Chapter 37 Chapter 37

Chapter 37 Chapter 37
_Leon’s POV_

Darkness surrounded me completely.

I felt like I was floating somewhere endless. There was no ground beneath me and no sky above me. My body felt strangely light, almost as if I no longer existed at all.

Everything was silent. Then slowly…a sound reached me.

“Leon!”

The voice sounded far away....very far away. I frowned slightly while trying to focus. Who was calling me?

“Leon!”

The voice became louder this time. Then suddenly pain hit me.

Agony exploded through my body without warning. My chest burned painfully. My head throbbed so hard that it felt like someone was splitting my skull apart. My ribs ached sharply every time I tried to breathe.

I groaned weakly. The darkness around me started cracking apart slowly. Bright white light poured through the cracks.

“Leon?”

The voice sounded panicked now.

My eyelids felt unbelievably heavy. I tried opening them but even that simple movement hurt. Slowly and painfully, my eyes finally fluttered open.

Everything was white. The ceiling above me blurred in and out of focus. Bright lights burned against my eyes painfully. I winced immediately.

My body felt horrible. Every inch of me hurt. My mouth felt dry. My throat burned. I tried swallowing but even that caused pain. My breathing sounded rough and uneven inside my ears.

I shifted slightly and instantly regretted it. Sharp pain tore through my side so violently that a groan escaped my lips.

“Easy,” a female voice said suddenly.

I frowned weakly and turned my head slightly toward the sound. The movement made me dizzy right away. My vision blurred again, then slowly cleared.

There was someone sitting beside the bed. It was a woman.

At first, I could only make out blonde hair and blue eyes. Her face looked blurry because my vision still would not focus properly. But she was staring at me intensely. Then suddenly her eyes widened.

“Oh my God.”

Her voice shook with excitement. A smile spread across her face immediately.

“You have finally regained consciousness.”

I blinked slowly while trying to understand what was happening. Where was I? Who was she?

The woman stood up so quickly that her chair scraped loudly against the floor. “I will inform the others,” she said quickly.

Then she rushed out of the room before I could even speak. I frowned weakly while trying to sit up slightly. Pain exploded through my body again.

A groan escaped my throat immediately as I collapsed back against the bed. My chest tightened painfully and my breathing became uneven again.

“What the hell…” I whispered hoarsely. My voice barely sounded like my own.

I forced myself to look around the room slowly. Machines surrounded me. One of them beeped steadily beside the bed. Clear tubes connected to my arm. An IV drip hung nearby with transparent liquid slowly flowing into my veins.

This was a hospital.

The realization made my stomach tighten. Why was I in a hospital? My head pounded harder as I tried remembering. There was rain....dark roads.

Then….Nothing.

I squeezed my eyes shut painfully while forcing myself to think harder. My thoughts felt slow and foggy like my brain was wrapped in thick cotton.

What happened to me?

The harder I tried remembering, the worse the headache became. Then suddenly footsteps approached the room. I opened my eyes again just as several people entered.

The first man wore a white coat with a stethoscope hanging around his neck. Two nurses followed behind him. One carried a clipboard while the other adjusted something on one of the machines beside me.

The doctor looked relieved the moment he saw my eyes open. “Well,” he said with a smile. “You gave us quite a scare.”

I stared at him weakly. My head still felt foggy. The doctor moved closer and began checking the monitors beside the bed. Then he shined a small light into my eyes. I winced immediately.

“Good response,” he murmured.

One of the nurses smiled softly. “Your recovery is remarkable.”

I frowned slightly. “Recovery?”

My voice sounded rough and weak.

The doctor looked at me carefully. “Do you know where you are?”

I swallowed painfully before answering. “Hospital.”

“That is correct.” He nodded slowly. “Do you remember your name?”

I hesitated briefly. “Leon.”

“Very good.”

The doctor glanced toward the nurses before looking back at me again.

“You are very lucky to be alive, Leon. When you were brought here, your condition was extremely critical.”

I blinked slowly. Critical?

“You suffered multiple injuries from the accident. Several broken ribs. A concussion. Deep cuts from shattered glass. There was also internal bleeding that required immediate surgery.”

“Accident?” I repeated weakly.

The doctor frowned slightly. “You do not remember?”

I stared at him blankly. “No.”

The doctor exchanged a quick look with the nurses. “That is not unusual after severe head trauma,” he explained calmly. “Memory loss can happen temporarily.”

I tried forcing myself to remember again but my thoughts remained blank. Every time I pushed harder, pain shot through my skull sharply.

The doctor noticed immediately. “Do not force yourself,” he warned gently. “Your brain needs time to heal.”

I swallowed hard. A car accident. That was what he said. But why could I not remember it at all?

The doctor continued checking my pulse while speaking calmly. “The important thing is that your vitals are stable now. Your body is responding well to treatment.”

One of the nurses adjusted my IV drip carefully. “You have been unconscious for several days,” she explained softly.

Several days? My eyes widened slightly.

“That long?”

The doctor nodded. “Your family has been extremely worried.”

Family. The word felt strange inside my head.

The doctor smiled faintly. “I think seeing familiar faces may help your recovery.”

I stared at him silently. Why did everything feel so distant? Like I was trying to remember someone else’s life instead of my own.

The doctor stepped back finally. “I will allow your family members to come inside now. But do not overexert yourself. You need rest.”

I nodded weakly. The doctor and nurses left the room quietly. Silence filled the hospital room again for several seconds.

Then the door opened once more. Three people entered. The first was the same blonde woman from earlier. Behind her walked a man and woman who looked somewhere in their forties.

I stared at them silently. Something inside me stirred faintly. It was recognition but it felt incomplete somehow.

The older woman rushed toward my bed first. Tears immediately filled her eyes the moment she saw me awake.

“Oh Leon,” she whispered emotionally.

Before I could react, she leaned down and kissed my forehead gently.

“My poor baby.”

I blinked slowly. The warmth in her voice made something tighten painfully inside my chest.

“We were so worried about you."

The older man stepped closer too. His expression looked calm but I could still see the relief in his eyes.

“The doctor told us the chances were low,” he admitted quietly. Then he grabbed my hand firmly.

“I am so glad you regained consciousness, son.”

Son? My chest tightened strangely again. The blonde woman moved closer to the bed slowly. Her blue eyes looked emotional.

“I prayed so hard to the Moon Goddess to heal you,” she whispered softly. Then she leaned down and kissed my cheek gently.

Something flickered inside my mind suddenly. It was a memory....blonde hair...blue eyes....laughter.....a ring.

I frowned painfully.

The older man smiled faintly while looking at her. “Talia, it seems that the Moon Goddess answered your prayers after all.”

Talia? The name echoed inside my head strangely. More fragmented memories flashed suddenly. A beautiful engagement party. Talia smiling while wearing a silver dress. My parents standing proudly nearby.

Then another memory flashed. My mother feeding me when I was very young. My father teaching me how to fight. The memories came in broken pieces that hurt my head every time they appeared. I groaned softly while pressing my hand weakly against my forehead.

The older woman immediately panicked. “Leon?”

The doctor had apparently remained nearby because he quickly returned to the room. “Easy,” he warned calmly. “Do not pressure him too much.”

My breathing became uneven again. Everything felt confusing. I looked at the older woman again.

“Mom?” I asked uncertainly.

Tears immediately spilled down her cheeks. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, sweetheart.”

Then I looked toward the older man. “Dad?”

His expression softened instantly. “Yes, son.”

Relief crossed both their faces immediately. Then slowly, my eyes moved toward the blonde woman.

“Talia…”

Her blue eyes filled with tears instantly. “Yes,” she whispered softly while squeezing my hand. “It is me.”

The fragmented memories slowly connected together. Talia was my fiancée. These were my parents. This was my family. But despite remembering them now, something still felt wrong.

The rest of my memories were empty....like pieces were still missing. I frowned slightly while trying to think harder.

“How did the accident happen?” I asked suddenly.

Silence filled the room briefly. My father exchanged a quick glance with my mother before answering.

“The police said the roads were slippery because of the storm.”

I stared at him quietly. Something flickered at the edge of my memory but disappeared before I could grasp it.

“You lost control of the car,” my father continued carefully. “The vehicle flipped several times after a truck slammed into it.”

I swallowed hard. Why could I not remember any of that?

Talia squeezed my hand gently. “Do not think too hard about it right now.” Her voice sounded soft and comforting.

“The doctor said stress could worsen your condition.”

I nodded weakly even though unease still crawled through me. My mother brushed her fingers gently through my hair.

“You scared us so much,” she whispered. “When they called us from the hospital, I thought…”

Her voice broke completely. My father placed a hand on her shoulder gently.

“But you are awake now,” he said firmly while looking at me. “That is what matters.”

I stared down at the blanket covering my body. Something still felt wrong....very wrong.

The doctor had called it an accident. But deep inside me, there was this strange feeling that something terrible had happened before the crash.

Something important. I closed my eyes briefly while trying to remember. I could see rain.....a black vehicle....then nothing.

The memory vanished again. Pain throbbed through my skull immediately afterward. I groaned softly.

“Leon?” Talia whispered worriedly.

I opened my eyes slowly again. “I cannot remember,” I admitted quietly.

Talia immediately moved closer. “That is okay,” she said softly. “You do not need to force yourself.”

Her fingers brushed gently against my hand. “You are alive. That is enough.”

My mother nodded quickly. “Exactly.”

My father gave me a serious look. “The important thing now is recovery.”

I stared at all of them silently. They looked genuinely relieved. Yet the strange feeling inside me still remained. Like there was something I was forgetting....something important....something dangerous.

But no matter how hard I tried to remember, my mind remained frustratingly blank. And somewhere deep inside me, fear slowly began to grow.