Lumanti (Memory)

A Place to Remember

Lumanti and Aaron carried few boxes of stuff upto the door and as Aaron fumbled with the keys, Lumanti was lost in  thoughts and was second guessing her intention to enter the house. It was as if some thing inside her mind was trying to seep in some information but she could not understand it as if it was speaking in completely different language.

"I don't know if you remembered it and I don't know how you managed to organize such an amazing birthday party for me without me knowing at my place," he said opening door to his place, "Come on in."

Lumanti was taken aback from his words. Of all the things he had been saying while she was lost in her own world, she only got bits like his amazement towards her for throwing him a birthday party. 

"T, you okay?" he asked again with concern clouded over his face. She just nodded and walked inside the home silently carrying the boxes and leftover of the party.

It was Aaron's childhood home when his parents along with him migrated to Australia. Aaron was 11 years old. After his high school, his parents decided to rent out the house and leave for Adelaide but when Aaron decided to study in Wollongong, they gave the place for Aaron to stay. He helped looking after the place and paid the bills. He used to share the place with his friends previously.

"You live on your own, now?" She asked.

"Yep. It has only been me since past few months." Aaron responded. He was thinking of leaving the place soon but her phone call altered his decision to move out of this place.

They kept all the things inside and Aaron went to grab some water from the kitchen while Lumanti went down the hall to find the bathroom. Though her present mind knew nothing about the place her senses felt some sort of familiarity as if she had been here several times before.

As she returned, Aaron was sitting in the couch at the lounge area. She stopped in her tracks and she started to feel uneasiness in her heart. She felt like she remembered something but couldn't really put a finger on it. "Was Sam here on your birthday party?", she asked.

Surprised by her question, he responded, "Yeah, she was here. Why?" and he realised something about that night's conversation.

"Hmm, nothing, where did we exactly have that conversation?" She asked.

He sat there silently not knowing what to say exactly.

"You know that led for us to argue and me to storm out of here." She added again impatiently when he didn't respond anything.

"T, about that, we didn't exactly," he looked down at the floor trying to form the correct words as they never had an actual conversation about the issue that night. When he looked up, he got up and fast move towards her shouting, "T? T are you okay?"

Lumanti just stared blankly in front of him and suddenly tried to hold on to something but couldn't find anything. He hurriedly went towards her to catch her before she could fall. She lied unconscious in his arms. Restless he tried to wake her up, sprinkled water on her face, when nothing happened, he got her into his car and drove to the nearest hospital and called Ri.

He was pacing back and forth in hospital lobby when he saw Ri, furiously walking towards him. "What did you do, now?", she said furiously glaring at him.

"We were just at my place talking and suddenly she fainted. I don't know what happened. But she is not waking up at the moment. I am sorry. I really am." He was getting anxious and stressed. Ri felt bad for shouting at him and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to her. She is very strong." She had never liked him but she knew that he has always loved her with all he had.

"Why is she not waking up?"

"Hey Aaron, don't worry, ok shh. She is fine. She will be fine." She put her arms around his shoulder to console him.

For the first time they both hugged each other and consoled each other to be strong for that one person that both of them loved so much.

"They wont let us stay here for long so let's go home ok. We can come back tomorrow."

"No, I am not going anywhere."

"Don't be stupid Aaron. You need to rest as well."

"No Ri, I am staying. I am not leaving her. Not this time."

"I know you feel guilty for last time but she won't go anywhere. She will be right there Aaron."

"I will sleep in the bench if needed. I am not going anywhere."

"She is not waking up and even if she does, they won't let you meet her. I know that because I was where you are right now, last time it happened."

"Gosh! How did you deal with this last time on your own."

"Well anger towards you was helping and Sara helped as well."

"Sara? Oh your girlfriend right?"

"Ya Sara and I met when I rushed her to the hospital. She was doing her regular night shift. She thought Lumanti was my girlfriend at first."

"You wish,"

"Ya I wish."

They tried to distract each other from the chaos of present life by catching up with each other's mundane life.

"So how is she like? How did it all start?"

"She is great. I was a mess at that time when she came along to talk to me about her results. She eyed with me concern. She assured me there was nothing to worry about and that Ray will be fine. There was not much going on, our friendship started budding slowly while Ray was recovering. After she was discharged, Sara and I decided to meet outside of hospital for once. Then it all began from there. Then, we moved together. Ray decided to live on her own once she was well enough decided to move to Nowra. So, three of us meet once in a week for the movie night."

"So she is not jealous of yours and T's friendship, like your previous ones?" He tried to joke.

"No, Sara is different. She is amazing. I really think she is the one. In fact, she admired the way I took care of Ray." She chuckled.

"I am happy for you and I am truly sorry for everything that happened last year."

"Don't be. What has happened, has happened already, we cannot change anything."

"I hope she gets better soon." At his words, Rianne's heart once lightened by their conversation was heavy again. Noticing change in her posture, he asked if everything is alright.

She sighed and said, "Aaron, I have to let you know that doctors had warned me before about this very situation."

"What do you mean?"

Rianne cleared her throat before speaking, "Doctors told us to take therapy slowly and not to overwhelm her mind. Too much of overwhelming information or memories might lead her to coma or seizure due to her brain injury. Hopefully that's not the case and she will wake up soon but I want you to be prepared for it as it is one of the things that might happen."

"That's why you wanted me to leave soon so that I don't raise my hopes. She will be fine Ri. She will be. She has to be. You will see Rianne, she will wake up tomorrow." His voice was rising and falling as he spoke. His eyes were now filled with tears and profusely falling out of his brown eyes while Rianne hold him through the process.

Meanwhile, Lumanti was getting recollection of all the memories that was safely isolated in her mind, as if she was being attacked by every possible memory that she managed to secure in back of her head with no intentions of addressing them at all. It was now as if something had found the key and unleashed all the demons of memories to her mind. Opened all the doors of her clue house at once and her mind couldn't handle all the attacks that came at her without any defense from her side. She remained unconscious in front of the world while each memory came in front of her one by one with no control of her own. She let it all in giving up on protecting herself from it; accepting them as each passed by. Then came the memory of the night that confused her, and this made her angrier and more furious.