"Even if you die, the world will keep turning."
Those were Mei's words when we were on the plane together. Believe it or not, the world really works like that. Many people lose their lives in plane crashes, but everyone else keeps doing their part. Vendors still sell their food.
Actors still perform their shows on TV as if nothing had happened. One news story ends, and a new one takes its place, and this cycle continues endlessly. No one knows where it will end. The traces of sadness remain only with the relatives and those left behind. I am one of those left behind...
As for Mei... she is gone.
"How was it? How was your first day selling food?"
Dr. Ake, who had just returned from the hospital, asked me with concern. It seemed that after finishing his work, he came back immediately, eager to know everything that was happening in my life. I smiled at the doctor who had been so kind to me and gave him a truthful report.
"Completely exhausted! Here is the money you helped me with. Thank you very much."
"I don’t want it. Keep it as a good luck charm. I told you, Mei could do it. You have a real talent for cooking; everything you make is delicious.”
Dr. Ake is the man who saved me from the plane crash six months ago. I was adrift in the middle of the ocean and was rescued by a search and rescue boat and taken to the hospital. Many people died in that incident. Some survived, but very few. I was one of them.
Since I had no identification or proof of who I was, the hospital was unable to contact my relatives. So I took the opportunity to pretend I had lost my memory and gave myself the name
‘Mei’.
In reality, amnesia doesn’t really exist. Even if it does, it’s only temporary, and memories eventually come back little by little. But I pretended to forget everything because I wanted to erase my past. It was probably for the best for everyone, since no one wanted me in this world anymore. Nor did I want to be here.
Dr. Ake, who had taken care of me from the beginning, took pity on me when he saw that I was sick and alone. He take care of me. He is about my age, or actually about two years younger. But I still respected him as if he were older, always humble, even though I knew deep down that he had feelings for me.
I am not an idiot, but it is better to pretend not to know...
"I brought the food that Mei made to share with my friends, the doctors and nurses. Everyone said it was delicious, and everyone wants to come and buy your food. I think your store will be famous and big in the future."
"It doesn't have to be that big. As long as I can survive, it is enough."
"With your talent, you should show it to the world. Don't worry, I will help promote it."
"Thank you very much."
I didn't want to be too well-known. Technology has become so vast nowadays that you might accidentally bump into someone who knows you, and that would cause trouble. Now, I feel like a new person, with a new identity. I don’t even have an ID. I can’t do any transactions; I’m like a foreigner.
This difficulty led Dr. Ake to try to find out who I really was and restore my memory for many reasons, such as claiming my rights as a citizen of this country. But I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted to live quietly, without an identity, and die alone.
As for the food stall I just opened, it’s nothing more than a table with trays of food sold in sets in the morning. However, it seems that my cooking is quite popular, as many people have stopped by, and everything sold out within the first two hours. It was so successful that someone from a famous hotel even asked me to prepare meals for their staff every day.
