Chapter 2 : And Found

         Mikayla found herself at a hospital with that strange young man. She was treated for small injuries at her hand and knees when she fell while trying to get away. The police questioned her standard questions about the man which she had no information other than the fact that he was already there at the parking lot.

         While she waited for her treatment, she kept ruminating about the injustice of the day. The confusion of fate that she ended up in the hospital was only the tip of the iceberg. Surprisingly what happened in the afternoon was worse, someone in her office was there in the restaurant when Matthew and she had a scene and words spread in the office. Mikayla sighed when she thought about what happened…

         “Oh…have you heard? The Ice Queen got dumped.”

         “She is so coldddd. It’s not surprising that that guy wanted to leave her. I would do the same.”

         “She is like over 30, no? And still unmarried? Poor her!”

         Gosh…those assholes!

         She didn’t realize before that the tradeoffs of being successful in her career were having to deal with these rubbish treatments from others. And all her exes and their lack of self-esteem. They were nice at first; they complimented her on her accomplishment. She thought they were proud of being with her and didn’t mind at all that she was more successful than they were on paper. That was only the beginning of the relationship anyway. Those men that she trusted left her for a younger woman; someone more joyful and sweet and encouraging to their pride. Something she tried but couldn’t succeed. How pathetic.  

         Mikayla shook her head to get rid of those memories. Enough was enough. But she couldn’t really forget. Those words still hurt. She teared up and quickly wiped away those tears.

         After the nurse patched up her wounds, Mikayla walked to the hospital room that the young man was staying. She heard her steps in the quiet hallway and her increasing nervousness as she was approaching his room. The police already finished questioning her but they asked her to stay to wrap up what was going on after they finished questioning the young man.  

There was some curiosity on what was happening to that man. This was not something that could happen everyday.

            When she arrived, Mikayla could still see him being questioned by the police officer that questioned her earlier.

         That young man didn’t seem dangerous to her when he was hopeless like this. She walked into the hospital room where he was resting on the bed. His once messy hair dirtied with blood was now cleaned up and revealed wavy blonde hair. His head was bandaged, and he seemed visibly nervous.

         “Oh, you are here. I couldn’t get anything from him.” The police officer said.

         “What do you mean?”

         “He appears to lose all his memories about the attack.” Another police officer added.

         “Yeah… I hope that was just that. It seems he could not even remember his name.”

         What?

         “Ma’am, now you are the only lead we have. At least until this fellow remember anything anyway. Can you explain to her what you just told us, doc?” The police officer turned to the doctor that stood near the bed.

         The doctor explained the condition of temporary losing memory from blunt force trauma to the head. She said that his memories might gradually come back in the following days but there was no guarantee. The brain is a delicate organ and there is a lot that the medical research in neurology could not cover.

         “Meanwhile, can he stay at the hospital?” Mikayla asked. There was no other way. But the doctor shook her head.

         “We could only treat his wounds and schedule his next visit. Our job ends here, I’m afraid. The hospital is already very crowded as it is with everything that was going on. With his condition now, I could sign a discharge for him today. Apart of his memories, he could mobilize just fine.” She added and excused herself, then left the room.

Surely, if he couldn’t stay here, the police could help in some way.

“Can you two find him a place to stay?” She asked the police officers, both of them shook their heads.

“We can try put him in the homeless shelter. That is the best we can do. If not…” The man shrugged. Mikayla frowned at that. The time was late. And the young man was more than a teenager. He didn’t look like someone who could end up on the street.

         “That is one thing we need to tell you. We couldn’t do much with the information given from you and none from him. Especially when he can’t even tell us where he was from and even his name. We could only record that the event happened and follow up on him later when he remembers something. Otherwise, I can conclude that we have reach a dead end.”

         Mikayla’s migraine was acting up when she heard that.

         “I believe you guys can do better than that. He needs your help! Otherwise, where else can he stay?”

         That question hung in the air, no one could answer anything. Mikayla was enraged by the injustice this young man, ‘John Doe’ as the police called him, had faced. He was injured and now pretty much homeless and no one can help him about it.

          The police suspected it was a common robbery case that the robbers probably went too far and knocked him unconscious. Mikayla could see why they drew that conclusion. The clothes he wore were all brand names, latest season of the famous fashion house. The style was subtle, but she could just tell that that shirt and those jeans were of a designer brand and worth more than a regular person’s few months of rent.

         *Cough cough*

         The young man that everyone was trying to decide his fate broke the silence. He was listening quietly for a while.

         “What is a homeless shelter?” He asked, clueless.

         The policeman explained and he scratched his head trying to comprehend the situation.

         “I guess I could try my luck.”

         Mikayla was about to say something, but she realized it wasn’t exactly her business to intervene.

         In a short while, the police officers left, and Mikayla found herself standing side by side with ‘John Doe’. He still couldn’t remember his own name. For a strange reason, it was her who offered to give him a life to the shelter. The man didn’t have a wallet and cell phone. He was all he had.

         He sat in the car without saying much, only said that his head still hurt and he couldn’t wait for a good night sleep, maybe he might remember something in the morning.

         “We are here…”

         We were parking in front of the shelter. It was a simple brown brick building. All lights were out. Mikayla hadn’t been here before and couldn’t believe in a million lifetime that she was here.

         “Thank you for sending me here. Err…good luck.” The young man gave a smile but when he was about to get out of the car, Mikayla immediately gripped his wrist.

         “Wait!”

         “…. ?”

         “I think you can just stay at my place…” Something in her conscience overcome her decision.