SCARLETT’S KNIGHT: Don’t wake me up

Chapter 5

“Red? Red, can you hear me?” Dr Kirwa asks. He takes her hand. “If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.”

Red’s finger moves slightly to squeeze the doc’s hand. I can see the effort it takes for her to do that one simple thing, and my murderous feeling resurface. If I get my hands on that driver I’m killing him.

“Can you open your eyes for me?” Dr Kirwa tries again. She tries to open them, but once she does, she immediately groans and closes them.

“The light is hurting her eyes,” I say moving to the switch, while the nurse shuts the curtain. She tries to open her eyes again and this time she manages. I can’t help but feel proud of my girl.

My girl? Where did that come from?

Confusion is evident as she looks around. The room, the machines beeping quietly on her side, the IV on her arm before her eyes land on mine. She looks at me and frowns, tilting her head to one side, like she is trying to figure me out.

“Oh Red, baby. You are okay. You are going to be okay,” I say, sighing in relief. I kiss her forehead and hold her hand.

She looks at our hands and then up to the doctor in confusion. She tries to speak but the ventilator in her mouth prevents anything from coming out.

“Red, do you know where you are?” the doc asks. She tries to speak again but nothing comes out making her huff in annoyance. “Just shake your head.”

She shakes her head, no.

“You are at The Nairobi Hospital. You were in an accident. Do you remember?” the doctor asks.

She shakes her head. No again.

The doctor writes something on her chart. And then places it on the foot of the bed. I strain to read what has been written but the doc’s handwriting looks like chicken spatter.

“Okay, the nurse will remove the ventilator and get you some ice chips,” he says looking at the nurse.

We are asked to leave for a few minutes so the nurse can do her thing. When she lets us back in, Red’s bed has been reclined upward so it seems like she is in a sitting position. She leaves, promising to come back with some ice chips. The tubes have been removed apart from her IV and she looks better. I go back to where I was sitting next to her.

“Do you know the man seated next to you?” Dr Kirwa asks. She looks at me, her eyes boring holes into my head and then looks at the doctor in utter confusion.

“Um…no. Should I?” She asks with a raspy voice.

Her eyes don’t meet mine again and my heart breaks. How can she not remember me?

Why does that make me sad?

“Red, my name is Dr Kirwa. I am the physician assigned to your case. The man seated next to you is your fiancé. He’s been here since your accident,” he says.

“How long?” She asks in a whisper.

“How long what?” the doc asks.

“How long have I been here?”

“About six weeks.”

“How…wh… why…,”

“It is alright. Memory loss can happen when you have an accident. I will page your neurologist and have her check on you. We will know more then. Okay?” he says and leaves.

We look at each other for the longest time possible without saying a word. A few minutes later, the doc comes back with another lady in tow. She approaches Red.

“Hello Red, my name is Dr Winfred, a neurologist.”

“Hello Doctor,” She says timidly. The sarcastic, smart mouth Red is nowhere in sight. I wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

“Before we continue, do you want the gentleman beside you to listen to our conversation? It is your private health information, so you have the right to discuss it in private.”

Rage. Rage is what I feel. The nerve of this lady. I am about to put her in her place when Red speaks up.

“I guess it’s okay…” I sigh in relief.

“Alright. What do you remember?”

She closes her eyes and tilts her head to the side like she is trying to dig up a memory buried deep.

“No… nothing. It’s all blank,”

“Nothing? Nothing at all?” She asks looking at Dr Kirwa. From the look on her face, this is a bad thing.

“No…nothing. I can’t remember anything. Why can’t I remember anything?” She says her breathing laboured. A moment later, the machines start beeping furiously. She tries to get out of bed, but Dr Kirwa is fast, anchoring her before she has a chance to. She struggles again. For an itty-bitty little thing who just woke up from a coma, she sure is strong. A moment later, she settles, and her eyes become drowsy. That is when that I notice the nurse from earlier with an empty syringe which has no doubt been emptied into her IV bag.

“I gave her a sedative. It should help her rest.” Says the nurse.

“Thank you, Christine. Make sure to note that in her chart.” Says Dr Kirwa.

“Okay. That was terrifying,” I sigh. “What does it all mean Dr Winfred? Is she going to be okay?”

“She is. Your fiancé has what we call Retrograde Amnesia. It is basically the inability to recall memories before the onset of amnesia. She can make new memories, but the old ones will be kind of hard to decode. In her case, it was caused by trauma to the head during the accident.”

“And how long is she going to be like this? Will her memories come back?” I ask, worried.

“It could take weeks, months or never. It’s hard to say. When it comes to the human brain. Only time will tell.” She says sighing.

“Are you telling me she may never remember who she is? How the hell am I supposed to help her?”

“For starters, help her make new beautiful memories. From what I have been told, you haven’t seen the sun since she was admitted. It shows that you care a lot about her. It is a good thing, because she is going to need a lot of support from her family, and most especially you.”

“I don’t know how am going to do it. What if she doesn’t trust me to take care of her? What if she decides she doesn’t want to be with me anymore? I can’t just….”

“Relax Mr Kaz, I can recommend I psychiatrist,” Dr Kirwa says. He has been so silent, I honestly thought he was gone.

I give him a scowl, “I don’t need a shrink!”

“Will all due respect sir, I think it will help the two of you navigate this new challenge,” he says. “Here is the card of Dr Singh. He has dealt with this type of cases. “

I just stare at him. With a shake of his head, he chuckles and places the card at the foot of the bed.

“Just in case you change your mind,” he says and turns to leave, with Winfred not far behind.

I sit back on the chair beside Red’s bed and contemplate how I am going to navigate this venture. The only thing keeping me from feeling sorry for my self is the fact that having feelings is not something I am accustomed to. I do my things with razor sharp focus. Emotions are for the weak, or so I thought.

A small knock jerks me away from my pity party, for which am glad. I am not used to being a sappy mess. Alex walks in carrying a duffel bag and a food carrier. He places them on the couch, next to the door.

“Sir, how is she?” he asks pointing at a sleeping Red.

“She is fine,” I say looking at her.

“But…”

“She has amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything, and the doc says it might never happen,” I say looking forlorn.

“Am sorry to hear that sir, but…” Alex hesitates.

“But what, Alex? This is not the time to be coy with me. Just say what you have to say.”

“Maybe it’s not such a bad thing. This will help sell the lie if she can’t remember who she is right?”

“You are saying that I should use the situation to my advantage?” I ask disbelievingly.

“I mean…yes. It’s a win-win situation. You get the company and she gets a place to stay. From what I understand, she has been homeless for a while.”

I can’t believe I am considering this. “What if she remembers, along the way?”

“We will have come up with a plan by then.”

“So, we live the lie until we become the lie, hmmm? Okay, I will do it. If it bites me in the ass I’m biting yours too.”

That sounded better in my head.

“Um…sir?”

“Don’t even repeat it,” I say dismissing him with a flick of my wrist.

He chuckles and leaves the room. this is going to be interesting. I knew there was a reason why I hired him. Let’s just hope the fallout doesn’t hurt more people than intended.

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