Breaking the silence

 Chase went closer to her. The woman or girl, apparently, was confused with everything. Chase did not say a word. He took his phone and called the doctor and he arrived in no time. “This is a miracle, Chase. She is out of danger now”, the doctor said cheerfully. What he had seen had pleased him. As the doctor prepared to leave, Chase walked him out.

“ Now Chase, when you drop her at the shelter tomorrow, make sure you…..”,

“ The shelter?”, Chase interrupted. “ I am not taking her to the shelter, l mean I have enough room”.

“Oh great! Because what you really needed was a mysterious woman with temporary amnesia taking over your life”.

“I’m only trying help!”, he explained.

“ Of course you’re only trying to help. I’m sure your motives are not at all completely driven by curiosity or attraction”, the doctor smiled, winked as he drive off he shouted, “Just make sure she does take her medicines and she needs to rest. Her wounds just still need to heal completely and she needs be totally fine. And be patient with her,it might take hours until her memory and senses starts working properly again”.

Chase went back inside. “Let’s get you off these dirty clothes, you need a bath, right?”, he asked . The girl did not respond, he then recalled what the doctor had said, that it could take hours for her senses to start working properly. He helped her get to the bathroom and gave her a towel and soap; he stood still.

“The shower…water…soap”, he pointed. The girl stood frozen.

“Bathing”, he repeated in gesture. “Do you get it now?”, he asked politely.

She nodded and moved. Chase went to his storeroom to see what he would find that the girl would probably need; a toothbrush, girl’s clothes, new underwears.He went into the kitchen and made a bowl of noodles and waited for the girl to finish bathing. She took a very long bath, her whole body felt sore. After she was done, Chase gave her a new room and some girl’s clothes which used to belong to Dora, his ex-girlfriend and also some lotion. She dressed up and came out to eat. Eating was difficult for her, her jaws felt painful as they had not moved in almost five months. He helped her eat and brush her teeth and got her to bed as it was getting late. He watched her closely as she was sound asleep, hoping she would be better the next day so she can clear the air for him. He knew that somehow, this woman and Chris his twin brother had some sort of connection.

He smiled as he remembered how he had found her lying on the ground after being shot in the woods. He vividly remembered how he had struggled to lift her unconscious body to the car and to the hospital. He remembered the distress of him once being a suspect in the whole investigation of her brutal attack. After exhausting all avenues, the police shoved her case to the unresolved pile, concluding that she had fallen victim to a brutal theft, and that the attackers would probably never face justice. Nevertheless, all the trouble he had gone through was worthwhile, he had saved a life! By then she was built up than now, she had lost so much weight you would count her ribs, but even that could not hide her dense beauty.

He slept in the girl’s room, on the couch waking up occasionally to make sure she was okay. The next morning, he woke up earlier, went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast and brought it to her room. The moment he opened the door, she was awake and when she saw him, she let out a low, scared scream.

“Chris?”, she said, frightened. He smiled, his grin so wide that it would almost touch his shapely ears. He knew what it meant, he knew that the transient amnesia from her comma was gone, and she remembered. Chase felt delighted, and he couldn’t wait to dot her pieces to Chris. He put the tray of food on the bed next to her.

“I’m Chase. Chase Malvins”,he said as he stretched his arm in greeting. The girl slowly stretched her hand and they shook hands for a few seconds. The name ‘Malvins’ rang a bell in the girl’s mind; a loud, annoying bell, then she recalled Chris Malvins, but he despite looking exactly identical to Chris had said he was Chase.

“I know you’re confused, but l need you to eat and have your medicine and after that we will talk…about how this whole unpleasant situation came to be. I assure you, you are safe now”,he told her comfortingly, trying to conceal a grin that wanted to escape his lips. It was as if Chase had a realization only he was aware about.

“Couldn’t they talk just now”, Valerie thought, as Chase left the room. Eating, shower…it just sounded like way too much to go. Valerie felt impatient, and confused. She felt a lot better than the previous day she had woken up from her comma, though she still felt so much confused on how she had ended up with Chase who looked exactly like Chris and how he had found her.

Valerie stood before the dressing table, after her bath, and the mirror’s reflection revealed a stranger. She almost couldn’t recognize herself. Tears streamed silently down her pale, thin face, her eyes sunken, her skin sallow and malnourished. She was a shadow of her former self, and the realization was devastating. Her reflection pained her, but it was nothing compared to the immense pain she felt deep within her heart, unsure of how to make things right. Just then, the door creaked open, and Chase entered, his eyes filled with concern. He gently touched her shoulders, his fingers tracing the delicate curve of her neck. “I hate seeing these,” he whispered, his thumb wiping away her tears.

With tender care, he guided her to the bed, sitting beside her. His voice was a soothing balm, a gentle whisper that seemed to envelop her in warmth. “You’re breaking my heart, seeing you like this,” he said, his words dripping with emotion. “You deserve so much more, so much better. You are probably confused, I know, but you called me Chris because him and l are identical, that means you know Chris and that also means you recall something about your past, maybe not everything but something, right?”, he asked as politely as he could.

“Actually l remember everything”, she said.

“You have a sharp memory”, he smiled. She smiled back and he thought that was the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. Then she started talking, right from the start.