Living in a Mirage

Chapter Twelve

"And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all."

Maurice Sendak,

Where the Wild Things Are

* * * * *

"I need to call someone," he suddenly said after a long silence.

Jennifer looked at the patient critically, and thought about the demand that he had made. Being used to the softer side of him who just talked about his lady-love and how much he needed her, she had thought of him as somebody calm, kind, and a true gentleman. But there he was, ever since he could, which was only a few hours now, he has been hurling out demands and orders, then trade and plan to make them comply. In short, he was bossy and a whiny brat, and such a disappointment!

It had taken him a few minutes, after talking to his father, to nod at Dr Waltz, which apparently meant that he was going to let the doctor and nurse do their jobs. After having all the needed conversation to know his medical condition, getting out of him the needed answers to know how to assist him, Dr Waltz had walked out, leaving him in her care. The care which he was acting like he didn't need nor would he like to be around her. He wasn't letting her help him - basically, he wasn't letting her do her job peacefully, which was the real reason why he was getting on her nerves.

"Excuse me, if you are done with glaring at me, make a move." she heard him tell her with an exasperated tone in his voice.

"I am going to need the phone number for that," she complied after a sigh.

"And I am going to need a paper and pen to write down the number for that," was his smart answer for her.

Shaking her head, she again complied. Giving him the needed she stood there to look at him as he started to write down the number. When after a few minutes, he still was unable to give her the needed number; she looked at him more closely. He had written down a few numbers just to erase them again. After watching him make a few more attempts, she understood what the problem was. He didn't remember the number.

As she looked at him, she noticed his tight grip around the pen, almost breaking it in between his left hand while he kept glaring at the paper as it was all its fault, she decided to call Dr Waltz for help.

"I can't remember the numbers, any number. How? Why?" Manik asked as soon as he saw Dr Waltz walk in.

"Calm down, Manik. Let's see what the problem seems to be, okay?" Dr Waltz said as he came to stand near the bed.

"But I remembered the phone numbers, all of them. I always have been good at remembering the numbers. How can I not remember them now?" He panicked.

As Dr. Waltz asked him different questions, he realized his memory was fuzzy, he didn't remember what happened before the accident, or when was that he had the accident that has caused him so many injuries. He couldn't pinpoint the events before his accident, not even the far away ones. Which one came before and what happened after, he couldn't place his memories in order.

"Even though it's early to diagnose, I think you may be suffering from cognitive disorders," Dr Waltz concluded.

"What?" Manik asked him.

"You are suffering from cognitive disorders, Manik, because of the head injury caused by the accident," Dr Waltz informed him.

"And what that does mean?" He asked confused.

"Cognitive disorders are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving, and includes amnesia, dementia, and delirium," Dr Waltz explained as he came to sit on the chair near to the bed.