In Search of Identity

  • 18 Sep - 24 Sep, 2021
  • Salaar Laghari
  • Fiction

My three friends: the blonde, the brunette and the tall heighted guy were standing by my side in the room. I was lying with my eyes closed. The bandages were all over my head. Only my face was uncovered. The three of them seemed quite worried and stressed. One of the girls asked the doctor,

“Is he going to ever recover?”

“Yes, but there has been a severe injury on his head.”

I opened my eyes and looked around. The three of them were talking and I could hear and understand them.

The three of them were really surprised when I asked,

“Who am I?”

“What is he saying?”

the blonde asked.

The doctor said to them,

“He is currently suffering from amnesia. He has lost his entire memory.”

“Oh, but since when?”

“Since childhood. This is recoverable though. But try and make him comfortable as much as you can.”

“Who are you people?” I asked angrily. “Where am I? What is this place?”

“Don’t you recognise us?” the tall guy asked.

“Calm down,” the doctor said to him.

He then called the nurses to manage my condition.

As I started moving a bit, the doctor said to them,

“I’m sorry but you all should wait outside. Please…”

“Sure, no problem.”

The brunette was resisting but they took her forcefully yet politely.

A minute later while the three of them were standing outside, they saw a police officer making his way towards them.

“Don’t look at him,” the tall guy said to them.

The brunette however said when the police officer went far away,

“What do we do now? He has lost his entire memory.”

“What kind of a disease is this by the way?” the blonde asked.

“I have no idea,” the tall guy responded. “All we know is that he does not remember anything about his past.”

“Can this disease recover?”

“That’s what we need to find out. How, is what we must find out.”

Meanwhile back inside the room, I was sitting. I was calm and I was talking to the nurses,

“Can you tell me who I am?”

“Your friends are nearby,” the nurse answered. “They can help you with this. Don’t worry, everything will be alright.”

“How can I not remember who I am? And what is this place by the way?”

“It is the hospital. We treat patients here. Patients like you.”

“Oh… Can you call someone who is related to me?”

Next minute, the three of them were standing in front of me. The tall guy said,

“Your name is Henry Eckhart…”

He then pointed at the blonde and said,

“She is Ellison Butler…”

He then indicated towards the brunette by saying,

“She is Linda Wilson, and I am Luke. Luke Hammer.”

“Who are you guys?” I asked. “How do I know you all? And why don’t I remember anything.”

“You had an accident. We rescued you. Don’t worry. Everything is in control now.”

“Who am I exactly? Where are my parents? What city am I in?”

Linda asked the two of them,

“How is it that he has lost his entire memory and he still knows how to talk? How can he know everything else, like he is talking about the city and concept of parents?”

“Yeah I am having the same thoughts,” Luke answered.

“He’s not faking, is he?” Ellison put up a question.

Luke however bent forwards and asked me,

“Do you not remember anything at all?”

“I am very afraid right now.

I don’t trust you people,”

I replied.

“That is not the answer to my question but anyways, we’ll help you however we can…”

The three of them then left the room one after another.

“Please don’t leave me here alone,” I raised my voice.

Few minutes later outside the room, Luke and the girls stopped the doctor who was walking by. Luke asked him,

“What kind of disease is this?”

“Are you talking about the patient inside?”

“Yes, Henry. What kind of disease is this? He claims that he does not remember anything, but on the other side he knows how to speak, the concept of living in cities and having parents.”

“These things are stored in the subconscious. Skills such as speaking, walking and even driving; these are in the subconscious. He remembers all these. What you need to worry about is, is his identity.

He cannot remember anyone including his parents.”

“How can he be cured?”

Ellison asked.

“If you all can help him remember, remind him about his past, and then there is some hope.”

“That’s not something easy,” Luke exclaimed.

“Well, there are other therapies as well.”

“How soon can we, I mean how soon would he be discharged from the hospital?”

“Well, he needs to stay here for one more week at least. His injuries must recover. There has been a lot of internal bleeding.”

“Oh, God!” Ellison uttered.

“Alright, thank you…” Luke said to the doctor.

The doctor left them walking away.

***********

That evening, I was lying all alone in the room. I jumped out of the bed and walked in the room. I asked myself,

Should I escape from this hospital? But who will guide me further? I don’t know anyone here.

I walked towards the door and through the short window on the door, I peeked outside. There was no one outside.

I wanted to escape this place, I had to escape, I could not stay here any longer. But there was no way out. Even if I could escape, I had no one to guide me about who I was and where I came from.

Few hours later, I tried something that was as if trying to push a building with a man power of just two or three men. I tried as hard as I could to remember my past. I was digging a hole inside my mind. Trying to remember the last thing I could. It wasn’t quite realistic. It simply wasn’t happening.

How did this happen with me?

Meanwhile outside the hospital’s building, Ellison and Linda were seated on the footpath. They both were having coffee even though it was around midnight. Luke came by their side and said,

“How are we going to execute our plan further?”

“Just forget about it now,” Linda answered. “Right now, we must think that what we should do with Henry.”

“You know, I’m still confused about his disease.

How is this possible? I mean how someone can know how to talk and…”

“…Look, we have been through this before,” she interrupted him, “it is pointless, absolutely pointless to ponder over these details. Let’s just give ourselves a little rest and then focus on what we need to do with him.”

“Yeah… Well, we can’t leave him here and run.”

“We don’t have to.

We will simply wait for the

right moment.”

***********

Three Days Later

The three of them were there in my room. I was seated on the bed like a normal person. There were fewer bandages on my head. Linda said to me:

“You know something Henry? I actually envy you. I surprisingly envy this situation of yours.”

“How come?” I asked.

“My life has been really painful.

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