time.

"You know, it's complicated, but I promise you, we will tell you everything we know tomorrow. You should not push yourself so much. Now get some rest. "Good night, honey."

She agreed with her mother, all the information she received today was a lot to process. Maybe she should take everything slowly, but even after knowing everything about herself from them, she felt strange. Deep down, she knew something was wrong or her brain was messing with her. She was glad that her memory was not the truth but that her memory was so real and she was sure it happened. At the same time, she was afraid to meet the people she had forgotten, her friends.