A Lost Memory: Alitheia

Episode 11: Part 2 [Before; Harada Jiro]

A monotone beeping from an ICU monitor sent a mother to her wits end.

"I can't do this any longer!"

"Akari calm down, you'll disturb the other patients"

"When will I get my son back?" she pleaded, while pulling at the shirt of her husband. Their attention is soon pulled by a receptionist entering the room.

"Sumimasen, Harada- Kazoku, the doctors would like to speak to with you," she states and walks on, clicking heels fade as she closes the pale blue doors behind her.

[Translation: Sumimasen is Excuse me & Kazoku is family]

They leave behind their youngest son by the bedside of an unresponsive eldest son.

"Watch over your brother," his mother commanded before both step out. Silence falls and the singsong of his heart rings over once more.

That phrase, he thought, overused and no longer necessary.

"It seems we are unable to identify the cause of your son's coma. If you can even call it that." A mumbled whispering could be heard through the thin walls by the listening on.

"What do you mean, Sensei?" a father's weary voice croaks.

"Your son's health is, as it should, for a twenty eight-year-old young man. His vitals stable and heart rate regular, but-" a wilted sighed.

"-but it seems his entered into a heavy sleep like state."

"A deep sleep, not a coma, so then he'll awake?" hopeful.

"We- we don't know, to be honest. His brain activity shows signs of dreaming and with other tests results done. He still has control of physical senses, but his overall subconscious is well... resting. "

"So, like a car being driven by a drunk driver. His driving because his aware of it like muscle memory although his consciousness is sealed away some place else." a nurse elaborates.

"I can somewhat understand that, but then what was the cause of this. Surely if we know the root of this we can-" the mother's hope received with dismay.

"We thought maybe it was over stimulants from his work of some sorts or from his Asperger's-"

"No, that's not it, his symptoms were never as aggressive as others-" His mother simply states.

"That's right, so much so that no-one even realized he had it until the accident in Tokyo-" the mother's hopeful tone takes a turn as she recalls the day of her firstborns passing. She returns to sobbing in her husband's chest.

"Kenji!"

"It's alright," soothing her with one hand at the top of her head.