I Don't Remember

Amidst the steady beep of the machines in his hospital room, “John! John, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?”

Nurse Ratcliff squeezed the patient’s hand and watched the eye movement from beneath his closed lids. Then a fluttering, and finally his lids opened, and he tried to focus on the uniformed nurse in front of him.

“Uhhh… yuhh…yeah,” he mumbled. “Wh…where…”

“Where are you?” the Nurse said. “You’re at Memorial Hospital downtown. You were hit by a car and brought here unconscious two days ago. You had a bad blow to your head from no helmet and you partially fractured your arm, which we have in a cast. The driver said you appeared on your bike out of nowhere, from a shimmering light. Later, he said he must have been mistaken and guessed from between two parked cars. You know, riding a bike with no head protection in this busy city traffic was clearly —unwise. But guess you don’t remember why, either. You had no ID in your bike clothes. So, you’re listed as ‘John Doe’ for the present. Can you tell me your name?”

John blinked and squinted his eyes. “Yeah… it’s… it’s a… you know, it’s hard to remember. This is terrible. I ca… can’t remember my name. This is awful. I can’t remember anything, not where I live, not what I do.” He looked around. “And what kind of hospital room it this? On the other hand, I don’t remember what it should look like either.”

“You are wearing a wedding ring and we’re guessing you’re in your forties. Do you have a family? Anyone who might be looking for you? No one has contacted the police or hospitals for a missing man.”

He looked at his left hand with the wedding ring. “Oh…I think, maybe, but I just can’t recall any name or image in my mind. But how do I know to talk?”

“Different parts of the brain.” Ratcliff straightened to leave. “The doctor will be in to see you soon. So, don’t worry about it for now. We’re glad you are conscious. It’s likely your memory will return to you in a few days or weeks. Just rest for now. Doctor Cranus, your surgeon, is on his way.”

Two weeks passed and with John’s permission, they’d even run his photo on local TV stations, but no one came forward claiming to know him. Maybe he wasn’t even from this city, but his speech indicated it wasn’t far away.

“We’re not sure what to do with you, John,” said Doctor Graham, the staff psychiatrist. You’ve healed enough to be released, but without a home, job, income or any family, we’re trying to set up something with social services, to live in a local mission for the homeless. You can cut grass and do limited yard work for your keep. The smaller cast will let that hairline fracture continue to heal. We can keep providing out-patient therapy for another six weeks, but after that — I just don’t know.”

“It’s very depressing,” John sighed. I just know I’ve got a past. When I turn this ring on my finger, a slight fog seems to form. I can almost see shadows in the mist of my mind, but nothing ever gets clear. I think I did something technical or electronic, but it’s a blur too. I can’t believe someone isn’t missing me and looking to find me.” He closed his eyes and rubbed the bandaged scar on his forehead. “If only I could remember.”

“We’ll be discharging you in the morning. You can make appointments with me for follow up, but I think it’s mostly up to you brain to remember something that may trigger more in the future.”

John lay awake with the TV running and the volume down low, until he drifted off about 1:00 am.

He was not fully asleep when a bright light flashed beneath his eyelids that caused him to pop awake and he saw a shimmering wall of light near the window of his hospital room. To his shock and surprise, a figure stepped through it into his room.

“Randy, I’ve finally found you. You won’t believe how hard I’ve tried since you vanished through our portal a year ago. Took so long to get the parameters right for your return. Your wife, Jennifer, has about given you up from ever returning, and of course, blames me for what happened.”

“My name’s Randy?” John Doe asked. “And what do you mean, gone a year ago? I’ve only been here a few weeks.”

“I came back to an earlier time to save you the pain of waiting. And, yes, you’re Randy Anderson, and I’m your partner with Seton Scientific, Martin Smith. Don’t you remember me, your wife, anything?”

As Randy stared at the figure standing in his room, with a shimmering giant circle of light behind him, it seemed a warm breeze washed through his mind, clearing the fog that had been lingering there.

“Yes! Yes, I remember, Martin. We were experimenting with a parallel universe and needed just a bit more speed to penetrate the wall. I guess being on my bike was just fast enough. I emerged directly in front of a car and the lights went out. I woke here with no memory.”

“Well, it’s not like you had anything familiar to jog your memory, old friend. But, we gotta hurry, I’m not sure how long the portal will hold for us to return. I’ve done a lot of perfecting on it this past year, and speed’s not important anymore. Take my hand and let’s get you back to our world.”

Taking Martin’s hand, Randy followed him as his friend led the way to the shimmering warp, vanishing a bit at a time in the multicolored portal until only Martin’s arm remained clutching his. He followed, leaving the hospital room and emerging into the lab where he and his buddy had spent countless hours working on the port to allow them into an alternate world and time.

“We’re back, my friend,” Martin said. “Now let’s get you home to your wife and family. Everyone’s going to be amazed by your return — and we’re going to be rich, good buddy.”

“I remember everything!” Randy let out a joyous scream. He remembered his wife, Sarah, and their two kids, Emily and Jack. He remembered their life together, the love they shared, and the moments that had been only a fog, perhaps lost forever.

“I have my life back.”