Will you remember me?

Chapter 1 POV: Harris Skye

"... the stretcher... he's losing..."

Rough hands seized me by my shoulders and dropped me onto something cold and hard. That's all I remembered before I blacked out.

My eyes shot open and I sat up with a gasp. The first thing I noticed was the searing, white-hot pain erupting in my right shoulder. With extreme difficulty, I looked down at my shoulder; it was bandaged.

What the hell? Why am I in a hospital? What happened to me?

I fell back on my mattress, gasping for air as if I had run a marathon. The sweat started trickling down my skin.

"Seems like you've finally woken up." Someone said and I immediately turned, sparking fiery jolts of pain in my neck. "Don't worry, I'm a nurse," The person assured.

I focused with difficulty. I could make out the feminine figure: short blonde hair in a nurse gown.

"Wh-what happened t-to m-me?" I struggled.

I could make out the nurse smiling down at me. She cupped her palms over my restless eyes.

"You need to get some rest." She advised me. "We can chat about that later. Now, go to sleep and recover."

I woke up to the soft orange light. The sun was spilling its final set of rays before setting. My vision slowly became clear and I stared at the ceiling.

Something's not right.

I looked around and to my horror, there was medical apparatus blinking and beeping around me.

Gosh, what the hell happened? I thought. Why am I in a hospital?

"Ow!" I yelped as I tried to sit up. White-hot pain shot across my right shoulder.

What the hell? I thought. Why am I bandaged? What happened?

"You're up again," Someone said and I immediately turned. Pain erupted across my neck. "Don't worry, I'm the nurse"

The nurse slowly started approaching me and I took a shaky breath.

"W-what happened to me?" I demanded. "Who are you?"

The nurse was in front of me and I could make out her feminine figure: short blonde hair, glasses, and an indigo outfit. She gave me a puzzled look.

"Don't you remember? I'm Ines," She said, "I was here just yesterday and I had promised we could have a chat when you're better."

"W-what? Yesterday? I woke up just now!" I complained. "Wh-what are you saying?"

Her eyes furrowed, boring into me while muttering something to herself as if lost in an extensive thought train.

"You're right!" She said, "Silly me. I see hundreds of people daily; I must've forgotten. Let me introduce myself; I'm Ines. Now, how are you feeling?"

Her abrupt change of tone was unsettling.

"Fine." I hesitated. "It hurts a little when I try to move."

She smiled. "I can understand. You'll surely get better in a few days." She said.

I wasn't satisfied.

"Nurse, what are you hiding from me?" I asked. "What happened to me?"

The smile on her face dissolved. She looked serious as she fixed her eyes on me.

"Please don't lie to me. I don't know what has happened to me and I demand to know..." I faltered. My throat had dried.

"If you're that eager to know, then I'll try to arrange a quick meeting with the doctor during your dinnertime." She said.

I didn't know how to respond.

"Well, if you want anything," She picked up her cheerful tone and walked over beside me, "here's a button that you can use." She set down a red buzzer-like button on a wooden table beside me. And with that, she was gone. I was all alone in the dorm room, with nothing else to do except listen to the continuous beeping of the machines beside me.

Almost two hours had passed and it was pitch black outside. As I gazed out from my window, I could see a few stars, twinkling, and trying to compete with the brightness of the moon. The sound of slippers on the smooth ground brought me back to my senses. The door opened and two figures walked in.

"Ines?" I asked, recognizing one of them.

She smiled. "We've brought you dinner."

Ines helped me sit up while another person set the plates on a bed table. Ines slowly placed the bed table over my legs and laid the cutlery.

"You must be Harris," A deep voice sounded behind Ines, and a fairly- old doctor walked in.

"Harris who?" I asked and Ines flashed him a certain look for which he laughed.

"No, no, no, nothing." He said. "How's the dinner?"

"I haven't started yet," I said, glancing down at the food: Meat cutlet and steamed rice, with fried asparagus on the side.

He walked over in front of my bed and glanced down at me. He pulled out a nearby chair and sat.

Suddenly, I had lost the appetite to eat; I seemed to hunger for something else.

"What happened to me?" I asked him abruptly and a bit more forcefully.

His amiable round face turned grim.

"It's a bit complicated," He hesitated, "If you deserve to know what happened then..." He glanced at Ines and she gave him a silent nod.

"Whatever I might tell you now, you might feel it to be completely surreal," He started, "but it is the truth."

My heart thumped against my chest as I listened to his words.

"Y-you and your parents suffered an accident." He said. "We're extremely sorry for the incident, but you were the only one who survived."

I felt as if a dagger had been thrust into my chest. The subtle, professional sarcasm in his voice made it even worse.

A single tear rolled down my cheeks and Ines inched closer. She hugged me and stroked my hair, but only did she not know that none of this would help me in my current state.

Parents? I tried to remember but I simply couldn't. I couldn't even remember my name!

Come on! I thought as I forced my brain to remember You would've spent your life with them!

I couldn't believe how the memory had just been wiped off. It felt surreal. I could almost guess the next thing the doctor was going to say.

"I have one more troubling news for you." The doctor started.

Here it comes.

"You have been in a coma for about two weeks after the incident. It's pretty normal for a coma recovered person to experience temporary memory loss." He hesitated to continue. "But in your case..."

My heart stopped after listening to what he said. From that point on, I was clear on one thing: I could never lead a normal life, ever again.