LOST MEMORY

WARD 212

Beep... Beep... Beep..., the monitor finally normalized, reading in its weave-like lines indicating Laura's lifeline as she eventually opened her eyes. Her chest rose and fell softly and her breath was like a fog in the oxygen mask.

" She's awake..." A nurse joyfully cried and every one of them cheered.

"Great job, guys " The doctor hailed. Amy who was all along, peering from the glass panel with Kelvin, hugged him in tears~ it was tears of joy.

"Our Laura finally made it, Kelvin... She eventually won the race" She cried with a chuckle, almost like a person with a mental ailment. Kelvin couldn't help than hug back, his joy weighed into tears.

" Yes, mum~ I told you, our Laura is a fighter" He added. They both watch her oxygen mask taken off by the doctor and they smiled.

" Laura?... Can you see me?~ Raise a finger or blink if you can" The doctor said to Laura who just stared at him without a word. She spontaneously lifted a finger and everyone gleamed, of which Amy and Kelvin were not exceptional.

" Where's my family ~ I want to see them" She requested in a soft voice and the doctor smiled with a nod.

" Just rest here, I'll bring them in on our way out, okay?" He stated and Laura nodded in response.

After a few checks, they exited the ward, and Amy trotted in with Kelvin tailing right behind.

" Mum...Kelvin" Laura whispered and Amy spontaneously hugged her as she bend over the bed~ tears trekked down her cheeks as she brushed her hands over Laura's hair.

" Oh, my baby~ I thought I'll never hear you say these words again" She sobbed. " Thought I'd lost you forever" Amy whined. Laura who was by now in tears kept tilting her head with a no.

" Sorry for making you all worried~ Sorry" She shrieked and Kelvin hunched forward, joining in a hug as he wrapped his arms around them. " It was so cold that~ I was afraid...afraid I wouldn't see you all again" She added on an impulse, her tears beyond control.

After a few seconds of embrace and reunion moment, it was finally time for them to return home. Mya was by now ready to be discharged and Laura was to stay in for two more days for a doctor's check and monitoring before she could be discharged. Biding a farewell, Amy kissed her forehead with a bright smile~ Kelvin stared cheerfully at them, it's been quite a while he noticed such a bright smile on their mother's face. For a moment, he felt everything returning to normal.

" See you in the morning, love" Amy stated and Laura nodded with an okay. She stared at their backs as they exited ~ Pausing at the door, Kelvin waved and she waved back to which their backs faded with the shut of the door.

***************

His eyes rimmed in tears, frustrated and nervous, Rubin raced along the corridors; taking glances at the number of each ward he bypassed. Finally, he made a halt, " Ward 212 " the blue plate on the wall read. He steadily and slowly inched towards the door as if approaching a nightmare which suddenly made everything slow down.

Leaning over the glass panel of the door, Rubin giggled, tears trekked down his cheeks in the process~ It's true, she wasn't dead. He thought he had lost her forever, the moment her spirit faded from his embrace. The revelation gave him a sense of relief~ not hesitating, he pushed the door as he stood framed in the doorway, shutting it behind him.

Laura turned and found him, staring at her with smiles. " Who are you ?~ Did you miss your ward? " The question just popped from her mouth with her brows furrowed which rendered him speechless and disheartened, for a moment, he felt numb.

" Laura...?" He stuttered, conflicting emotions fought in his chest. " Don't you remember me?" He asked in a near whisper. She kept her expression neutral but she could smell the boy's disappointment and it was getting her even more curious.

" Sorry...do I know you?~ How did you know my name" She asked as if checking boxes in the terrible list that lived inside her brain.

" Is me, Rubin...your boyfriend " He retorted after unearthing his voice. His reply instinctively trilled her, she growled.

" Boyfriend?.... Sorry, I presume you got the wrong ward here. " She added as if on an impulse and before he could reply, she gestured him out.

"Please, if you may excuse me~ need to rest now" Laura stated as she turned her gaze from him, adjusting the sheet midway over her body while she rested her head with closed eyes. " Turn off the light when leaving~ thank you."

She notified but determined, Rubin, pressed on. " I mean it, Laura Roberts~ maybe you don't remember now but this is the ward I came looking for" He reasoned which brought her raging anger to bare.

" I said I don't have a boyfriend!" She howled. " Are you a stalker or something?..... You're becoming wired, please....leave else I'll call the security to do so." She tensed. Her thoughts seemed set to the nervous rhythm of her pulse, leaping around erratically~ his eyes shuddered and he staggered but remained upright.

Rubin's silence made him still. It was the silence of anyone hurt and embarrassed, and being shouted at by a stranger. Without a word, he backpedaled as he turned the knob opened and found his way out in a stupor. Everything felt like a bad dream he'll soon wake up from as he wound his way down the stairs and out onto the desolate stretch of AIva street, heavy clouds scudded across the cloudy moonlit sky and fog rolled in like ocean waves~ tall, relentless, wet and powerful.

The past few months with Laura around had changed a lot about him ~ For now, it felt he couldn't live happily without her presence. The moments they shared, flooded his thoughts like a wild stream; the first time he saw her at the school's infirmary, the night under the sky counting stars, sharing meals at lunchtime, sharing earphones, the rooftop, and the night infront of the dress shop~ all took turns in his mind as he fainted into an empty seat at the far end of the bus.

He had earlier bought the dress she asked for the other day and had wanted to surprise her after school but everything failed when he learnt the news of Alixies absence from home and the whole incident which happened afterward. It had been a long day for all of them. Gazing at the dress in his hands, he burst into silent tears~ his heart ached with each passing moment.