Where am I? Who am I? Why am I here? I thought to myself. Why can't I remember my name as I look around? Is this a hospital? What am I doing here?
The nurse walked in, looking at her chart. She glanced at me, and her eyes widened. "OH MY GOD! YOU'RE AWAKE! I'll go get the doctor!" She ran out the door.
I was puzzled. What just happened? Why is it so hard to move my legs? I can barely move them. I'll try not to move too much—I don't want to hurt myself.
The doctor walked in, his face full of surprise. "Oh my, it's a miracle that you're awake! This is amazing!" he said with a smile.
"Why is that?" I asked, puzzled.
"Well," he said, "you've been in a coma for a year."
A whole year? I shouted. "What happened to me? Why can't I remember who I am? Why am I here? Why have I been sleeping for a year? What month and year is it?"
"Slow down, one question at a time," the doctor said. "Your name is Alex, and it is November 1, 2035. We don't know the full details of what happened. All we know is that you survived a four-story building jump, and no one saw you jump. No one was with you on the roof, and even the security team is puzzled."
"They checked the cameras, but there was no signal at the time you were on the roof, and no footage exists. The police are investigating and will inform you when they have more details."
"Doctor, who called 911?" I asked.
"It was one of your co-workers. If he hadn't been there in his car, you would have lost too much blood and likely died. Luckily, he was there to call 911. I'm just glad you made it here."
"Why can't I remember anything?"
"You have amnesia," the doctor said, "but we don't know the type yet. We'll run some tests to find out. I know it's a lot to take in."
The doctor had my family checked to see if anyone had visited. "I'm sorry, but none of your family members have been here. The only person is your girlfriend—she's been here every single day. She's on her way right now."
"Alright," I said.
"By the way, what's your name, doctor? I forgot to ask earlier."
"It's alright. My name is Scott Jeffery."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I'm just doing my job. By the way, Alex, could I get something to eat? I'm pretty hungry."
The doctor chuckled. "I'll have one of the nurses get you some food. I'll be back later to check on you."
Wow, that was a lot to take in. I still can't believe I've been sleeping for a whole year. How did all this even begin?
The door opened. "Hi, my name is Lana," said the nurse, placing a tray in front of me. "Here's your food: a sandwich, chips, and water."
"Thank you! I'm so hungry, I feel like I could eat everything!" I said.
The nurse chuckled. "Anyone would be that hungry after sleeping for a year. It's amazing you've regained consciousness. After you're done eating, I'll take your tray."
I wondered if my family even cared that I was in the hospital. Did I even have friends? What was I like? Did I go to college, or did I just work? Would I ever be my old self again? I felt so lost. Thirty minutes passed.
Lana walked in. "I can take your tray now."
"Thank you."
"Of course. How are you feeling?"
"I feel lost, to be honest."
"Why is that?" the nurse asked.
"Well, I don't know what's going to happen next. I'm kind of scared."
"It's going to be alright."
"How is it going to be alright when my family hasn't even called to check if I'm safe?"
"I'm sorry. They must have been busy with work," she said.
"It's fine. I'm sorry for talking like that to you."
"It's alright. We all have our moments. I'll go take your tray to the cafeteria," Lana said.
"Alright, I'll try not to escape."
Lana laughed. "Alright, try not to."
Dr. Scott walked in. "Hello, Alex. How are you feeling so far?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything that happened earlier."
"Don't hurt yourself. It's a lot to take in—just take it easy. By the way, you have a visitor here."
"Who is it?"
"I'll give you some privacy," he said and walked out.
"Hi, I'm Audrey, your girlfriend," she said, tears pouring out with a smile.
"Hello," I said, surprised. "Wow…"
Audrey giggled.
"What?"
"You're really beautiful. How long have we been dating?"
"Since middle school—in eighth grade."
"So eight years? That's incredible."
"Yeah, next month, December 1, is our nine-year anniversary."
"I'm speechless. I just feel so happy."
An hour later, Dr. Scott walked in. "I see you two are reconnecting."
"Yeah, I was asking how long we've been dating, and I was shocked, but in a good way."
"Well, I'm glad for you."
"Thank you. By the way, do you think I could go home with Audrey?"
"First, let's get your medication. I'll get a wheelchair and be right back," he said.
"How are you feeling, Audrey?"
"I'm really happy that you're awake and coming home."
"Thank you for being here every day. I'm blessed to have you in my life."
Audrey blushed. "Of course."
"The wheelchair's ready."
"Sweet, thanks, Doc."
"No problem. Here's your medication—take it at 12 p.m. for three months, and we'll follow up from there."
"Alright, I will. Thank you for everything, Doc."
"Of course. I'm just glad everything went smoothly."
"Bye, Doc. Take care."
"Would you like to get a snack, Alex?"
"Kind of."
"What would you like?"
"What's there?"
"We can go to the store and get a donut. Does that sound good?"
"Yeah, that sounds great. Which one is your car?"
"It's the SUV I borrowed from Mom," Audrey said.
"She let you use it?"
"Yeah, when I called her and told her that you woke up, she said, 'Here, take it. It'll be much easier for Alex and you when you go home. I can't wait to see him again.'"
"I can't wait to meet her again."
Audrey opened the door. "Here, give me your right hand."
"Alright. Whoa, that feels weird."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it just feels different, that's all. You can adjust your chair if you want—it's on your right, on the bottom of the chair."
"Alright, thanks. You ready?"
"Yup. By the way, do we go to college?"
"Yeah, we do. We're in the same grade since you were in a coma—we're juniors now."
"Well, at least we're in the same grade now."
Audrey chuckled. "Yeah."
Thirty minutes passed.
"Do you want to go to this store here or the one near the house?"
"One near the house since it's closer."
"Alright, cool. Would you like to listen to the radio? I also have an aux if you want to pick your own music."
"Sure, we can use whatever you want. I don't mind—as long as I'm with you, I'm just happy."
Audrey smiled. "Alright, I'll put on the aux. Can you plug this into my phone?"
"Sure. Now what?"
"Put your finger on the middle bottom—it'll unlock."
"Whoa, that's pretty neat."
"Yeah. Now do you see the music icon? Click that."
"Okay, now what?"
"Click my playlist and it will play."
"This is some good music."
"Right? You're the one who made this for me."
Twenty minutes passed.
"Alright, we're almost at the store, so it won't be too long—like a minute or two."
"Sounds good. Today's a beautiful day."
"Yeah. Maybe we can all go to the party later. How's that sound?"
"Sweet, can't wait."
"Alright, sounds like a plan."
"Is that the store there?"
"Yup. After this light, we're going to take a right, and then we're there."
"Alright, sweet. There's also a donut shop next to the store if that sounds good to you."
"I don't mind. Do you think the family would like donuts?"
"Yeah, of course. But I'll eat like one or two."
Alex chuckled. "Alrighty, I will."
"Here, let me get your wheelchair."
"Okay. I'll open the door and wait."
"Here, give me your right arm like last time."
"Okay."
"There we go. Now we're ready."
"Yup, off we go."
"Hm, what is their favorite donut?"
"It doesn't matter—just get what looks good. I'll take a dozen of them," Audrey said.
"Alright, then I'll get the jelly donuts—they look pretty tasty."
"Alright, sounds good. I'll take a dozen of the jelly donuts then."
"Okay, is that everything?"
"That'll be $13.38," said the cashier.
"Alright, here's twenty."
"Here's $6.62. Have a good day."
"You too."
"Alright, I'll put the donuts in the back seat."
"Okay," Alex said.
"Ready when you are."
"I'll put your wheelchair in the trunk, then we're off."
"Sound good? Could you hand the donuts, please?"
"Yup, here you go."
"Could I get a napkin? I got some on my shirt."
Audrey chuckled. "Here you go."
"Thanks. What do you think?"
"It's really good."
"That's good."
"You want a bite?"
"Sure."
"Mmm, it's very fresh today."
"Is it not fresh every day?"
"It is, but I usually get them later."
"Ah, I see."
"We just take a right and then we're home."
"Alrighty."
Alex looked in the mirror. "I think we're being followed," he said, as police turned on their lights.
"I wasn't even going fast."
"I wonder why he's pulling us over. We'll see."
Audrey turned right and pulled over next to the curb.
The police walked up to the window. "Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over?"
"Yeah, for not saying hi at the donut shop. Dad?"
"No, it's because I wanted to surprise Alex. Howdy, I'm Bruce, Audrey's father."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you."
"I thought you were going to be home."
"Well, I wanted a snack, then I saw you two, so I wanted to say hi."
"You could've waited, you know."
"Well, you know me—I wanted to be first. Let's go to your house."
"Alright," Audrey said.
Bruce walked to his car. "Always impatient as usual. I wanted him to wait."
"Why is that?" Alex asked.
"Because I wanted to surprise him."
"It's alright."
"Yeah, I know. Well, we're home."
"Dad, can you help Alex since you wanted to be first?"
"Alright."
His wheelchair was in the back. He got the bag and unlocked the door.
"Put your right arm on my shoulder."
"Ok."
"There we go."
As we went to the door, I suddenly felt at home.
"Welcome home, Alex!" everyone shouted with smiles on their faces.
Alex thought to himself, So this is what happiness feels like. Somehow, this feels so familiar