The Forgotten One

The Recovery

Darkness… total darkness is what he saw, until his awakening. He felt nothing, no sensation at all, just darkness. Then he saw, a bright glow at some distance from where he stood. He walked up to that strange brilliance to only see it growing bigger and bigger as he got closer. Then, slowly the glow cleared and a peculiar figure began to appear. The figure started to take the shape of a child. The child wasn’t facing him, but looking into space, as if pondering over something. The child was at least 10 years old. He wore clothes that were torn and dirty. He seemed to be enclosed in a room, alone, without hope. A stench of mud and dirt could be felt throughout the room. The man stood in shock at seeing the child, for it was none other than himself…

The child began to cry for help. The man knew not why the child was crying. And as if by chance, the whole room caught fire. The fire that ate it all, which became an anguish for all living or dead and left only ashes behind. The man saw it, fear dominated him, trembled his entire body, making him a statue in itself. He wanted to help the child but couldn't. He tried hard to break himself from his state of immobility, but nothing happened. The fire quickly approached as it roared its pride and power over the things it burned. The man saw the fire crawling through the walls, eating up everything in its way, and darkening its essence. The child’s crying grew louder, and louder. The man could feel it echo through his ears beating his eardrums. And that’s when his eyes meet the child’s. The man could see the child’s tears rushing down his face. And suddenly the roof began to shake and crumble due the heat. A piece broke apart and fell over the child. And that’s when he woke up…

“He regained consciousness”, said the nurse. The man begins to yell: “Where are my parents? Are they fine?” The doctor comes hurriedly toward the man and says: “Calm yourself, you're still in a critical condition”. “I need to see them, where are they? They need me!” and begins to take off his oxygen mask. The man, then, sits up straight, and begins to take off the wires, that were connected to his body, abruptly. The doctor stops him and says “Sir, you cannot do that.” He turns around to the nurse and tells her: “Bring me some anesthesia and call for help, we need some manpower.” The nurse rapidly gives the anesthesia to the doctor and holds the man. At the same time some staff members come and help the nurse secure the man upright. The doctor cautiously injects the anesthesia into him. Slowly, the agitated man loses his sense of reality and falls into a deep sleep.

“He has awaken”, said the nurse. “Check his vital signs”, ordered the doctor. “Everything's stable”, replied the nurse. The doctor gets near him and says: “Do you hear me?, if you do please move your head to the right”. The man did as requested. “Hi, I’m doctor Charleston”, the doctor introduced himself. “You been here for the past 3 days”, said the doctor, “It's a miracle you have been saved. It seems luck was on your side. It was a most unfortunate event. You were brought here unconscious by a passerby. If you don't remember, you were found nearby a car crash which came on fire. You've got severe lacerations throughout your entire body, it may be due to the glass that was scattered around the crash and also it may be hard to tell, you must see it by yourself.” He takes out a hand mirror and gives it to the man. The man sees himself and dread falls upon his face. The doctor continues: “You suffered third degree burns on the left region of your face and I know it may be hard for you because this scar will live with you forever.” “ And my parents?” , the man spoke. The doctor grew silent, took a deep breath and said: “Your parents couldn't survive the ordeal, they were inside the car when it went on fire”. “ No! You must be lying! They cannot die!”, yelled the man. “Calm down, there was nothing that could be done, it was as if it was destined to happen.” replied the doctor. “ No, it cannot be!”, the man said. Tears rushed down through the man’s cheeks. “I will leave you for a moment”, as he headed toward the door. As the man was crying silently, he heard a discussion behind the closed glass door of the room. He could see the dark silhouette of two men, one was that of the doctor, and the other of an unknown man. The unknown man’s voice was deep and refined, through his words he seemed to be a man of great intellect and undying stubbornness.  

“Sir, you cannot enter just now, he is in a state of shock, he recently has heard the news of his parents passing away”, said the doctor. “I’m here to ask some questions, that’s all”, said the unknown man. “You should still wait, until he's fully capable to answering your questions”, replied the doctor. “It is sufficient if he can understand my questions, let me enter”, he replied. He goes to open the door but the doctor stops him midway. “ Stop, please”, said the doctor. “It's fine”, said the man, “he can enter”. “ See, I told you”, said the unknown man, “He's fine with it”. “I’m giving you 10 minutes and don't be harsh”, said the doctor. “I won't”, he replied.

As he entered, he saw the room. The man was on the bed in front of him. There were two bedside tables at each side of the bed. One had some beautiful tulips on a colorful vase on top of the table. Beside the table, was a large window showing the eccentric landscape of the city lights.  Below the window, there were two wooden chairs. There was a bathroom at the right lower corner of the room. It was midnight by then, so not much light covered the room, except the bedside lamp that glowed the bed and the man. The walls were painted blue and some of it was falling off due to humidity below the air conditioner which was in the right upper corner of the room next to the bed. The unknown man wasn't visibly seen from where he stood. As he came to view, it could be seen that he was tall, middle aged, and had a built up body. His face was round and had deep wrinkles. He had smooth cheeks, a small rounded nose, dark black hair and below them were his brownish eyes. He wore a black coat and some dark jeans. In his right hand, he held a small red book with a pen encrusted through its center. He took a chair and sat on the right side, off where the man lay.

A smirk formed on the unknown’s man face, and a voice came from his lips: “Sorry for the inconvenience”, he said. “No, need to”, said the man. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Adrian Snow. I'm just here to ask you some questions to file in a report of the incident. I am more of a detective than a police officer”. He then searches through his coat and takes out a box of cigarettes. He takes out a cigarette and puts it on the tip of lower lip, when suddenly, a nurse comes up and says: “Sir, you cannot smoke here”. “ Oh, sorry, my mistake”, he replies and faintly smiles. He turns over the man, “I know you have had a hard time coping the death of your parents, it's really a great loss.” He takes a moment and then and speaks: “Ok, to start with this, I am going to ask some basic yes-no questions, answer accordingly.

“Are you Wylie Connor?”, asked the detective.

“Yes”, said the man.

“Do you live by 555 Wallace Street, house number 13?”

“Yes”, replied the man.

“Are you 26 years old?”

“No”, replied the man.

“Were you born on July 17, 1993?”

“Yes.”

“Are you the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Connor?”

The man replied: “Yes.” “Ok, that would be all”, said the detective, “I will come back tomorrow to get a detailed account of the incident. Thank you for your time.” The detective left the room. The man kept pondering on the bed if he had made the right decision.