My Life with Amnesia

Chapter 2

I stood in a large airport. It was bustling with activity. People talked in the restaurants, played games on their devices, typed on their computers, and said goodbye to their loved ones. I turned to Gate 5 to see a small group of people crying around a man in the shadows. He leaned close to a young girl before they both stepped around a corner. She came back out crying moments later.

I blinked and I saw the alarm clock beside the bed. 3:47 shined in red lights across the face of the digital clock. I sat up and rubbed my eye.

"What a strange dream," I said to myself.

I rolled off the bed and opened the green notebook. I flipped a few pages and started reading.

"I hope you're reading this the day after you arrived. This portion of the book will teach you what you're doing for now. Take a shower, brush your teeth, change clothes, and wash your face."

I quickly got the tasks completed within ten minutes, but before I could read the next step, there was a knock on the door.

"Coming," I called. I walked to the door to see Linda waiting there. "Good morning. What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied as she touched my wet hair. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go to breakfast together."

I thought this over. "At four o'clock in the morning?"

"Well, I didn't want to forget."

I shrugged. "Alright. Where do you want to eat?"

She opened up a small map from her pocket. "There is a restaurant of some sort down the street. Do you wanna try that?"

"Sure." I stretched. "I can go now if you want."

She shifted. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Do you know any Japanese?"

"A little bit," she replied in Japanese.

I sighed. "Let me grab my wallet."

I grabbed the black wallet and walked out. I locked the door behind me and followed Linda out. She led me down the empty road to a small building with large windows around the interior. There were five tabes inside with four chairs at each one. The floor was covered in red tile and the walls were painted snow white. We stepped in and a young girl rushed to the counter from the back of the building.

"Welcome to KFC," the girl welcomed in Japanese. "How may I help you?"

"Give us a moment, please," I replied. She nodded and started looking around. I turned to Linda. "What would you like to eat?"

"Uh... How about their chicken sandwiches?"

I nodded. I stepped up to the counter. "Sorry. We would like two chicken sandwiches."

"Do you want the combo or just the sandwich?" The girl said as she looked over the register's screen.

"Just the sandwich, please."

She tapped the screen a few times and looked at me. "Is this all?"

"Yes."

"¥1,463."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out two ¥1,000 bills. I handed it to the girl with both hands and she accepted them with both hands as well, saying, "thank you" as she did. She placed them in the register and quickly drew my change. "I know it's none of my business, but is your friend American?"

"We're both American," I replied. "I learned Japanese and she didn't."

"Oh. What is America like?"

I shrugged. "I got amnesia on the plane ride here and I just met this girl."

She stared at me for a moment before saying, "I'll have your order ready in five minutes."

She turned and walked to the back of the building behind a metal door. I turned around and sat with Linda at one of the empty tables.

"What was she asking about?" Linda asked as she sat down across from me.

"She wanted to know if you were American," I replied. "So, what's your story? Why did you leave America?"

She burned bright red. "I uh... left because a friend of mine... he... he was forced to leave the country. I tried to follow him but," she rested her head on her hands and sighed, an expression of distress filling her eyes, "I think I lost him on the way here."

"I hope you find him." I looked around. "This is a pretty small island so he can't be too far."

She gave a half-hearted laugh. "I guess so."

I leaned back. "According to Buruku, I had dual citizenship in America and Japan. He said I chose Japanese citizenship over American."

"Have you ever met Buruku?" Linda asked with a sense of sincere curiosity. "I mean, have you ever met him in person?"

I leaned forward and rested my weight on my elbows. "No. I only have a notebook he gave me before my amnesia. He wrote instructions for me to follow. He said he'll teach me to communicate with him later in the notebook."

Linda's face changed as she started to think. "What a strange character..."

I shrugged. "He didn't say so yet, but it seems like he's waiting to meet me."

"I wonder if he might have been an old friend."

"He didn't say. I guess I'll just have to trust him until I figure it out."

We sat silently until the girl came out with our food. She set it down and excused herself. I took a bite of the sandwich.

Linda stared down at her food. "Did Buruku say wether or not you're going to a college?"

"I haven't read that far, yet." I took another bite. "Why?"

"You're... You look like you're around 18 years old."

"So do you."

She blushed. "I'm 19."

"I'm 18. You guessed right."

Linda picked up her sandwich and took a bite. "I was planning to go to college with my friend but I guess I can't do that until I find him, huh?"

"Why do you talk about him as if he isn't looking for you? If he's your friend, isn't he also looking for you?"

Her face fell. "He doesn't know I'm even here."

I paused. "Why not?"

"He wanted to leave America to start a new life because he got scared. He said goodbye and boarded the plane." She put her sandwich down and wrapped her arms around herself as tears formed in her eyes. "I didn't want him to leave so I bought a ticket the day of his departure and secretly got on the same plane. But now that he's gone..."

I reached over and placed my hand on her shoulder. She gasped softly and looked into my eyes. "Hey, you're not alone. I'll help you look for him."

She tried to fight a sob but she leaned across the table and hugged me, crying into my shoulder. I dropped my sandwich and slowly hugged her. I let her cry as I sat silently in an empty restaurant at 3:37 in the morning.