1 1. Awake

Nii woke up from his deep sleep and scanned his surroundings. He was in a hospital, but what for? He shut his eyes and tried to recall what brought him there and sighed when he couldn't remember anything. At that moment he noticed a lady leaning in a chair sleeping and holding his right hand.

He moved and tried to release his hand from her hold but his action woke her up and she sat up to check on him.

"O my God, you're awake Nii" she exclaimed with a broad smile on her face, then hugged him. He didn't react for a while then asked what he was doing in the hospital. "You had a car accident and slipped into a deep sleep, but thank God you're back." A tiny tear escaped from her right eye, she wiped it and embraced him again. This time he gently pushed her away and asked to see his mother.

"She'll be here soon." She informed him and he nodded his head. "I was so scared and worried about you, but I knew God won't take you away from us."

Nii turned to her a little puzzled, "why'll you be worried, you barely know me." He yawned. She stared in surprise and held his right hand in hers again but he withdrew his hand from hers, "Don't you think, you're being too forward with me, little girl?"

Now she was puzzled, "Forward? I'm your wife, so I can-"

"My what? You must be crazy!"

"Nii, please, listen to me" she tried grabbing his hand but he brushed her hand away. Her eyes watered at that moment as she held his stare. "You have no right to claim what is not. The fact that I've been out for  awhile doesn't mean I've lost my mind."

The tears finally fell from her eyes, "This can't happen, this is not happening." She kept shaking her head from left to right in did believe.

Nii realized at that moment that her tears made him feel strange but he couldn't understand what he was feeling and why he was feeling that way. "You can't forget me Nii, not now, please. Try and remember please..." tears spilled down her cheeks uncontrollably with her left hand on his shoulder.

"There's nothing to remember, girl!"

"There's a lot to remember, we've been married for six months now" she insisted.

Nii shut his eyes and tried to remember but the effort gave him a headache which made him groan in pain, startling her in the process.

"What is it?" She was touching him.

"Get your hands off me!" He yelled and held his head. His head was throbbing painfully he tossed left and right.

When she realized the pain he was in and his refusal for her help she pressed the emergency button, "A doctor will be here shortly"

"Leave me alone! Arrghh!"

A nurse rushed in shortly, followed by a doctor.

"What's going on here Mrs Lartey?" The doctor inquired. "He woke up and we were talking then suddenly he started screaming in pain."

"My head, argh!" He yelled in pain and pushed his wife away out of frustration. Her left hand hit the bed post so hard that she winced in pain. The doctor asked her to wait outside.

The doctor came out shortly and Mrs Lartey rushed to him while holding her wrist in her other hand, "how's my husband please?"

"He's been given injections to calm the headaches, but we have to take him for a CT-scan to ensure everything is fine with his brain." The doctor replied and the lady nod her head in agreement.

"But tell me what happened when he woke up", the doctor inquired and she narrated the whole incident to him.

"He might be suffering a memory loss. We'll know after the scan."

•••

After a while the doctor met, in his office, with Mrs Lartey, an elderly woman, and a young woman to brief them on Nii's current health condition.

"The area of the brain that is vital for memory processing was affected. He's suffered a traumatic amnesia. In his case he remembers up till about 8 years ago, the rest are lost to him" he explained to them.

"Doctor can I see my son?" The elderly woman asked and the doctor asked the nurse to take her to his ward.

"Why the headache doctor?" Mrs Lartey asked. "It was because he forced himself to remember something. I'll advice you not to force him to remember. Leave it to him. At the right time it'll come back to him."

"How long will it take" the other woman asked, staring at the doctor with hope.

"It depends on the person, some get back all their memories on time. Others get pieces of it, and some never get it back at all."

Tears spilled down Mrs Lartey's cheeks. "Is there anything we can do?" The woman asked taking Nii's wife's hands in hers.

"It's risky, from the reaction he just had trying to remember. It'll be best to let time decide. If we force things, he might lose it completely." "And me? How do I introduce myself to him? Do I leave him now?" The tears will just not stop flowing.

"We'll figure out something soon. Don't worry. He doesn't remember your previous encounter in his ward. You can't leave him, this is the time he needs all his love ones around him to nurture him back to health. I'll also refer him to a doctor friend who's a neurosurgeon, Dr Darteh." The doctor said.

"Don't worry Dr Duodu, I'll ensure my sister in law and brother are well taken care of."

"Thank you, Mrs Affenyi, your sister in law will need all the support she can get". He said and turned to Mrs Laryea, "Is something wrong with your hand? Your wrist looks swollen." he asked looking at the hand on his table. "I hit my hand on the bed post earlier." she replied and he took her hand and examined it.

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