BEYOND LOVE

Maria reacted quickly, pressing the emergency bell to call the nurses as she tried her best to hold her down. The nurse on duty came running into the room and seeing the situation, immediately called for the doctor.

One look and Doctor Weister asked the nurse to inject the lady with a sedative as she asked Maria to call Frost. Maria, shaken, went outside to make the call.

After the patient calmed down, Weister checked her pulse and temperature. She had a feeling maybe something was triggered in the lady's memory but since she hadn't come out of the coma, they just had to do their best to monitor her.

Vinca felt like she was falling down a deep, black hole. She wanted to scream but no sound came forth. Her fall was cut short abruptly and she was now floating in a white cloud.

*****

Damont rushed to the door as soon as he heard the doorbell. Vinca heard the front door being opened and shut then the sound of heels. The bedroom door was flung open and a lady from earlier came in.

"You shameless bitch, what are you doing here?" she screamed flinging herself at her.

The next thing she felt was a sharp pain on her cheek and her ears were ringing from the slap the lady served her. Stunned by what just happened, she couldn't even cry from the pain.

"Take it easy, we don't want any mishaps before our plan falls through said Damont.

"So l should just let her insult me? Why don't you tell her what she needs to do if she wants to live".

Vinca's heart started going faster as she realized that there was a conspiracy going on. Her eyes kept moving from her fiancé to the woman not understanding what they wanted from her.

The lady held her by the chin as she moved her face closer to hers. "You are going to do exactly what we tell you to do otherwise you won't see tomorrow," she said squeezing Vinca's chin painfully.

Tears drifted from her eyes as she looked pleadingly at Damont. Damont finally pushed the woman aside.

"Ana, stop being so rough on her and just get on with the plan, okay?". He then turned to Vinca.

"You were not supposed to find out about this until we got the marriage certificate so l hope you will be able to bear with me," he said shamelessly.

Vinca couldn't make heads or tails of what Damont said. Instead, she stood and ran towards the lady wanting to scratch her face off because she felt she was the one who was out to ruin her relationship. Damont couldn't take it anymore, so he hit her unconscious, and Vinca saw black.

*****

"You said she would be awake in three days, what happened? Why is she still in a coma? Frost asked.

Weister shook her head. "I am puzzled too. She seemed to have some kind of a trigger earlier on but she didn't wake up. I think she remembered something from her past. All we can do now is hope that she wakes up soon. As long as her vital organs are fine, I think we should give it time."

Frost got up from the chair in frustration. He didn't know why this lady bothered him so much that he couldn't even concentrate at work. Going through the information he got from his investigation, he wanted to contact the wedding couple to find out how they were connected to her, but Weister had already forbidden it, citing the patient's safety.

He walked to the window and stared outside. He didn't know how long he stood there till he heard the tiniest of movements causing him to turn his head back to find the lady wide awake.

She opened her eyes, disoriented, not knowing where she was. Frost turned from the only window in the VVIP room to find the lady wide awake.

He rushed to the bed and waved his hand before her. She turned her head towards the hand. Frost, realizing that she was awake, rushed out to get Weister and they came running back into the room.

Leo and Maria, wondering what the commotion was all about rushed into the room too. Vinca gaped back at the four faces staring at her.

Weister shone a torch in her eyes, checked her pulse and temperature, and found that all was fine.

"Hi, can you hear me?"

She looked at the lady talking to her and nodded.

"Why am I in the hospital?" she asked with difficulty looking at her surroundings, the smell of disinfectant wafting up her nose. She tried to sit up but was held down by Weister.

"Don't try to move, you are still weak. Do you know your name?" Weister asked.

"Yes, I am Vinca Limack", She answered, stunning them.

"Do you remember us?" asked Maria with an expectant face. She nodded.

"You are Miss Sweet Lady. That's Miss Stern Face," looking at Weister. "That's Mr. Nice Guy", looking at Leo. "And that's Mr. Cold Face", looking at Frost.

Leo roared in laughter while Frost scowled. It seemed she named them in her mind according to their character. Not wanting to wear her out, Weister asked them to step out and let her rest.

Vinca lay on the bed and closed her eyes. She remembered bits and pieces of what Damont and Ana had done to her. Try as she might, she couldn't remember it all. Feeling overwhelmed, she just let out and started crying.

Maria, who was near the door, heard her sobbing and went in to check on her.

"What's wrong honey, why are you crying"? She went and held her in a hug. She had taken a great liking to the young lass and seeing her sad made her sad too.

I can't remember everything", she sobbed into her arms. Maria stroked her hair gently and just held her. And that is how Weister found them.

*****

She sat on the rocking chair that the gardener had placed for her in the garden with Bruno lying down by her side. It was a beautiful spring morning, and she had her earphones plugged in, listening to Yashra Gunthra's "Beyond Love". One verse, in particular, tugged at her heart.

"I gave you my love. I gave you my heart. Even my life was not enough. What more is there beyond love?"

Damont, why did you do this to me? Why did you betray our love?" She kept asking herself over and over again, her heart breaking over and over again.

She wished she could remember everything that happened to her but every time she tried to force her memories to unlock, she would get a splitting headache. As if sensing her sadness, Bruno stood on his hind limbs and licked her face. She sighed removing the earphones from her ears.

It had been a month since she was discharged from the hospital. Doctor Weister told her that what she had was selective amnesia and that she just had to be patient, that her memories would one day resurface.

She got up from the rocking chair and took a walk around the garden. Bruno, who had never left her side since she came back from the hospital, followed her. The colours were like a soothing ointment to her heart. There were endless rows of red, yellow, white, pink, and purple. She felt like she was walking in a sea of love, friendship and security. Picking up three pink roses, she headed to the house for breakfast.