Pride and Promises ✔

Chapter 35

"Eve?"

Gentle arms shook me out of my dark thoughts and I was enveloped in a cocoon of warmth. It was only then that I realised I'd been crying. Soon, my sobs turned hysterical as I remembered the hurt in my sister's eyes that day when I failed to recognize her. The memory gates opened and everything following that incident came crashing down on my brain like sea waves in a storm surge.

Adrian was slowly rocking me, murmuring soothing words that I never thought he was capable of speaking in my ears. He held me tightly, so close to him that I could hear the loud thudding of his heartbeat, just as I was sure he could hear mine. I would have pulled away, and a tiny part of my brain said that I should. But the larger portion said to stop thinking and just go with my heart. It was a wonder how the logical voice of my brain was suddenly smaller and almost inaudible.

As much as I wanted to forget everything and sleep, I knew that it was now or never. Remembering those days had opened a deep wound in my heart and now the only sensible thing to do would be to rip it open completely in hopes that he would heal it and close it forever.

So with great restraint, I pulled back  and turned around to face him. I could see worry and pain so deep in his eyes that almost mirrored my own. He opened his mouth to say something but I closed it with my palm. I had to let everything out now. I'd been lifting this weight since so long that I suddenly found out that I couldn't do it anymore. I needed to share this with someone in order to preserve my sanity.

Adrian nodded wordlessly and caught my hand which was against his mouth, and held it between his, tightly, as if silently telling himself to never let it go. I closed my eyes for a while, silently thanking God for bringing him in my life. When I opened them again, I could see those days vividly right in front of my eyes, as if I was reliving those moments again.

"Those old couple," I started, "they turned out to be my grandparents. From my mother's side. They'd apparently last heard from my parents when Eva was born, and the next they heard was in the form if the police officer who had somehow found out about them and informed them of the accident.

They took us to their home in Minneapolis, where we grew up. I can't even imagine what they must've gone through. They were already growing old and suddenly they hear that their only daughter had died in a car accident, leaving them to take care of their two granddaughters whom they hadn't seen in years. And to make matters worse, one of them couldn't walk and the other couldn't even remember her own name.

But they never gave up. Both of them would take turns in watching over me and Eva, trying to help her move her legs and me to remember. I can still remember those days clearly. Gramps would exercise his legs with Eva while Gran would bake these lovely chocolate chip cookies for us, saying it was our mother's favorite. She'd give them as a reward if we showed any progress. Unfortunately for me, there wasn't much progress. My mind was still blank. But Eva on the other hand had improved a lot. She had begun walking slowly with Gramps' support. They couldn't afford much, but they had scheduled a physiotherapist to come every week and check her progress.

Things were slowly coming to place. My memories were still nowhere around but I'd begun to feel a sense of deep bonding with the old couple. Which is why I always refused their offer to take me up to a psychiatrist. Because I knew that they couldn't afford the cost. They already had a lot on their plate with Eva's treatment and I didn't want to add to their burden. And besides, I loved listening to my grandparents talk about my mother. They had said my parents had died on the same car crash but I couldn't feel anything because I didn't remember them.

Eva would sometimes try to remind me of my life, as she was the only one who had lived with me. I'd noticed that she always took a great effort to not include our parents in the conversation, but every time, she'd slip their name unconsciously. And then she would always end up crying, even have panic attacks. But despite this, she always tried her best to remind me. She'd have nightmares and always wake up in the middle of the night, calling my name. Always my name.