One hundred and one - Pain and memories

One hundred and one - Pain and memories

NATHANIEL STORM

“You’re on fire, Mr Storm!”
I ignored that cry, my hands desperately unknotting the ropes that tightly bound Sarah as if being surrounded by raging fire was not enough punishment. When I failed to loosen them, I yanked my jacket off and used the fire on it to lick off the threads of the rope. 
Seconds later, Sarah fell into my arms, and my legs ran through past the part of the fire Ray and others had managed to put out. 
“Sarah…” I found my voice spilling and trembling when I felt the drastic drop in temperature in her body. “Hospital. Hospital. The hospital!” 
The driver hopped into the car after helping me lift her into the back seat. 
As the car roared and sped away, I laid her head on my lap and, with biting tears, I loosened the ropes binding her hands and feet. As I did that, my soul kept cursing the fool responsible for bringing this hell to Sarah. Thankfully, the other cops with us cornered him a few minutes ago. No matter what anyone says, that man will pay with his life. 
“Sarah,” I softly called again, my hand gripping hers so she would know I was still next to her. “I’m here. Okay? J-Just… Just hold on to my voice. Just…” Swallowing the rousing tears trying to leap out of me was hard, but I somehow did it. “Raya is fine. She’s waiting for you. So…” My shivering fingers trailed her face. “You… You can’t go anywhere. I won’t let you.”
A faint flicker of her closed eyelids responded, and my heart rejoiced. 
“Thank you, Sarah,” I kept talking to her because the fear that something terrible might happen if I stopped kept racing in my heart. “Thank you…” My fingers kept caressing her face, but my heart was breaking at the sight of her, so I lifted my eyes to the ceiling of the fast-moving vehicle, and I tried my best to stop my heart from ripping apart. “Mr Roy,” I said to the driver seconds later. “How far are we?”
“We can reach the nearest hospital in thirty minutes, sir.”
“Hurry. But be careful.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the engine kicked louder, I finally mustered some courage to look at Sarah again. And this time, I prayed with all my might that she would conquer the pain and memories of her awful experience. 

\~~~

“Doctor…” My unsteady feet jumped out of my seat, my eyes searching the doctor’s eyes for an iota of good news. “How is she now?”
“Mr Storm.” The exhale the doctor took after was not a good sign. “Now, she is stable. However, this is a very serious case. From the scans, we noticed signs that suggest that the patient might have been starved for days and even exposed to conditions that may have altered her mental state. Thankfully, we didn’t find internal bruising or bleeding, and a lot of the smoke she inhaled is being treated, so I believe our ongoing treatments will yield favourable results in the next few days.”
“But?” I asked because I sensed a pause, a heavy pause. 
“But… “ Her hands clasped. “Mr Storm, as I said, her mental state might have been affected. Likely, she might not want to wake up if her brain wishes to believe that she’s still in that place of suffering. That’s why I would like more details of this case, so our psychiatrist can know where to begin treatment from.”
“Could she…” My shoulders slumped, and I dragged a gulp down my throat. “Could she possibly lose her memories?”
“Possibly. Not absolutely, possibly. Nothing is set in stone until the patient awakens. Currently, we aim to analyse as many scenarios as possible so we can lay out the best treatment approach for the patient. So, we would really appreciate getting more information about the incident leading to this.”
“Oh. I see.”
Losing her memories could be a good thing. Right? That way, she won’t have to deal with remembering the details of her captivity. 
But… She had lost memories before. Of our anniversary. Before my sudden memory loss happened, I was by her side, day and night, hoping and praying that she wouldn’t wake up one day and wonder who I was. I prayed, albeit selfishly, that the accident would be the only memory missing from her brain. 
I do wonder if she ever recovered that memory.
My point is, while losing the memories of her kidnapping might be good, I am afraid it may lead to a loss of bigger things. I am okay with her forgetting about me, but Raya… I don’t want that for our daughter. I’m sure Sarah wouldn’t want that either.
God, who am I kidding? Of course, I wouldn’t be okay with her forgetting about me as well.
“I can see the wheels in your head turning, Mr Storm,” the doctor pointed out.
And I silently shuddered out of my overthinking. “Doctor, please. Sarah is in your care.”
“We will keep trying our best. It has been twelve hours, and we will continue to hope for the best while monitoring her progress. She’s in good hands.”
“Alright.”
“You should also get checked, Mr Storm. We have to keep an eye on your burns. Don’t overlook them because they seem little.”
“I will. Soon.”
After her eyes suggested that she didn’t believe me and would be back to drag me to the nearest ward for treatment, the doctor left. At the same time, Ray appeared.
“Sir…”
“Has that bastard confessed?” I demanded.
“He keeps asking for Mr Storm. I mean, your father.”
“My father?” I scoffed. “Right. They were in cohorts.” At this point, my father's reckless evil is not as surprising as it used to be. There’s no point in going to him to ask questions. All I would like to know, though, is the reason. Why would they hurt Sarah? Why? Just why? “And Rosaline?” I asked after seconds of struggling to stay calm.
“Nothing yet.”
“Maybe she escaped? Fled the country?”
“I doubt it sir.” The screen of his tablet faced me. “The tracker is still active. She has been at the same location for hours.”
“Hmm.” 
Could that bastard have killed her?
“The cops sent a new search team an hour ago. They also sought the help of some locals who are familiar with that area.”
“Alright.” Rosaline, that criminal and my father… They are all secondary. Dwelling on their issue is a waste of time.
Now that Sarah is no longer within the walls of danger, focusing on her healing is more important. And I think one of the ways to ensure a positive result is to bring Raya here.
 Yes. That would be the best. Sarah absolutely adores Raya. It’s the surest way to light up her world as much as possible. 
“Ray?” 
“Sir?”
“Make preparations for Raya and Sarah’s mother to move down here. Also, find a neat apartment we can rent. And about the company, I know it's in good hands with the board members and the team, but let me have some report to occupy my mind with.”
“Alright sir, do we-”
“Mr Storm,” one of the nurses hurried out of the treatment wards. “She’s awake.”
Every contemplation, worry and plan flew out of me. I hurried towards the automatic sliding doors and would have hopped into Sarah’s room if I hadn’t been stopped by a nurse to get sanitised. 
Seconds later, my itching feet walked into her room, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest with every wide step I took. 
“Sarah, blink if you hear my voice.” 
The doctor’s voice sounded like a distant one because my pounding heart filled every part of me. And that was how I was even after I found myself standing next to her bed, my eyes so fixed on her because I was scared that her being awake was a lie. 
It wasn’t.
Though her weak state was easily displayed all over her, her beautiful eyes were watching the doctor, following her instructions. 
“Sarah, look,” the doctor pointed at me, and anticipation nearly killed me. “Your husband. Do you recognise him?”
I gripped the ends of my shirt as Sarah slowly turned her head to me. 
“Sarah…” I managed to speak when our eyes met. “I-It’s me. Natha-”
“N-n-n-no.”  As her head instantly danced with a heart-wrenching refusal, the stillness in her eyes turned into fright. “No.”
It was unclear what she meant by that. I was likewise scared to find out. 
But, as I clenched my shirt harder, I asked, “Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Not the real one,” she muttered and looked away, her exhales trembling and jerking her body so much that the bed beneath her felt the impact. “Not the real one. He’s not my husband. He’s a liar.”
The doctor sat next to her and cooed, “Sarah, you-”
“No.” Dazed and not moving, I watched as her shaky hands clutched the doctor’s jacket. “You have to believe me. He’s a liar. He… He… He wants to kill me.” Forcefully, she tugged the woman closer using her collar. The fear in her eyes never stopped throbbing. “You have to save me. Please. Save me.”
“Mr Storm, I think you need to leave,” someone beside me said, their hands trying to turn my body out of the room. 
But I was drowning in Sarah’s words and at the same time, getting stabbed by the depth of her pain. 
“Why aren’t you doing something?!” Her murmurs turned into a loud, hoarse lament. “He’ll deceive you too! He’ll kill you!”
“He’s leaving, Sarah.” The doctor waved me away and blocked Sarah’s view of me. “You won’t see him again. He’s leaving.”
“He’ll kill you,” Sarah resumed murmuring while the doctor tried to soothe her. “And,  and, and… he’ll kill me. He’s a liar. A liar. And a thief. H-H-He wants to take Thaniel’s life. He’ll kill me.”
My feet were now at the door.
 I could not bring myself to open it. It was someone else who did. 
Once I was on the other side of the door, as I hit against a wall and slid to the floor, the anguish in her voice, the desperation that shook her and the details of her words kept playing in my head. 
Over and over, I heard them. And over and over, they pricked my heart so much that all I could eventually do was cry for Sarah, who has not done a single thing to deserve having to fight this kind of pain.