Chapter 1

“Based on these MRI results of Mrs. Smith, it’s most likely that she will experience temporary memory loss due to the swelling observed,” said Dr. Joyce, her face clouded with concern for Mr. Alex Smith.

Mr. Alex Smith let out a deep sigh, his eyes filled with fear and almost in tears but he quickly composed himself and asked, “When will she finally wake up? It's been a week already and there have been no improvements whatsoever. I was assured that this is the best hospital, if you aren’t up to the task, then I will take my wife elsewhere!”

The doctor replied, “She will come out of the coma, I assure you. You don’t need to worry. We have good knowledge of situations like this.”

Mr. Smith tapped the table repeatedly, his gaze fixed on the sculpture on it. He raised his head and let out a deep breath. “Will she even remember me?” he said in a low and almost inaudible voice.

June opened her eyes and was hit by the bright lights in the room. She blinked multiple times hurriedly, then slowly opened her eyes with a squint as she began to take in her environment.

She looked around the room and noticed that she was in a hospital. She stared at the windows, which offered a great view of the light raindrops that morning, and watched as they glided down the glass.

She tried to get up from the bed. On seeing the IV tubes attached to the back of her hands, the reality of the situation hit her. Her heart beat faster as she thought to herself, What is this?… Why am I hospitalised? So many questions raced through her mind at once.

“Ouch… my head hurts.”

A nurse passing by the room saw that she was awake and entered the room. “Oh, Mrs. Smith, it’s so amazing to see you finally awake,” she said as she gently helped her lie back on the bed.”

June looked at the nurse and let out a little mocking laugh. “Sorry for the laughter, I don’t mean to come off as rude, but you seem to have me mixed up with someone else, my name is June.”

She continued to ask, “Why am I here? What about my parents and why are you looking at me like that?”

“Mrs. Smith, I know you have a lot of questions, but Dr. Joyce will be here with you shortly, you have nothing to worry about, okay. I will ask the administrators to call your husband, I’m sure you’ll feel so much better when he’s here,” the attending nurse said while gently removing the IV tubes.

June’s mouth dropped open in surprise as she wondered why the nurse was still referring to her as Mrs. Smith and talking about a husband after she had just corrected her.

“How many times do I need to tell you that my name is June? What husband are you talking about? I can’t deal with this right now please, my head hurts, just call my parents.”

The nurse left her room and June got up and walked around the room, her legs felt wobbly because she hadn’t used them in a while, she almost lost her balance a couple of times but curiosity had the best of her at that moment.

She walked around the room, placing her hand on the wall for support. She opened the drawer which contained some of her clothes but none of them were familiar. She took a jacket from the clothes, put it on and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

It was then that she began to observe her environment.“This is a very luxurious hospital room, I must say. Are Mom and Dad really that worried?” She let out a little laugh, looking around as she thought aloud.

She admired the ambience of the room, almost forgetting why she entered the bathroom until she looked into the mirror. June was in shock as she stared at the mirror, her face was very familiar and still unfamiliar at the same time as though she had aged overnight. The June she remembered is a vibrant 18-year-old girl and the person staring back at her in the mirror is a pale-looking, young woman.

Her mind was completely black at that moment as she kept staring at the mirror, stroking and trying to arrange her hair.

“I look so pale and lifeless ugh, why do I have wrinkles under my eyes? Since when did I begin to wear my natural red hair? I always dye it black?” she thought to herself and at this point, she became very scared and her hands were shaking lightly.

June opened the sink tap and the water flowed out, she used her shaky hands to scoop the water from the tap and washed her face. She looked back into the mirror and saw the same face staring at her.

“Good morning, Mrs. Smith. I must say, it is amazing to finally see you awake, please come sit,” said Dr Joyce as she entered the room.

“What is wrong with everything?” June saidsobbing “I have so much on my mind already, so please can you guys stop with the Mrs. Smith. It's making me so frustrated, my name is June… June Miller and please where the heck are my parents? I want to see them now.”

She was so frustrated at this point, she couldn’t help but cry.

Dr Joyce was caught in a very difficult place as she realised that she had no memory of her marriage. She feels sad to tell her about her memory loss but finally summons the courage to.

She looked her in the eyes and said “Yes June, I understand how you feel at the moment, you must have so many questions in your head right now and I will explain everything to you.”

“You are currently hospitalised due to an accident you sustained two weeks ago and you have a temporary memory loss which I believe that with proper care and examination, you will have your memories back.”

June didn’t utter a word, her eyes were filled with tears and her lips trembled, she couldn’t say anything. Dr Joyce continued “You really are Mrs. Smith and your husband will be here in no time, I am sure that he will explain things better to you.”

“Are you joking or something, Please… It’s okay, I don’t want any more of this madness. Call my parents.” She said but Dr. Joyce wasn’t doing what she had asked so she started screaming, “Call my parents, somebody call my parents… somebody please,” she cried out, tried to leave the hospital room but was met by her husband Mr. Alex Smith at the door.

“Oh thank goodness, your husband is finally here, I’ll leave you two now. Please, Mr. Alex, don’t hesitate to call me if you need any assistance,” Dr Joyce said and excused herself, leaving them alone in the room.