An Awkward Farewell

I only slept for about an hour, but it seemed to be just what I needed. When I woke up, I felt much better, my previous bout of fatigue having passed.

I groggily opened my eyes, and was instantly greeted by the sight of both Ruri and my mother clinging to me and bawling their eyes out, apparently afraid that I had actually passed away in lieu of taking a short nap. The doctor and his assistant were there as well, doing their best to console the two, while my father stood nearby with his head bowed, a single blue flower from the nearby bouquet held reverently between his folded hands.

“Are you mourning me?” I exclaimed, adding, “I was just tired, I didn’t die!”

The man slowly opened his eyes to look at me, and immediately clapped his hands and returned to his vigil, mumbling sadly, “Takashi, my son, you may be gone, but you are not forgotten. Unlike me.”

“I’m not dead!” I insisted, to no avail.

Thankfully my outburst seemed to console the other two, who each spluttered an unintelligible string of relieved words. Ms. Maruyama gave the doctor an abashed look, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously as he commented, “As you can all see, he’s perfectly fine. We may have pushed him a bit too hard this morning, that’s all!”

As he chuckled at his own words, Ruri and my mother shot him a dangerous look, and his laughter trailed off as he took notice and immediately tried to change the subject, leafing through his clipboard of notes. “Okay, let’s go over your test results, shall we? I’ll start with the good news. Your bloodwork came back optimal for your age, and you did a fantastic job with both our physical and mental examinations.”

“That’s great news!” My mother exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together, her previous hysteria seemingly forgotten.

“Hmm,” Dr. Kurou agreed absently, as his assistant slapped several laminated sheets of test results on a light board set upon the wall. Walking over to point at the images there, he explained, “Now, for the results of your scan. This is an image of your brain, and I want to start by telling you that everything looks quite normal. However, we did find one unique abnormality.” He gently tapped the front of the image of my skull with a forefinger, continuing, “Normally, MRI’s do not pick up anything in cases of dissociative amnesia. But normally it isn’t caused by physical trauma, either. In your case, if you look here, there's evidence of light scarring around the right side of the pre-frontal cortex. That is, the region of the brain related to memory and self-identity. I believe that this scarring could be what is causing your sudden onset of amnesia.”

As his words soaked in, my mother hesitantly asked, “So then…what does that mean, exactly? Is this something we need to be worried about? Will he need surgery?”

The doctor waved his hands, chuckling at her concern before cupping his rough-shaven chin with a hand. Not taking his eyes off the board, he thoughtfully assured her, “No, no, it’s certainly nothing serious or life-threatening. However, it's likely that trying to recover his memories may prove to be more difficult than we had initially believed, or perhaps – in the absolute worst-case scenario – impossible. There really is no way of knowing how things might progress from here, but one thing I will say is that the human body is a marvelous thing, Mrs. Miura. Given some time to recover, and proper rest, it’s entirely possible that the brain will repair itself naturally and his memories may gradually return on their own. But only time will tell.”

She nodded that she understood, and turning to me, said, “Then, that settles it. Takashi, we’re taking you back home with us to Ashoro. In fact, you might as well move back in with us! We can figure things out when and if your memories return.”

Blindsided by her insistence, I spluttered for a reply as Ruri exclaimed, “Hweh? Wait, wait, wait! But, TK’s got friends here, and school! And…” She didn’t have to say anything more for me to know that she had been about to say, and me.

My mother waved off her concerns, buckling down with, “Friends he can’t even remember, dear. And as for school, Takashi has always been at the top of his class. I’m sure taking some more time off to properly relax won’t hurt his scores too badly. We can always transfer him somewhere closer if need be.”

Ruri obviously wanted to argue, but the words simply weren’t coming to her, and she merely sat there, opening and closing her mouth in disbelief. Seeing her reaction, Ms. Maruyama elbowed Dr. Kurou in the ribs, and the man cleared his throat loudly before interjecting, “Yes, well…While I do agree that a brief period of rest back in his hometown may be beneficial, ultimately, I think a return to normalcy would be what he needs the most, if his memories are to return. But of course, the decision is yours to make.”

Ruri looked at the man with a mixture of relief and gratitude, while my mother frowned, considering his words. In the end, she sighed and agreed, “I suppose you have a point, Doctor. Very well, Takashi; you don’t have to move back in with us, but we’re still taking you home for a few days.” To this, Ruri nodded excitedly, her strawberry tresses dancing in the process.

“With that settled,” Dr. Kurou declared, “I otherwise see no reason to keep you here any longer, young man. You’re in perfect health. But I would like to monitor your situation for a while, so I ask that you return once a week for a routine checkup. In the meantime, try not to get too frustrated over it, all good things take time. And in the future, look both ways before crossing the street!”

Ms. Maruyama shot him an annoyed look and added, “And if you ever do need to talk about what you’re going through, you can always open up to either of us.”

I thanked them for their kind words and for watching over me during my stay, and shortly thereafter, I was officially discharged. As the receptionist checked me out, I was handed a plastic bag filled with my ‘personal effects’; what appeared to be the shattered remains of my cell phone, along with the tattered clothing I had been admitted in. I laughed awkwardly as I took it and held it up to the light, thinking, Yeah, there’s no way this thing still works.

As if she had read my thoughts, Ruri commented, “Well, look at the bright side. At least you held up better than your phone!”

“I guess you’ve got a point,” I sighed, bowing respectfully to the receptionist and following my parents out to where they had parked the car. Ruri tagged along, her hands fidgeting as if she wanted to say something, but was having trouble finding the words. Sensing that we needed a moment alone, my parents shared a smile and quickly climbed into the squat hatchback to give us some privacy, my father shooting me a wink before ducking into the driver’s seat.

What do I say? I wondered as I glanced around the street, which was not too busy considering it was a Sunday afternoon. It seemed Ruri was equally at a loss for words, so I hesitantly began, “They said you came to visit every day. That couldn’t have been easy on you, with school and everything, so…thanks, again. It was really nice to have someone around when I woke up, even if…” Even if I don’t know who you are.

The girl blushed and shook her head fervently, “I-it was no problem, really! I’m just glad that you’re okay. Err, well, mostly okay.”

“Yeah,” I said slowly, debating on the best way to express my thoughts. I knew that she had been my girlfriend, but I had no memories of her whatsoever. So, what exactly did that mean for us now? It wasn’t as though we could just pretend that nothing had happened and pick up where we left off. “Look, I’m sorry. I really wish I could remember something more about you, or whatever we might have had, but…” I shrugged, unsure of how to continue that line of reasoning.

“It isn’t your fault, TK! Please, don’t stress yourself out over it! Hopefully some time spent relaxing in Ashoro with your parents will help.” It was obvious that she was trying to sound confident, but the illusion was ruined as her voice wavered towards the end. In an attempt to cover it up, she quickly added, “So, when are you coming back, anyway?”

I glanced at the car, where the other two were trying their very best to make it look as though they weren’t trying to eavesdrop on our conversation. “I’m thinking Wednesday. I’d like to get refamiliarized with the area and my apartment before I go back to school next week.”

“Three whole days?” Ruri moaned, trying her best not to pout. “And with your phone smashed to bits, I can’t even message you. But, okay; I’ll let the others know, and we’ll swing by Thursday with the coursework you’ve missed, so look forward to it! In any case, I hope you have a great time, and that you feel better whenever you get back!”

“Thanks, me too,” I laughed, and was caught off-guard as Ruri took a half-step forward, stretching her arms out as if she was going in for a hug. Halfway through the motion, however, she seemed to realize that the reality of the situation was that, to me, she was now essentially a stranger.

Her eyes went wide as she panicked, flailing her arms as if she had no idea what to do with them, and she quickly backed off and bowed, murmuring, “S-see you then!”

I waved as she hurriedly scurried off, and sighed as I climbed into the backseat of the car.

Hopefully my memories return soon, or things are going to be very awkward when I get back.