False Identity

FLASHBACK TO 1 YEAR AGO

I couldn't find it. It had been 2 hours since I arrived from the hospital and I still couldn't find it. Where did he say it was? The bedroom? My hands trembled as I paced back and forth across the wooden flooring of my parent's bedroom.

Beads of sweat started forming on my forehead, threatening to roll down at any moment and I realized I had to find it, that letter. As I paced back and forth across the bedroom frantically, trying to search for a rectangular piece of worn out paper, I tried recalling what my parents had told me in the hospital.

They were on their way home when their white Toyota Corolla collided with another car heading eastbound on highway 401. The damage was catastrophic, it killed the other vehicle's driver upon impact. My parents, however, had managed to survive the crash but were in critical condition.

I had received the call about 2 and half hours ago, but it's what my father told me that was confusing me.

As they were being rushed into the emergency room, I had held onto the trembling and cold hand of my father who utterd with intense urgency, "Sam, you must go home and find a letter. It will be a bit old and yellow and have a photo of you attached to it. It is in the bedroom. You must find it before it's too late, now go!"

He was unable to tell me anything else as the nurse had rushed him into the ER, thus here I was, having little to no luck finding that piece of paper.

I could still remember how his deep grey eyes had locked with my own emerald green ones, scanning me for any response, but all I could do was stare back. The sudden realization that I could become an orphan in a matter of moments had struck me, causing me to dash from the hospital and run all the way back home, which was only 10 minutes away.

I remembered the strange glances I was receiving on my way back, but all I could think about was finding that letter. Once I had reached my house, I ran all the way to the bedroom and began searching everything and anything in my sight. It had been 2 hours now and I still couldn't find it. I was about to have a breakdown, I could sense from the way my eyes were straining and my lip was wavering, when I saw a flash of white from underneath the cupboard. I quickly bent down to floor length and grasped for the paper. I pulled it out and brushed off the dust that had settled upon it. I opened up the folded paper and quickly scanned it.

What I saw upon it caused me to fall into a state of utter confusion. I couldn't understand how it could be possible, I refused to believe it. I rapidly stuffed the letter into the pocket of my dark denim jeans and made my way back to the hospital in a daze the entire way there.

I made my way to the emergency wing of the hospital and entered room 232, where my parents were now being held. I glanced around the room and saw both my mother and father laid down on hard white beds, side by side, with an IV attached to both of them. They were both covered in gauze, with the blood from their wounds seeping through the white cloth. I looked at the doctor and from the look on his face, knew they would not make it out of this room alive, which was why I needed to act fast. I headed to my fathers side and while crouching down grabbed a hold of his painstakingly icy hands.

"Dad, please look at me." I called out to him softly and attempted to act strong, but failed to do so.

He slowly turned his bandaged head towards me, upon his face a look of fear and immense pain. I instantly pulled out the letter and showed it to him.

"Dad, what is this? Why does this copy of my birth certificate say this? Why does it have a photo of me on it with all the wrong information? My name is Sam Rosewood, not Daniel Woodsman. Why does it have all this false information on here?"

I repeatedly questioned my father, as I scanned his face for any sign of confusion, but instead what I saw scared me. I saw a mixture of regret, guilt and sadness.

"Sam..." He began, his voice hoarse yet painfully quiet, "It's true, and everything that it says on that paper is true. We are not your real parents; your real name is not Sam Rosewood." As he uttered out the words, I scrunched my face up in confusion and felt my heart sinking.

"What...? What do you mea- no this can't be! I am your son! My name is Sam Rosewood, I'm 20 years old and I belong to the Rosewood family!" I exclaimed, as I furrowed my brows in anger.

How could this be? I thought to myself. How could I be this other person?

"Sam..." My father began and broke me out of my trance, "We were going to tell you soon, your mother- I mean Nancy and I, but we couldn't make it out to tell you, but I guess I have no choice now. Sam...listen to me very carefully."

I nod in response while attempting to control the flood of tears trying to escape my eyes.

"When you were 10 years old, you were involved in a major accident, the one in which you lost your memory of those 10 years. Your real family, they didn't want you to remember who you really were, that is why they contacted us and told us to take care of you. We gratefully accepted you as Nancy could not have a child of her own...Sam, I'm really sorry for everything... please forgive me..." My father muttered when he suddenly started coughing.

"Dad? Dad! Are you okay? What's happening? You have to tell me more! Who were they? Who were my real parents? Dad!" I screamed frantically, fresh tears stinging my eyes, as I heard my mother began coughing as well.

The feeling of tears felt foreign to me as I did not cry much, but this situation had turned me into an emotional wreck. Before I could say anything else, the nurse pulled me out of the room and shut the door tightly.

I peered through the small window of the room door and saw the doctors trying to pump my parent's hearts, as their heart monitors had started slowing down. Before I knew it, I heard the sound of both of their heart monitors flat line, and saw the doctors giving each other a glance.

The main doctor, Dr. Brown, walked out the room and turned towards me, preparing to tell me the news I already knew. As he was about to fill me in on the death of both my parents, I realized I didn't know who I was anymore. All my life I was fed a lie, forced to believe and lived with people I thought were my own blood. At that moment I made it my goal to figure out who I really was.