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The Hospital Visit
A patient stares at a window leading to the outside world. It was sunny, almost too sunny for the girl's liking. The silent nature of the room was quite relaxing, but due to the white stained wall and over bearing smell of medicine, it reminded her of where she was: the hospital. Her gentle smile quickly dropped into one of sentimental.
In truth, the girl couldn't remember anything of the incident. Everyone claims that she was just in a "unfortunate event". But that was as far as they would go. No further detail was mentioned. Everybody but her knew of the calamity. They spoke with pity as they paint the picture of the accident in an overly dramatic tone. But the girl kept a straight face throughout their negligible benevolence for her. She simply does not care for those people as much as she should. She did not care about the nurses who took care of her, the doctor that had saved her life, the relatives who came to visit and wish her a good recovery. Even the two 'wonderful' people who'd brought her to life in the first place.
She does not feel any connection with them.
The girl blinked once, then twice, and pressed her mouth into a thin line. Her eyes growing blurry. Out of nowhere, a realization struck her. These cogitations are so dumb, she snorted. Since when did she get so angsty these past few weeks. She bitterly chuckled at the thought. Me? Angsty? No... I'm just.. going crazy. Yeah, that was it.
Clearly, that did not make the situation any better. She has yet to retrieve her memory and was still in this stupid hospital with anxious adults who knew no more about her than herself. The brunette let out a frustrated sigh all the while she laid down on the cushioned bed. With one last peek at the window, she close her eyes and let her imagination take over.
One of the many way she would keep herself entertain during her stay at the hospital was letting her thought go on about anything they felt like thinking about. But what she does other than think was imagine.
She would imagine the feelings of running through a field of various flowers and tall grass. To feel the sun's ray on her skin. To spread her limbs onto the grass; feeling every crevices between her fingers. To have someone to lean on and share your happiest and saddest moments. To finally feel happiness once again. Those illusion she'd created in her mind simulated what she thought happiness was. Illusions- they're just lies created to trick the mind. Lies- those were what they had told her. Whether they were lying or not, the girl wouldn't know. She would not know a difference for she has lost her memory.
In the end, no matter how hard she tries to forget them, they always pop back into her mind, uninvited and unwanted. She frowned, remembering all the times she had ask them about it, to tell her the truth. But nobody would comply and insists that she should not get too stress out about those type of thoughts. She hated how they treated her like a child, an ignorant innocent child. But she was not ignorant nor innocent. She knew all there was to know, except for what happened before the incident. And she was definitely not innocent, not in the slightest.
But the cause for her curiosity was through The Stranger. The Stranger that would visit her everyday. At the same time, and with the same gift. And every time they came, the same expression was painted on their face. A smile. A painful smile. Almost as if the sight of the girl had caused this expression to fall upon them. The Stranger didn't say much. They only asks of the girl's well-being. Every time The Stranger stopped by, they would always bring a blue violet; which they would gingerly placed upon a curved white flower vase. The vase that was given to the girl by her aunt.
?The girl did not question the action of The Stranger. Rather, she'd just let them die on the desk without any acknowledgement, wihout any guilt. Ever since The Stranger had came by to visit and deliver the present(s), the girl's aunt began to notice the ever-growing pile of roses wilting on the desk beside the white hospital bed. Her aunt would ask about them and the girl would shrug. Not because she didn't know the answer. But because she didn't know how to explain the answer. The question was left haphazardly answered- which her aunt let slide because she was still in the progress of recovery. On that note, it was quite a relief that she was able to get away with most things. The girl did not feel like speaking to anyone. It was as if her heart had created a metal casing surrounding her ability to trust during the brief coma she had that faded away with her memories.
A click from the door nob interrupted her rumination. The girl furrows her brows in irritation but turns her head towards the noise, already having an insight on who it might be. Behind the frame of the door stands a tall figure with long wavy blonde hair. They wore a gray trench coat with a white turtle-neck, A navy blue jeans held by a brown belt, and a pair of brown boots to compliment with the rest of the outfit. The girl recognizes the person's facial features; it was The Stranger.
The figure approaches the chair on the right side of the bed. They simply stood there, staring into the abyss of the patient's eyes. Feeling obligated to say something, the brunette wheezed out a barely audible question, "W-why are you here? Who are you?". It was more of a statement than a question as the girl already knew part of the answer. The Stranger was here to give her the flower, as usual, but for what motive? It's not like The Stranger knew who she was since she hasn't even gotten their name yet.
Their eyes locked. The girl stared hard at The Stranger with conflicted eyes, debating if she should tell them to leave. She looked down at her lap. The Stranger didn't seem fazed by the question... until the girl spoke again.
"Get out," The Stranger stood there, wide-eyed. Their feet grounded to the floor, their muscles refusing to respond. A whole minute pass by before the girl realizes that The Stranger wasn't planning on going anywhere. "I said get out!", she spat.
The Stranger clenched their fist tightly, fighting the urge to weep. Grinding their teeth against each other to prevent any pride-crushing noise from escaping. The girl was just as surprised at what she had shouted herself. Looking up at The Stranger's face, she noticed that their nose had grown pink as well as her clenched fist. Her eyes glide up from The Stranger's hand to their shoulder and noted that they were trembling ever so slightly.
The girl's heart ache at the sight. She did not understand why. The Stranger was not related to her in any way, shape, or form. She did not know this person nor has she ever wanted to. But somehow their expression seems to affect the girl immanently. She did not understand why. She did not get it at all. The girl begins to tear up as with the Stranger across from her. "Why are you here? Who are you? What are your intentions?", her voice cracked on the last word as she releases all the questions she'd been bottling up for the chance to finally get an answer to them.
Her screeching faded into silence. She glanced at the stranger's clasp fist, then at their face to read their expression, hoping to decipher it. Needless to say, it did not work and the room was back to it's original state; undisturbed and silent. However, it was different. The room was so quiet that one could hear an eerie ringing in the back of their head. It had became much more unsettling.
A wave of guilt washes over the girl's mind. She clasped the spotless blanket. The girl opens her mouth and attempts at an apology. But no words came out. It was as if someone had their hand grasp around her neck; preventing her from producing any vowel. The illusion was almost too believable as she was beginning to feel suffocated. She felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Her vision blurred as The Stranger's face goes out of focus. Her lips-which was still agape- trembled as a drop of moisture drip down her face. She did not know whether it was sweat or tears but all she could think about was the asphyxiation feeling she was experiencing.
"Jocelyn...", a voice snapped her out of the hallucination. Blinking ferociously, She flicked her head from side to side to confirm she was still in the same hospital room. Her heart pounds irregularly in her chest. Giving The Stranger her utmost attention, she furrows her eyebrows. "Who is...Jocelyn?"
The question slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. The Stranger jerked their head up, looking at the girl with a furious expression. "You... you killed her! You killed Jocelyn,"
The patient looked at the visitor with disbelief. "I.. Excuse me? What do you mean I killed her?". Her voice shook violently as she couldn't acknowledge the information she was suddenly given.
"I can't accept the fact that you survived and she... died...", The Stranger trailed off as she slowly crumble to the ground, holding her knees to her chest. "..she died in that car accident you were in."
Shocked at what the blond had told her just now, the girl quickly shot back a response, "Then... why do you keep bringing me those stupid, stupid flowers!?", she peers over the other girl. "If you resent me so much, then why would you go out of your way to buy me gifts let alone visit me at all?!", she shouted with as much force as she could manage to squeeze out. Realizing her sudden rise in volume, she lowers her voice into her normal speaking tone, "We don't even know each others..."
A moment passed by before one was able to recover from the shouting fit.
?"Because...", the brunette sat up as straight as she could, preparing for her longed answer, "because.. you reminded me of her..."
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The inspiration behind this piece was the cliche idea revolving around amnesia. The girl has trouble remembering the event that had transpired during the accident. A numbing discovery led her to understand, somewhat, of the reason why The Stranger has been visiting her.