The Royal Contract

She wondered if she was dreaming. But she could tell she was not as she jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to splash some cold water into her face.

“Rosella is awake.” Her brain repeatedly replayed in her mind as she stared into her reflection in the mirror. “She woke up last night.” Her attendee told her.

They had been trying to contact her for hours, but she was not answering her phone. She guessed her body and mind had ignored the noise since last night. Now, she could see the sun was slowly crawling up in the sky.

“My sister has woken up.” She repeated, wanting it to be true. She quickly showered and changed into a new set of clean clothes before she ran out of her room.

She did not bother with breakfast since food was the last thing on her mind. She just wanted to see if it was real. The last time she saw her sister, Rosella was still sleeping peacefully in her bed with no sign of waking up.

But she wished it was true. She believed her parents and other siblings would be happy to hear the good news. But first, she had to confirm it as she rode her bike on the road to the hospital.

She quickly parked her bike and chained it before running to the lobby floor of the hospital. Instead of proceeding to their locker rooms, she went straight ahead to the elevators, which would take her to her sister’s room.

“Please be true.” She mumbled to herself, not caring if the other occupants in the elevator looked at her, probably wondering if she was losing her mind.

.....

She never bothered to stop for no one, not even bothering to say hi to the people she bumped into. She only had one goal, to see her sister with her eyes open and talk to her.

“Come on.” She urged the lift to go faster, growing impatient with every second that ticked by. And when it finally opened to her floor, she rushed outside.

She could see the friendly smile of the people who saw her. It was a good sign. “Roseann, can we talk first before you go inside.” The attendee assigned to her sister’s condition stopped her in the hallway.

She paused, half torn from running to her sister’s side and staying to talk to her superior. But, of course, her boss knew better. Therefore, she better listen.

She halted before the doctor and gave her full attention. “Yes, Doctor.” She wished she could read his mind. But just like all the good doctors, he did not show much emotion.

“Dr. Sheldon. I want to give you my evaluation before you see your sister.” He calmly said, asking her to join him on the other side while showing her the latest CT scan of her sister’s brain.

“Just like before, we did not see any problems with her recovery. But the mind works in mysterious ways, as you might have learned.” She heard the doctor explain. But somehow, she felt he was about to say something she would not like.

“What are you saying? You can be straight with me.” She told the older doctor. She did not need the sugar coating. She was a doctor. She understood things happened in the body that science could not explain.

“Is my sister awake?” But that was the first thing she wished to verify. She already understood that everything was normal. Therefore, what else could be wrong?

“Yes, Rosella is awake. But...” He hesitantly paused, turning his face in her sister’s room before continuing. “As I already said to David, your sister is awake. But she seemed to be suffering from temporary memory loss.”

It was a shock to hear about her sister’s condition. But that was not surprising as a doctor. She had encountered a few situations like this in their case study, although she had not treated one yet.

Now, her question was, how much did her sister forget? But, of course, she would know more if she would listen to the doctor who knew more about her case.

“Ok. I hear you, Doc.” She finally acknowledged what the other man said. “Tell me more about her situation.” She needed to know everything. So she would know how to deal with the situation and how she could help her sister get through this.

Suddenly, she could not regret not being here when she woke up. But would that change the outcome? Would she recognize her if Rosella saw her? She would know later when she saw her sister.

“It seemed that the accident might have affected her memory. We still have to subject her to several tests to determine the extent of her condition.” He told her.

But she already knew this. She had studied this to some extent. But she needed to learn more about her sister’s case. “Do you think this is temporary or short-term?” She asked for his expertise.

The doctor took a deep breath which was an indication that he was not sure. Just like her, he might be guessing her sister’s condition. “I will be honest with you. Cases like this had no definite answers. I can’t give you a time frame.”

She already knew this, but she had to hear him say it. She had an idea that some patients with this condition could take years to recover, but some only take days before the memory return to normal.

In her sister’s case, she guessed she had no choice but to wait and see. But, at least the doctor assured her that other than her memory loss, she had recovered well.

“Ok. Can I see my sister now?” She asked, believing there was nothing else they should discuss. “Is she alone?” She asked one of the nurses nearby.

“David is with her.” The nurse answered her, showing her a sympathetic smile.

Now, she understood why they were not jumping for joy. It was because her sister was not out of the woods just yet. She still had to overcome one more challenge.

She could not help but wonder what David was going through as he faced her sister, who did not even remember him. But would her sister remember her when Rosella finally saw her face?

She guessed she would soon find out. She squared her shoulder and smiled as she entered the room. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to feel agitated and frustrated because she could not remember anything.

“Hi! Rosella. I see you are awake.” She greeted her sister, who was silently lying on the bed, staring at the side of the room. “Hey, David.” She found her future brother-in-law sitting on the couch, quietly watching her sister.

She guessed he also did not want to overwhelm her sister, who seemed to look confused with her situation. She knew she had to tread lightly in this case. So as not to aggravate the current state of her sister.

“Hi, Roseann.” David turned to her and immediately greeted her. “Rosella, your sister is here.” He said, but he did not bother to come closer to her. It was like he was afraid that he would worsen the situation.

She could not blame him. Her sister looked at her as if she did not recognize her. Her eyes narrowed at her as if she was trying to think, trying to find in her memory a reason for her to know her.

“Hi, Rosella. How are you feeling?” She calmly asked as she stared into her eyes, hoping to find any signs that she faintly remembered her. But her eyes remained blank.

“I am not sure,” Rosella answered as her eyes frowned at her. Her sister looked like a child who had lost her way.

She could not help but wonder how he could help her. But she would find a way. She became a doctor because of her. She would do her best to help her return to her old self.

“Do you even remember your name?” She asked her, hoping to jog her memory somehow. But her sister remained silent. “Rosella Sheldon. That is your name.” She told her, hoping slowly, it would trigger a nerve inside her brain.

But nothing.

“That is ok. Don’t worry about it.” She took her older sister’s hand and held it tightly in hers. “You will eventually remember all of this. Just give it time.” She assured her, not wanting her to feel more frustrated.

She did not want to worsen her mental state by forcing her to remember. The brain was still a complicated part of the body. Nobody could tell how it worked. All she could do for now was hope she would return to normal soon or eventually.

“I am sorry. But I don’t remember anything.” Rosella closed her eyes, looking desperate and afraid.

Roseann assumed if she put herself in her sister’s shoes. She would probably feel the same way. It could not be easy to forget who she was and everyone she knew. Her sister must be feeling very lonely at that moment.

“That is ok. But remember, we are here. We are your family.” Roseann stared into her sister’s eyes, hoping eventually, something would click. Then, she turned to the man who sat not far from them.

She could feel his pain, knowing how much he had waited to see her wake up. But only to find that his fiancee did not know him.

Sometimes, life did suck. But she guessed they had no choice but to live it whether they liked it. Or not.