Shadows Of Reminance

Chapter 11: Ashton

Tap. Tap. Tap.

My taps were steady as I let the voices of my team fade into the background.
I don't really care about what's going on in this meeting, Noah could easily manage stuff like this and I'm damn sure that he has already completed the filings and observations needed for this merger.

I pressed my finger down on the lid of the small pill box. It was a metal box, small enough to fit in my palms. The metal box carrying the white pills. The pills that strangely calmed down my senses, when I got a migraine.

It was something I'd been doing out of habit ever since I was a little boy.

Ever since that night.

My gaze hypnotized, watching the blood everywhere, cars constantly honking, people blabbering something which I wasn't able to comprehend. The distant avail of an ambulance. And all I did was

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The container in my right side pant pocket and my hands laying limp on it.

Before the accident, we were walking down the street to our favourite ice cream shop, a small shop, not too fancy. Both of us were walking down the street when I had ushered them to go ahead and make their choice, even though I knew what they would choose. They always choose the same flavour, dark chocolate.

Before I could cross the street and reach the shop, I saw a van driving so rashly that he wasn't even able to drive in a straight line. His bright headlights fell right into my eyes, and before I could react to take any action, it hit me with a brutal force.

I didn't really feel anything at that time, my body laying limp on the road. I could feel the blood gushing out from my open wounds making my shirt wet and soaked with blood. They came rushing towards me crying hysterically, I couldn't comfort them to not cry, that it was just a simple small wound. People started accumulating around us, cars honking probably because of the traffic I had caused, distant wailing of ambulance and people talking in hushed tones among themselves.

That's all the things that I could remember through all these years after my accident. Even after 8 years of my accident, I couldn't remember much. Dr had said that I had severe internal bleeding inside my head, probably damaging a few tissues and veins which triggered my Amnesia.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Pressure.
That's the first thing I had felt when I regained consciousness.
My head felt as if it was repeatedly being smashed by a hammer.

I peeled my eyes open to see where I was, but the bright white light felt like needles to my eyes making me pinch them shut again. I could hear loud beeping that just increased the torture going on my head, probably the heart monitor.

My entire body ached; some parts felt numb while some felt like they were about to fall off.

"Ashton?" Nonna's voice broke through the fog I was under.
I opened my mouth to reply, but it was too dry, I felt like I had swallowed sand. Small bits of it scraping my throat.

"Oh Mio Caro, let me get you some water." She said gently.

A straw poked at my lips and my lips immediately sucked at it, desperation kicking in. The cool water soaked my throat and felt like the best thing I'd ever had.

I opened my eyes again and looked at my Nonna through blurry eyes.

Her face wrinkled as her eyes watered, her hands making their way to my face with so much gentleness, as if I would break if she used much pressure. Her one hand combed my hair locks while the other rested on my cheeks. She was looking at me as if she couldn't believe that I was here. That I was, Alive.