Chapter 9

One year passed Ayla was still lying on the bed as if she were dead, but still, she was breathing. There is a monitor beside her to capture her heartbeat. The entire room was almost dark, but a shiny ray came into her room through the transparent window. Everything was calm. Suddenly, Ayla moved her finger. The monitor captured her heart rate, which was faster than before. Before anyone could notice, Ayla woke up from her sleep and sat on the bed as if she had only been sleeping for hours, and she had only just woken up now. "Ahh, my body is aching a lot", she said while yawning. "Why is it so dark here?" "It doesn’t seem like my room, but the entire place is new to me." "I’m scared". Her feet trembled, but she somehow got up from bed and walked downstairs. Everything was so calm, as if no one was at home. Ayla kept. "Mom" "Dad" "Brother" "Where are you?" "Where am I?" "What’s with this place? This place is so unknown to me." "Dad, I’m scared." "Dad, can you hear me?" She kept calling them while Mr White got up from the dining chair and ran toward the stairs, but when he saw Ayla trembling, he couldn’t keep himself in control and ran toward her. "I know it’s my imagination, but I couldn’t control my feet anymore." "Ayla, is it you?" "Ayla, I’m not dreaming, right?" "Ayla, my baby..." He ran toward her and pulled her into a hug. Mr White’s fingertips trembled so much, but he couldn’t control his happiness seeing her standing in front of him. "Baby, you woke up?" he asked her and caressed her hair. It was a sad reunion for him. "Dad, why are you crying?" she asked as if she didn’t know what was happening. "Dad, what’s with this place?" "Why are we here?" She asks naïve questions while he only clasps her. "Dad", she again asked. "Yes, baby", he replied. "Tell me, what’s with this place?" "How did I end up in this place?" "Didn’t you tell us yesterday that we are going to leave for a new place? Then how did I end up here so early? Did you again pick me up from my room when I was asleep?" "Baby, what are you saying?" he asked while caressing her hair. "Did you forge, Dad? You told me we are going to shift to a new place?" she again asked. "Baby, tell me how you are?" he asked. "How old am I? Dad, you forgot? Didn’t we celebrate my birthday 2 months ago?" she replied. "Did you forget what happened afterwards?" he asked in a low tone. "Forget? What did I forget?" she asked. "Never mind, baby. Want to have dinner with me?" he asked while carrying her gently. "Sure, will", she again smiled brightly. "How I wish I could tell you how much I have missed this smile of yours. But now that you forget all those terrible memories, I have no more worries. I’m glad that you are back. I hope this is not a dream, but reality." He thought while carrying her toward the dining room, where Mrs White and Jace were sitting. They were shocked as well as overwhelmed seeing her. "Ayla", they called out, but Mr White stopped them. "She was sleeping for so long. She even complained to me about how I could bring my baby while she was asleep." He kept saying while feeding her. "Tell me, Jace, what would you do if I took you somewhere without your knowledge?" he asked. "I would be thrilled as well as be a little mad", he answered. "Yeah, this brat is being the same", he said with a smile while he pinched her cheeks. "Dad, I’m not a brat", she pouted. "Really? Then what are you?" "I am a princess of my dad", she smiled while showing her teeth. They spend a lot of time at dinner. "Dad, my feet kind of shiver when I try to walk", she said, but before she could say anything, Jace carried her. "Now they won’t shiver, right?" he smiled. "When did you become so good?" "Aren’t I always good?" "No, you were a jerk. A big jerk", she teased while pulling his cheeks. "Am I?" "Ye,s you meanie", both chuckled. Jace made her sleep and came out of her room, closing her room door properly. "Dad, what’s going on?" he asked. "You come to sit here, I’m explaining". He said while three of them talked. "I don’t know what happened, but seeing her like this, I could say she has lost her memory and she only has memories before we came here", he explained. "She forgot? What do you mean?" "You must have known how she fell from the stairs, so maybe that incident made her forget things", he said. "So from now on, don’t mention anything to her. Just tell her it’s been long enough since the day, and she forgot a few things, and then she will understand. Did you get it?" "But dad- "Jace, I didn’t forget what made her like this, so you better be careful. I never blamed you, but I never forgive you, either, so your action will decide her future, so think of it as a warning", Mrs White said, making him shut. "I know, Mom", he replied and left the place. At morning Ayla woke up, stretching her arms. "Gosh, I’m still in so much pain. Why is my hand paining so much?" She walked toward the mirror placed in her room and saw there was a mark on her cheek, but as she tried to touch it, Mr White stopped her. "Ayla, what are you doing?" "Dad, what is this mark? I didn’t see this mark on my face before, but how did it appear out of nowhere?" "Baby, listen carefully to what I’m telling you, ok?" She nodded like an obedient child. "You saw a few movies right where people lose their memories?" She again nodded. "Yeah, so just like that, you don’t remember your memories of the last year", he said. "But I remember. My birthday was two months ago", she said. "No, baby, it happened one year ago. You have been sleeping in a bed for a long time. That is why you think it happened just yesterday. Did you understand what I’m saying?" "Yeah, so I’m in 9th standard now?" she asked. "Yeah, you are 14 years old now. My baby has grown up beautifully", he kissed her forehead. "But I don’t even remember what I studied in the 8th standard?" "Don’t worry, there will be a teacher who will teach you what you have missed. So come downstairs in five minutes. He will be here." He said and left. Ayla went to take a shower and went downstairs in a few minutes. She was walking slowly in case her feet trembled and she would fall. "So, don’t bring any topic related to what happened with her", her dad said to the person. "Dad, what topic?" she asked. "Nothing", he ignored. "So, meet your new teacher. He is James Lee. He is in the same class as Jace, so you can call him brother, too." Mr White introduced. "Nice to meet you, Brother James", she replied. "You looked like a rat when I last saw you", James said. "Rat?" "Did we meet before?" "Yeah, I mmety.oThethe entire surrounding became cold. "When?" "Long ago" "How?" "Ummm" "Tell me!!!!!" "Umm, I met you through Jace. I saw you running after your brother as if you were his tail", he teased, making the situation calm. "Tail? Ah,h you meanie", she pouted. "Of course, you used to follow me around like a ta, ia lbrother,d o this for me, brother, do that. Did you forget you little brat?" Jace smacked her head. "I thought you changed, but no,w when I see you realized you have become a lot more meanie than before", she said and ran to her room. "Hey, where are you running off to? Take your teacher with you. You will study from today onward", Jace shouted, seeing her back. "You, too, have two legs, so show the way on your own." She ran again. "Maybe you two teased her far", Mr White said. "No, it was a normal dose", James laughed. "Ok, you come now, I will show you her room." Jace led the way. Both of them walked toward her room when all of a sudden James asked, "Did she lose her memory?" "Yeah, I too didn’t believe it at first, but if it were the past Ayla, she would be angry if I were teased and mom took the side of me. She felt inferior. I don’t know how it will make her feel good, but if I remember what she has gone through because of me, it hurts me so much." "What if I choose to take her side?" "She would be happy, right?"