My Starry Sky

If ever there was a man that had cheated death, it was me. I washed up on a moonlit beach, not knowing where I was or who I was. A cold numbness quickly enveloped me and after walking for what seemed like forever, then my body gave in…

The following morning I woke up to the sound of the tide, hearing the noise of seagulls and feeling the sand caked to my face. Sitting up and taking in my surroundings, I realized that the sea had spared me. Why the sea had done this, I don’t know. Then I caught a glimpse of two people coming toward me. As they came closer I could see their brightly colored running suits, just two ladies out for a jog along the beach. I thought to myself “Oh, what luck. I have to take advantage of this opportunity.” I didn’t want to frighten them off, so I just waited until they came by me to say anything.

“Can you help me?” calling out to them and they slowed down and one of them said:

“Wow, what happened to you? It looks like you need a doctor.” seeing all the cuts and bruises on my chest, the other lady replied:

“Yeah, I think there’s a medical clinic just down the road.”

“Thank you.” I told them, continuing in the direction they had pointed.

So I hobbled on up the beach, trying to think back to before my incident with death, but I couldn’t remember anything. My mind was a blank slate, like a puzzle with missing pieces, unable to see things clearly, wondering what had happened to me on that night.

I arrived at the ‘Seaside Clinic’ a while later, thinking about how to explain my situation because I couldn’t explain it. Stumbling through the door, I fell into a chair in the empty waiting room. Then someone came to the front desk and saw the shape I was in and ran back to get help. I was taken into an examination room and they treated my wounds. 

When I was bandaged up with my left arm in a sling, a doctor came into the room and said “Well, it looks like you’re feeling better. Can you tell me what happened to you? Any information you give us will help you. Can you tell me your name?”

“All I do remember is that I woke up on the beach and that some nice, young ladies directed me to this place.”

Then one of the nurses entered the room saying “Hey, Dr. Hitchens! I think I got something for you. I just saw on my phone a story about a ship going down last night called the ‘Avalanche’. Do you think this man could be part of it?” 

“Thank you, Calvin. I think this could be a step in the right direction.” turning towards me, she asked “Does this jog any memory for you?

“No, not really, but I guess looking into that ship wreck is my only option right now.”

“We can let you use one of our tablets to pull up that story. I can call the Coast Guard station and have them send me a list of the people that were on that boat and check for survivors. Does this sound good to you, Sir?”

“Sure, that sounds great to me. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you any more information than I did.”

“Don’t worry about that, Sir. It seems to me that you are suffering from ‘Amnesia’ from a  ‘T.B.I.’ or Traumatic Brain Injury so that is why you can’t remember anything before your accident.”

“I’m grateful that you have helped me so much. Can I do anything to treat my amnesia?”

“Well, it can be only partial memory loss or it could be full loss. I’m not very skilled in that area, but I do know someone who specializes in brain injuries and mental disorders. I can give him a call and set up an appointment for you.”

I nodded to Dr. Hitchens, still feeling a little woozy from my dose of pain medications and couldn’t move my left hand at all. Hoping that I could find some sort of clarity to what had happened to me, I took the tablet from a nurse with the article up and scrolled through it. 

As I went through that article, it showed some disturbing images of what I guess was my ship, it went on to say that there had been an explosion of the engine and that there was only one survivor they had found. 

I awaited Dr. Hitchens return, staring at the clock with my anticipation growing by the minute. Hoping that my fortunes had changed for the better somehow.     

 “If only I could meet that person, it could be one of the missing pieces to my puzzle of a mind.” I said to myself.

Finally, Dr. Hitchens entered the room with a slip of paper in her hand, setting it on the table next to me. It had a list of five names:

• Aaron Bradley
• Doyle Carter
• James Hobbes
• Ashley Putnam
• Kindell Roberts

“Do any of these names mean anything to you? A friend or family member? I wanted to tell you that when I talked to my friend Dr. Rogers, he told me that he had a woman rescued from the ‘Avalanche’ shipwreck.”

“Can I meet with Dr. Rogers and see if he can give me some insight into my peculiar circumstances? Maybe even talk to the woman that was rescued?”

“Yes, I’m sure that he will be interested in your situation. Just go to the ‘Twin Peaks Hospital’ on 34th street and tell them that you have an appointment with Dr. Rogers.”

So, after they gave me a ride to the hospital and as I entered the waiting room, I saw a man walking towards me and his name tag read ‘Dr. Rogers’ and he said to me:

“You must be from the ‘Seaside Clinic’.”

“Yes, I am. I was told by Dr. Hitchens that you help me.”

“I think that you should talk to Ms. Ashley Putnam. Just follow me to her room.”

As I was going up in the elevator, questions were running through my head about “What will I say to her? If she could be my missing piece? Will my memories come back to me or are they gone forever?”

Arriving at the third floor, Dr. Rogers said to me “I told her that you would be coming and I’ll just wait outside.” as he opened room 301.

I entered the room slowly, saying “Hello?”

Looking up at me she replied “James, is that you?”

“I don’t know. My diagnosis is for amnesia, so I have forgotten my identity. Do you think that you could remind me?

“Can I show you something?” she asked as she raised up and pointed towards the window. “Now, I want you to imagine that you are on a boat, staring up at the stars because those are your stars, just reach for them, James.”