She watched me eat, but seemed distracted. I had seen that look before. Usually when she had a new patient, or when we tried to remember my past. Dr. Ortega was using new techniques she had developed, to try and help me remember. She was an expert in Amnesia and traumatic brain injuries, but she was so much more than that to me. She brought me clothes and shoes, claiming I was the same size as her mother and that it wasn't a problem, they liked being able to help. She had become like a mother to me. Worried for me, helped me with my case and talked to the police to try and figure out who had done this to me.
I could remember everything that happened to me after my three weeks in a coma but my life before that was unknown to me. The reason I ended up black and blue, beaten almost to death, was a mystery that I played over and over in my head.
"How are the headaches?" She asked as she shuffled through my medical folder.
"Better. Less frequent." I shrugged. Only because I stopped trying so hard to remember. Stopped trying so hard to dig into my dreams and decipher the meaning of every little thing.
She looked at me. "The nightmares?"
I glanced out the window. "Same."
"I wish we had more time to explore them. I still believe they hold the key to unlocking some of your memories." She shuffled to the front of my folder and scanned over the page.
I knew well enough she had the folder memorized. "I don't know why you keep reading that. I was found, naked, bloody and beaten. You practically raised me from the dead. There isn't anything new in there."
She closed the folder and slid it back into her briefcase. "We're missing something. There has to be a clue to who you are, who could do something like that to you? People don't just fall out of the sky." She looked out the window. "It's a miracle you've recovered like you have. I know only a few weeks more and we could unlock your past-" Her watch beeped, she glanced at it and pressed a button to stop the sound.
"State insurance only covers so much." I shrugged again. "I'm lucky enough that I got to have you as my Doctor." Leaving the hospital made me nervous. It was safe here. Outside these walls I had no idea what was waiting for me. Was whoever did this to me still out there? Were they looking for me?
She sighed and reached her hands to me, grabbing them in hers, she smiled. "At least I'll know you're safe with my brother at that Lodge of his. He'll keep an eye on you until you get back on your feet." She squeezed again before reaching into her briefcase and pulling out a large envelope. "Your documents have come in. New ID, Birth Certificate, Social Security Card. All the things you'll need." She slid it across the table to me. "And a going away gift." She handed me a bag with Happy Birthday written on the outside.
I laughed and pulled out the pink tissue paper. I brought out a leather purse, a black rooster was tooled on the front.
"It made me think of you." She smiled.
"Thank you." I wasn't sure what she meant by that but was appreciative. I put it on.
"Are you ready? I can take you to the train station."
I grabbed the small suitcase I had packed, also a gift from Dr. Ortega. I placed the envelope in the outside pocket and looked around the small hospital room. I had only spent a couple of months here, but it was the only home I knew. The only bed I could remember sleeping in.
Dr. Ortega grabbed my hand. "This will be good for you. Living a normal life will hopefully bring back some of your memories. You have a chance to start new, to be whoever you want to be." She squeezed my hand. "A lot of people would pay good money for that."
I nodded and we walked out of the room for the last time.