Before I remember

Memory loss

Chapter no: 2

The next time she opened her eyes, she found herself in a hospital room.



The room was quite spacious, with two other beds besides hers. An elderly woman, approximately seventy years old, was sleeping peacefully on one of them. On the other bed, a young girl sat in the corner, engrossed in her mobile phone.



The girl was still examining her surroundings when her eyes fell upon the same man standing in front of her.



He was glaring at her.



Something about his expression made her uneasy. She slowly began to sit upright, but before she could make sense of the situation, he suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her arm tightly, and leaned closer to her.



"Who are you? What were you doing there? Why did you stop me from shooting? Are you a member of the Alvdai Gang? Who sent you?"



He fired all the questions at her in a single breath, his voice filled with anger.



She was instantly frightened. She had no idea who this man was or why he was questioning her so aggressively.



"Leave me... It hurts," she pleaded, groaning in pain.



Instead of releasing her, he tightened his grip around her arm and glared at her with murderous eyes.



"Until you answer my questions, I'll make sure you suffer even more than this."



The young girl sitting on the other bed continued watching them without the slightest concern, as though the entire scene had nothing to do with her.



Just then, the door swung open, and a police officer entered the room.



It was Ali Asghar, Daniyal's junior officer and one of his closest friends.



The moment he saw what was happening, his expression changed.



"Daniyal! What the hell are you doing? Let her go!"



He hurried forward and pulled the girl's arm out of Daniyal's grasp.



Daniyal turned toward him angrily.



"Stay out of this. Let me do my job."



He had barely taken another step toward the girl when Ali raised his voice.



"Don't forget that you're alive because of her! If she hadn't pushed you out of the way, that bullet would have hit you in the chest. You wouldn't even be standing here right now!"



Before Daniyal could respond, Ali grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room.



The commotion had finally awakened the elderly woman, whom everyone called Asia Bibi.



Having witnessed the entire scene, she looked worriedly at the girl.



The girl was struggling to breathe, and her condition seemed to be deteriorating with every passing moment.



Asia Bibi immediately turned toward the young woman sitting on the bed beside hers. Her name was Mahnoor.



"Dear, please go and call the doctor."



Mahnoor barely glanced up from her phone.



"I have no interest in jumping into a fire for someone else."



With that, she returned to scrolling through her phone, showing no intention of helping.



Fortunately, the doctor arrived just then.



His name was Zamil, but everyone called him Doc Zee.



He rushed toward the girl and immediately instructed her to lie down. Trying to calm her, he spoke in a reassuring voice before asking the nurse to put her on a drip.



After a while, the girl's breathing gradually settled, and she began to regain her composure.



Once she was calm enough, Doc Zee decided to assess her memory. He picked up a pen, held it in front of her, and asked,



"Can you tell me what this is?"



"A pen," she answered.



He smiled slightly and held up another question.



Pointing toward the ceiling fan, he asked, "And what is that?"



"A fan."



Doc Zee nodded, looking pleased with her responses.



Then he asked the third question.



"What is your name?"



The girl fell silent.



She tried to think, searching through her mind for an answer, but nothing came to her.



A moment later, panic washed over her face.



"My name? Why can't I remember my own name?"



Doc Zee noticed her growing distress and immediately tried to reassure her.



"Calm down. It's all right. Tell me, do you remember where you're from?"



Her eyes filled with tears.



"No..." Her voice trembled as she struggled to hold herself together. "Everything is blank. I can't remember anything. I don't know who I am. Who was that man who was shouting at me? What's happening to me? How did I get here?"



Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at him helplessly, desperate for an explanation that she couldn't find within her own mind.



Doc Zee spoke gently.



"For now, you need to rest. I'll come back after a while and explain everything to you."



Without saying anything more, he left the room.



Asia Bibi continued watching the girl with concern. After a moment, she gently placed a hand on her head and stroked it affectionately.



"Don't worry, dear. Everything will be all right."



The girl slowly closed her eyes.



Asia Bibi switched off the light beside her bed and settled down on her own bed.



---



Doc Zee went looking for Daniyal.



He eventually found him in the hospital hall, where Ali was handing him a glass of cold water.



Zamil approached them.



He had known Daniyal since childhood. They had grown up as neighbours, spending much of their early years together. However, when Zamil's parents were transferred to another city, his family had moved away, and their paths had gradually separated.



Seeing Daniyal's expression, Zamil shook his head in disbelief.



"Have you lost your mind? How can you behave like that with a patient?"



Ali muttered under his breath, "A patient who just saved his life, no less."



Daniyal raised an eyebrow and shot him an irritated look.



"Go back to your duty."



Ali immediately placed a finger against his lips.



"Sorry. I won't do it again."



Zamil ignored their exchange and turned his attention back to Daniyal.



"If I have your permission, can I tell you something?"



Daniyal gave a slight nod.



Zamil took a breath before explaining.



"That girl has amnesia. She suffered a shock during surgery, but the operation itself was successful. I thought she would recover without any complications. There was a fifty percent chance that she wouldn't lose her memory, but unfortunately, things didn't go that way."



He paused briefly before continuing.



"She can still remember certain ordinary things from daily life, but she doesn't remember anything about herself. Not even her own name."



Daniyal shrugged indifferently.



"Great. As if I didn't have enough problems already. Now I've got another one to deal with."



Ali looked at Zamil.



"What happens now?"



"Her memory may gradually return, but there's no guarantee how long it'll take," Zee replied.



Hearing this, Daniyal turned and headed toward his car without another word.



Ali followed him, but Daniyal drove away before he could catch up with him.



---



When Daniyal reached the police station, he went straight to his office.



Apart from him, there were two other officers at the station who held important responsibilities.



One was Raheem, a forty-seven-year-old officer whom everyone respectfully called Raheem Sir. The other was Furqan, the station's IT specialist.



Ali had joined the team only recently.



Besides them, several constables also served at the station, including Head Constable Abdul Raza.



The moment Daniyal entered his office, he sensed that something was wrong.



He immediately went to his locker and opened it.



What he saw—or rather, what he didn't see—made his anger flare.



The file was missing.



The file he had obtained after going through so much trouble, the one containing evidence against the Alvdai Gang, had disappeared.



For a moment, he simply stared at the empty space, struggling to process what he was seeing.



Then, overcome with anger, he grabbed the lamp from his desk and hurled it onto the floor.



It shattered on impact.



The loud crash brought Raheem Sir and Furqan rushing into the office.



When they learned what had happened, concern spread across their faces.



Daniyal immediately ordered everyone at the station to gather so he could investigate the matter.



One by one, he questioned them.



However, everyone had a solid alibi.



No one could be linked to the disappearance of the file.



Frustrated and furious, Daniyal stormed out of the station, got into his car, and drove away without telling anyone where he was going.



After driving for some time, he stopped on an overhead bridge and stepped out of his car.



He stood there, watching the vehicles move along the road below.



His mind was occupied with too many thoughts. The missing file, the Alvdai Gang, and the mysterious girl who had somehow become entangled in his already complicated life.



He remained there for so long that he didn't even notice when evening arrived.



Just then, his phone began to ring.



It was his mother.



Daniyal glanced at the screen.



His mood was already terrible, and he didn't want to let his frustration affect his mother or ruin her mood as well.



After a moment's hesitation, he switched off his phone.



He got back into his car and started the engine.



But as he drove away, the girl's face suddenly appeared in his mind.



He didn't know why he was thinking about her again.



Without giving it much thought, he changed his direction and headed toward the hospital.



---



After parking his car in the hospital parking area, Daniyal was about to head inside when he overheard a man talking on the phone.



The man's voice was low, but a few words caught Daniyal's attention.



"Yes, boss. Understood. I'll bring her to you. Dead or alive."



Daniyal's expression immediately changed.



Her?



He stayed where he was, listening carefully.



The man ended the call and immediately contacted someone else.



"Everyone, get over here. The target is somewhere around here."



Within moments, seven or eight more men arrived.



Daniyal didn't waste any time.



He rushed toward the girl's ward.



A terrible feeling settled in his chest as he realised that the men might be after the same girl who had saved his life earlier that day.



He couldn't understand why anyone would want to take her, especially when she couldn't even remember who she was.



Without wasting another second, he took a different route and hurried toward her room.



When he arrived, he found her still asleep.



He approached her bed and was just about to wake her when the thugs burst into the room.



They immediately pulled out their pistols, switched on the light, and began moving toward the girl's bed.



Daniyal reacted without hesitation.



He stepped forward and shoved one of the men away with tremendous force.



Several other thugs immediately grabbed him, trying to restrain him.



The commotion woke the girl.



She opened her eyes, only to find herself surrounded by unfamiliar men and see Daniyal struggling against them.



Fear seized her.



Before she could even understand what was happening, the thugs turned toward her.



The moment they saw her face, they froze.



One of them stared at her in disbelief.



"This... this can't be possible!"



He looked at the others before turning back toward the girl.



"Blackhead was brought to this very room. Then who the hell are you?"



Before she could respond, one of the men grabbed her by the hair and yanked her forward.



"Tell me! Where is Blackhead?"



The girl cried out in fear.



"I don't know anything about Blackhead! I don't know where she is!"



Just then, Daniyal managed to break free from the men restraining him.



He rushed toward the thug who was holding the girl's hair and delivered a hard punch to his face.



The man staggered and fell to the floor, releasing her in the process.



Daniyal immediately pulled the girl free from his grasp.



The thug struggled to his feet, rubbing his face.



"Look, I have no personal enmity with you," he said, trying to regain his composure. "Just tell me where Blackhead is."



He pulled out his phone, opened a photograph, and held it out toward Daniyal.



"Have you seen this girl anywhere?"



Daniyal's gaze fell on the picture.



The moment he saw the girl's face, he froze.



For several seconds, he couldn't take his eyes off the photograph.



Then he slowly looked at the girl standing beside him.



His expression changed as disbelief settled over his features.



"Is she really... Blackhead?"



The words escaped his mouth almost unconsciously.



He stared at the photograph again, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.



"How is this possible?" he murmured under his breath.



The thug's patience was wearing thin.



"Have you seen her anywhere or not?" he demanded again.



Daniyal remained silent for a moment.



His mind was racing, but he forced himself to regain control of his expression.



Finally, he looked at the man and answered,



"No. She isn't here. She..."