First Love

Chapter 2: Message

"Ivan, what is going on?" I asked as soon as we got to his clinic.

"We've done some tests, and it looks like he has a temporary memory loss." He said after looking at the papers he's holding, "Near-drowning incidents can potentially cause temporary memory loss due to lack of oxygen to the brain, which is known as hypoxia. There are some cases where people who have experienced near-drowning incidents may suffer from retrograde amnesia. It is when they can't recall memories from their past," he explained. "But you don't have to worry, as other than memory loss, everything is fine. We just need to observe him, then if everything is well we can start the therapy to help him recover his lost memories." He said that made me feel relieved.

"Thank you so much, Ivan." I said,

He pat my head and said, "Don't worry about it, I'm just doing my job." He said and paused for a second and looked at me with worried eyes, "Just please promise me you won't do anything that you'll regret, okay?" He said and I nodded.

"Of course," I said.

"Well then, I should get going now," I said and left.

I went straight to his room. I knocked first before slowly opening the door. I saw him sleeping.

I moved slowly to avoid waking him and sat on the chair beside his bed. I took my phone on my pocket and looked for his family's social media account. Having a hard time, I tried searching for his fiancé's account. Luckily, I saw it and left a message,

'Hi, this is Laine, I'm Kiel's classmate and friend in elementary and high school. I don't know how to contact his family. That's why I thought of contacting you instead, as I heard about you from our friends. He's in the XXX hospital right now. He was found near the shore at XXX. He had already woken up, and the doctor said he had a temporary memory loss due to a near-drowning incident he had. Other than that, he's fine. The doctor will observe him for a few days, then he'll start therapy to help him recover his lost memory. I'll keep you updated, so if you ever read this message, I hope you can contact his family and come here. I'll send you the address. Being with his family will be a big help for his memories to come back. Thank you. Hope to hear from you soon.'

I looked at his sleeping face, "why are you even here?" I whispered to myself. "I'm already having a hard time forgetting you and now your here?" I took a deep breath and stood up. "What's the use of talking to you right now," I took another deep breath, "I should just clear these feelings already and move on." I whispered to myself as I walk away.

I decided to go to the canteen and eat something before leaving when, suddenly, my phone rang as I was about to order.

"Excuse me? Ms. Laine? Are you still in the hospital? Can you please come to room 213 quickly?" The nurse said on the other line, so I excused myself and went quickly to Kiel's room.

"What happened?" I asked as soon as I entered the room.

"I'm fine, so let me out already!" I saw Kiel shouting at the nurse.

"Kiel." I called out his name and he looked at me. "Can you calm down for a second and listen to nurse?" I said as I approached him. He did calm down and then looked at me,

"I want to go. I don't want to stay here." He pleadingly said.

"Do you understand your condition?" I calmly asked, "do you even know where to go if ever they allow you to leave here?" I added.

He just went silent and looked away. I sighed, "I contacted your family. I know it's a lot to process, but you need to stay here for a few days more for observation to make sure that you're really okay." I sat on the side of the bed, and he looked at me, "If everything went well, then I'll ask the doctor if you can leave, and you'll stay with me for the time being until your family arrives" I added, it took him a while before he responded to me.

The nurses help him lay on his bed and check up on him. After attending Kiel, I asked one of the nurses. "I'm sorry, but can you ask doctor Ivan if Kiel still needs to be here at the hospital? If possible, can he be discharged? And will just come here if there's a check-up that needs to be done." I asked and the nurses agreed.

>Next Morning

I went back to the hospital and saw the nurse that I asked for.

"Hi, sorry to bother, does doctor Ivan have a decision about the patient in room 213?" I asked.

"Yes, doctor Ivan said that it is okay for the patient to be discharged, he just needs to come here twice a week for a check up and his session," the nurse replied. "Also, the bill needs to be paid first before he can be discharged", the nurse added, and I just nodded.

I paid all the bills and then went to Kiel's room and told him everything. He felt relieved after hearing that he could finally leave the hospital. After packing his stuff, we went to my home.

We were about to go inside when the door suddenly opened, and it was Annie. She looked at me with a shocked face. I gave her a signal that I'd explain it later, and she nodded while glaring at me, then went out.

"Who is she?" Kiel asked.

"She's Annie, my friend. She also lives here since this place is big, and she lives alone. I offered her to stay with me," I explained and he just nodded.

I gave him a little tour so he could familiarize the place since it's quite big.

"You can watch TV, play computer games or read books. Just don't go outside alone, since you are not familiar with the place, you might encounter some trouble, but if you insist, make sure you tell me, so I can come with you." I said and led him to his bedroom where he'd stay. "If you need anything, just tell me, and by the way my room is over there" I said as I point the room in the corner across his. I said, and he nodded.

I left him in his room and went to the living room. I first chatted with Kiel's fiancé to update her about what happened just to inform her, then I dialed Annie's number.

'Annie! Where are you?" I asked, "and I'll explain when you get home.' I added.

I'm at school. I just had to pick up some materials that I needed, and I'll meet Mae on the way" She answered. "Don't worry about it. I know that you know what you are doing,"She added,

'Thank you! That's all I wanted to say. I'll cook dinner, so tell me if you'll be eating here' I said.

'Oh, I'm meeting Mae. We'll be eating out for dinner.' She said, I just answered okay and we both hung up.

Since Annie won't be eating tonight, I'm also planning on buying some stuff for the house and for Kiel, so I asked Kiel if he'd be okay if we ate out for dinner, and he agreed.

"If you see anything you like, just tell me, okay?" I said and he nodded.

I got some clothes and other necessities that he needs. He also gets some stuff for himself that he likes. When we were about to pay, my phone vibrated, so I checked it.

'Hi! Thank you for messaging me about Kiel. We're so worried about him. Thank goodness he's okay. We still can't go there as of the moment because of the bad weather here. They aren't allowing any flights. I'm sorry for asking this, but can you please take care of him for a while? We will be there as soon as the weather is good. Thank you for keeping us updated about his condition. We will book a flight as soon as it's okay.'

After reading the message, I put my phone away and paid for all the things we bought. We ate at a restaurant, then we just walked for a bit, before we decided to go home.

As soon as we arrived, I helped him put his things in his room and inform him about the message earlier.

"Before, I forgot, your fiancé had already contacted me, and she said that they would come here as soon as the weather is good." I said. "Well, then I should go. Rest well," I added, and I was about to go when he suddenly asked me.

"Why are you helping me?" he looked at me in question.

"Helping others doesn't need a logical mind, doesn't it? I'm helping you because you need help," I explained, "and you're an important person to me. How could I ignore you?" I whispered,

"What?" he looked at me questionably, "I didn't hear the last sentence." he added.

"Nothing, you should go and rest. I'm sure you're tired" I said, and went out of his room.

I went to Annie's room and arranged my things. As soon as she entered her room, she looked at me with a serious face.

"Now, explain." She said, and I sat on her bed.

"First, he has temporary memory loss. Ivan said it was due to his near drowning incident. Second, I brought him here because he keeps asking the nurses when he will be discharged and, due to his condition, I can't just leave him alone. Lastly, I had already chatted with his fiancé, and she said she would book a flight as soon as the weather is okay with Kiel's family." I said and she looked at me suspiciously. "You don't have to worry." I said and smiled to reassure her.

"How can I not be worried?" she said angrily but still managed to calm herself, "I just don't want to see you get hurt again." She said in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm just her classmate and friend who's worried about his condition. Don't worry too much." I said and smiled, then hugged her.

"I just can't help but worry" And she hugged me.

"I'll be fine. You know me. I'm strong." I said. "Okay, let's stop the drama and take a rest." I said and we, took a rest.