Trying to remember

Chapter two - Amnesia

"...Amnesia? And there was no identification?"

"None at all, they found a car up the hill from the river where they found her, but it doesn't appear to be hers. The police can not tell us anything more. Although they do want to speak to her. Dr Steel has said she is not ready yet, but they keep hastling."

"Poor thing..." There was a pause from their whispers, but she already knew they were talking about her. No one to look after her. No support team.

"Dr Steel has been checking on her. He told her a few days ago that we were her support team. I do feel for her, but at the same time I feel quite scared of her."

"Whatever for Janet? Look at her..." There was another pause as she could almost feel the eyes of the two women scrutinizing every crippled inch of her.

"No one knows who she is Chris."

"So? She's not the first Jane Doe we've had. We have had a few cases, but usually it's all cleared up within..."

"A couple of days Chris, a couple of days! This poor woman has been here for nearly two weeks. No one has come forward, she hasn't been reported as missing, as the police have been in every day, they would have been able to tell us that at least. There has been nothing."

"Well, I'm sure it won't be long before they reach out to the public. Perhaps taking a photo and sharing it on the local news or something. Sometimes they do that right?"

"I don't know Chris, we have never been in this situation. I think..."

Their voices faded off as they walked away. She could no longer hear them. At first, she thought it was because her heart was beating too fast, but as she struggled against her heavy lids she realised that she was alone in the room once again. The talk of sharing her photo publically had sent bolts of fear through her, although she did not know why. Was this a typical thing that was done when someone showed up without identification? Jane Doe: she had heard of this term before,  although she couldn't remember when, nor what it exactly meant, but it was obvious that the nurses had been referring to her as this Jane Doe. She knew it wasn't in the term of someone famous, as no one had referred to her by name. Dr Steel had asked her for her name, and she had not been able to tell him.  Although on the other hand, they had been able to tell her about her broken bones, so right now the only conclusion she could come to was that no one in this hospital knew who she was. It didn't matter whether this was a large or small hospital, they couldn't find out who she was or else they would have by now. Their next step must be sharing her photo. Again, the thought of this sent that fear cripppling throughout  her body. Perhaps she didn't want to be known.

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Time is a strange matter. When you are searching for more of it you find that the time you already are occupying is stretched thin: forcing you to cancel or rebook your chores; errands;  appointments; duties and responsibilities. Whereas when you are trying to pass the time, you feel each turn of the clock hands and struggle - sometimes even beg - for something that will help the time to pass more quickly. When there seems to be nothing to occupy your over-eager mind, some refer to this as boredom and is usually cured with some task or another. On the other hand, if you were recovering from exhaustion or a type of injury one very often would simply lose track of time altogether. Days blurring into weeks, drifting in and out of consciousness, never remembering what date you even started on. Was there any wonder then, why she didn't remember anything?

Gradually though, she stayed awake for longer periods of time. She didn't call anyone as she wasn't even sure if she actually needed help with anything. What was there for her to do? While she was awake when the nurses were present they tried to engage her in conversation: she responded in short sentences, not knowing what else to say,  constantly feeling their pity and fear of her.