Mikaal

51: Mikaal

"Your boyfriend tried to give you CPR but by the time the paramedics arrived, you hadn't been breathing for over half an hour—your heart had stopped."

Dalia swallowed, listening intently as Ardelle went on.

"They continued with cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the ambulance, then the doctors took over in the hospital. But after their failed attempts to get your heart beating again, you were pronounced dead." Ardelle paused. "Now here's the crazy part. Miraculously, twenty minutes later, your heartbeat returned unexpectedly. You were still unconscious though."

She let out the breath she had been holding. "Miraculous? So, this doesn't usually happen?"

"No," Ardelle said, her tone inflected. "It's very very rare—there are less than fifty cases since the 1980s. It's been called Lazarus syndrome. It actually takes its name from Lazarus from the New Testament of the Bible, who was raised from the dead by Jesus."

Dalia was quiet, taking it all in. "And...there's no explanation?"

"The causes aren't well understood. There are a few theories though. One theory suggests that it may be because of the buildup of pressure in the chest after CPR. Then the relaxation of that pressure after the attempts have stopped is thought to allow the heart to expand, triggering the heart's electrical impulses and restarting the heartbeat."

Dalia sighed out loud but didn't say anything.

"As for the heavy blow to your head, yes, it was the surfboard. The notes say you sustained damage to both your basal forebrain and the frontal lobes. This confirms our theory that you have confabulation. However, the CT scans show the damage wasn't too severe, which explains why you've been functioning quite normally."

"How long was I in the hospital for?"

"Only a week and a half."

'Only...' Her face grimaced at the recollection of her family's blatant lie, telling her she'd been there only a couple of days. "Ardelle, you said I was still unconscious?"

"Yes. You regained consciousness a week later, but they kept you in hospital to do some further scans and monitor your progress. But you remember that part, right?"

Still sitting on the sandy floor, damp from the rain that had stopped, she shifted in place while the wind howled in the background. "Not in great detail, but yes," she said. "I remember waking up and staying in hospital a couple of days after that. Actually..." Creases formed between her brows.

"Yes?"

"I'm just remembering my mother... It's really odd thinking about it now, but I let it slide back then."

"What about her?" Ardelle asked, curiosity in her tone.

"She never left my side. And I mean never. But she's always been quite overprotective..." Dalia's mind wandered, the picture vivid in her mind as she gazed at the deep blue sea that looked less threatening now. "The weird part though was, she interrupted the doctors a lot. Like, when they asked me how I was, if I remember what happened, my mother answered for me. And when they started to explain what was going on, she kept saying things like, 'I've already told her. Please don't overwhelm her. I'm worried it's going to cause her more stress.'"

"Hmm..."

"Was there anything else?"

A few mouse-clicking sounds wafted through the receiver before Ardelle spoke again. "There isn't much about the extent of your amnesia—only one note saying you didn't recall what happened due to possible trauma."

"So my mother, family might've kept that from them?"

"Very possibly..."

Dalia shook her head, her expression incredulous. To think that her mother, her family had gone to such lengths...