At the park of our university, the four of us were seated. Two girls and two boys; blonde, a brunette, a tall heighted fellow and myself. The brunette who was reading the newspaper began the conversation:

“Here’s an interesting piece of news. In some underdeveloped country, let’s not mention the name, an accident takes place. One single mother and one economist, the two of them are severely injured”

The tall heighted fellow was listening with utmost impatience. The brunette continued:

“Now the two of them are in the hospital. Unfortunately due to limited resources, limited staff, and more importantly limited time, the doctors can save only one of them”

“Ok” the blonde spoke.

“Now here’s what we must know, the mother is a single mother and has four children who are all under twelve. On the other side, the economist is not an ordinary economist, he is a gold medalist…Now the question is, with limited time and resources what must the doctors do?”

“Can’t they save both of them?” I asked.

“My answer is the economist” this tall heighted fellow spoke.

“Are you kidding?” the blonde spoke defensively. “There’s a mother of four children. They all depend on her”

“Well there’s an economist on the other side. The whole country depends on him, an under developed country if I’m not wrong”

“Wait, listen to me. Clear something here. You’re saying that they should let the mother of four children die?”

“No I am suggesting that they should think wisely. And you must too. That guy is an economist whose expertise can change the fortune of entire population”

“That’s not necessary”

“You know what guys” I spoke in between, “let’s not argue. There’s nothing we can do about this now. The staff of the hospital will do whatever they have to regardless of what we think”

“Hang on a minute” the blonde spoke, “I am really surprised that you think that the economist who has no family behind should be alive according to you…”

“…How do you know that?” he asked interrupting her. “How do you know that he has no family behind?”

The brunette spoke:

“There are no details about this”

“Alright fine” the blonde spoke, “let’s not assume that. Maybe he has a family, maybe he doesn’t. But I just want to know that the woman of four children. Her four children, what if they get involved in some criminal activity? What if they become a part of some mafia, after her?”

“Look if you want to talk about the consequences” he replied, “you’ll have to consider every aspect”

“Such as?”

“If there will be bad consequences of mother’s death, so will be for the economist. Bad consequences are everywhere; we cannot expect them to stop completely”

“Alright fine. Since you are defending the economist so much, tell me what guarantee do you have? How are you so sure that if he would be rescued then he would work upon the economy of the state and actually make it better?”

“Alright fine, I can ask the same thing. What guarantee do you have that the mother would actually look after the four children and not let them get involved in a criminal activity?”

“That is what every mother does” she answered spontaneously.

“What if she is a drug addict?”

“Now that’s an assumption. You can’t bring that in”

I got really fed up listening to this so I finally broke my silence:

“Look you guys, this is a never ending debate. Let’s just hope for the best, pray for them and move ahead now”

“I think he’s right” the brunette agreed with me and chuckled a bit.

I also laughed.

Thank God the debate finally ended.

It has been few weeks and I have been living in this city San Francisco. It doesn’t really matter why I am here but this city is way different than where I previously used to live. Washington is not the place I am really fond of.

I was at a bookshop one day and I was with a colleague of mine, the brunette. She wasn’t quite fascinated but I was more than what you can describe. I wasn’t really describing my emotions but I could have if someone would have asked me.

My brunette friend was standing at the biographies section and was checking some old books. As I walked by her side, I asked her:

“So you like reading personalities?”

“No, I am just wondering who could have written such a huge book”

“Just this book?”

“It’s not about writing the book per se. It’s about this world of books. People prefer such detailed information. That’s surprising me”

“I am willing to give you an answer for this”

“Ok I am listening”

“Detailed information is what is required to conduct a step by step analysis, on any particular topic”

“But these biography books”

“These people are great leaders. Their deeds and actions are questionable to many. A brief answer to objections is not enough. The writers have to solve the matter through different angles”

“Ok whatever” she kept the book back inside the rack.

I gave an expression of disliking her attitude but before moving to another section, I stated clearly:

“You know there’s something I must say here. If you are not into books, then I must inform you that there’s a lot you are missing. There’s a whole world out there that you haven’t seen”

“Hey, excuse me, you know me very well. You know that I am a reader and quite a passionate one. It’s just that I prefer reading short books. I like short books because I can’t stick to one subject for more than one month”

“I see”

I had no other words and nothing more to say since I was a bit embarrassed, to be honest. I however walked further towards the self-help section and finally found a spot to feel a little better. Do I owe her an apology? I don’t want to think about it.

I have one more confession though. Seeing so many books altogether, it made me feel disappointed. I do not want my life to end unless I have read each and every book in this shop. This shop is more of a library if you ask me.

My brunette friend was walking towards the counter. She had two books in her hand. Each book seemed not more hundred pages long.

“Oh God it hurts so much” I uttered. “So much to read and so little time”

I walked to another section so I could distract my mind.

At the playroom of our university, I was playing darts while my tall heighted friend was playing basket ball.

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 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 suffering from amnesia. He has lost his entire memory”

“Since when?”

“Since childhood. This is recoverable though. But try and make him comfortable”

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

“Don’t you recognize 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”

“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 spoke 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 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 yourself”

“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 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.

to be continued...