Strangers (Part: 2)

The town they arrived at was small. It was small to the point of not being able to find it on a map.  Sunside, Maine was a population of a mere 157 people. The town had stores, but they were very small, the size of an average gas station.

Zach greeted everyone who passed with a warm smile, or a hearty, “hello”. Some of them asked walk-by questions such as, “How was the hunt?” or “Back already?” Most of the questions that were asked had something to do with who Jade was. In a town this small, Jade stood out like a sore thumb.

By the time they got to the clinic. Zach must have great nearly half the population. Jade had him answer any questions directed towards her as well. She didn’t feel comfortable talking to people she didn’t know. She especially didn’t want to talk because she can’t remember anything before that morning.

The front door to the clinic was glass, and had the doctor’s name and phone numbers on it. The outside of the building looked like any ordinary clinic, but the waiting room looked like the lobby of a relaxing hotel. The walls were mainly painted a brownish-tan. There was one wall that was made of cobble stone, and had a TV. Under the TV was a fake fire place. It still had that doctor’s office smell, but it felt like a relaxing weekend in a log cabin. Jade got the urge to curl up in the light brown, leather chairs, and sip hot cocoa while watching Downton Abbey. What is Downton Abbey, she thought to herself. It was just a random name she pulled out of nowhere. Did it have something to do with her past?

“Hello, Zach”, came a voice. Jade turned her head toward the voice. It belonged to a tall man in a long white coat. He had curly blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a pair of glasses and some pens sticking out of the pocket on his chest.

“Hello Dr. Whells, nice to see you again”, replied Zach.

“Yes it is, and thankfully under better circumstances. What brings you here?”

“Um…” Zach grabbed Jades shoulders and brought her over to see the doctor. “This is Jade. I found her in the woods locked in a car. She doesn’t remember anything before she woke up in the car. Jade is just something we decided to call her.”

“Oh, I see”, said Dr. Whells. “Well how bout we go in back and see what is wrong, shall we?” He stood with one arm behind his back, and the other motioning to a hallway that led to the back. Jade wasn’t so sure about following her command. She took a small step back, and bumped Zach.

“It’s okay”, he reassured her. “I’ll come back with you if you want.” His voice was soothing to her. He gave her a little nudge. She decided to listen this time, but she did want him to come with her. Grabbing his hand, she let him pull her gently into the back with Dr. Whells. They were led into a small room.  It felt more like a doctor’s office with the harsh florescent lights and white walls. Dr. Whells told Jade to hop up onto the patient’s bed. Jade had Zach stand next to her. The doctor stood in front of her with a clipboard and a pen. He started to ask her questions.

“Jade, do you know anything previously about the car you found yourself in?” Jade shook her head. “Did you recognize anything about where you were?” Again she shook her head. This time Dr. Whells directed his question to Zach. “Has she said anything? Can she speak?”

“Yeah, she’s just a little shy”, Zach replied.

“Well she seems to be warming up to you quite a bit.” Dr. Whells turned back to Jade. “Do you remember anything about yourself?”

“I think I liked Downton Abbey?” The statement sounded more like a question as it fled Jade’s mouth.

“You don’t sound too sure about that”, said Dr. Whells.

“Well, I don’t really know what Downton Abbey is. I just know that in the waiting room I got the urge to turn it on.” The doctor bobbed his head a little bit as he wrote this down on his sheet of paper. Then he got up and shouted for someone down the hall way. Soon a nurse came in. Her badge read, “Beatrice”. Her dark skin made it look like she was glowing.

“Jade, just in case we are going to do a quick check up”, said Dr. Whells. And they did. She went through all the motions as if she did this every day. They checked her eyes, ears, heart, etc. He even let her try out the stethoscope. “Well, you’re as healthy as humanly possible. Whatever you went through seemed to not have any physical damage other than your memory. Do you mind if I take a blood sample.” Jade shook her head. Beatrice handed Dr. Whells a syringe. Jade’s hands started to shake. She felt scared of the needle. Zach noticed this and took her hand. “You’ll feel a slight pinch in three, two, one.” The needle sunk into her skin. She shut her eyes tight, clenched her teeth and gave Zach’s had a little squeeze.

Just a few seconds went by. Then the pinch stopped when the needle backed out of her arm. She opened her eyes. Her hand didn’t let go of Zach’s for a second, but then it did. Dr. Whells took note of this.

“Well, Beatrice, would you mind bringing this to the analysis lab”, the doctor asked. Beatrice took the syringe and headed out the door. Then the doctor turned toward Jade. “The test will take a while since we aren’t looking for anything specific. We just want to make sure nothing has gotten into your blood.” She nodded as she put her hands down on the bed. She started to kick her legs out, and then letting them fall back down. Dr. Whells took one look at this and asked Zach to step over to the corner for a moment. The doctor lowered his voice so Jade couldn’t hear him as he spoke.

“Zach, I think you should bring her to see Dr. Jim.”

“Why”, asked Zach.

“Well, because I’m a medical doctor. I don’t know much about mental illnesses”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Obviously she has amnesia, there’s no doubt there, and maybe Dr. Jim can help restore her memory. Sometimes with a little professional help it does come back. Plus, she isn’t really acting her age.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her actions are not the actions a 23 year old woman would be making. It’s like she decreased her age by 20 years.” Zach looked back at Jade. She looked dazed as she curiously looked around the room. It did seem like a little kid expression.

“Hey, Jade”, Zach said. Jade turned toward him. “Now we’re going to go see another doctor. How does that sound?” Jade curled her back, and tucked her chin. She didn’t want to meet more new people. “It’s okay.” Zach tried to reassure her. “He’s nice, and I’ll be with you the whole time.” Now Jade hopped of the bed. She went towards the door and out the hall. Zach turned back toward Dr. Whells. “Thank you”, he said. He walked Jade out of the clinic, and off they were to see Dr. Jim.

To Be Continued