“Jessi!”
“Yes Steph?”
“I want to play merry-go-round!”
“But mummy reminded us not to leave the house until she is back from the post office!”
“How about we play it in-house?”
“How do we do that?”
“Simple.” Stephanie tugged her arms into Jessica’s arm. She then turned to her right with lighting speed, pulling Jessica along with her in a circular motion on the spot. After a short spin, she added “like this!”
“You are really smart, Steph.”
“Thanks for the compliment, Jessi.” With that said, both girls turned and swirled around the living room. Little do they know that an accident it about to happen.
As Jessica is getting a headache from all the spinning and turning, she loosened her grip in her arms. Plus, they are going on with abnormal fast speed, the loosen grip sent Stephanie stumbling on her way and land straight towards the display cabinet. With her unbalanced footing, her head crashed into the glass panel. Broken bits of glasses shattered across the living room with Stephanie crouching down holding her bleeding head.
“Oh my god, Stephanie! I didn’t mean to push you into the cabinet. Are you feeling okay?” receiving no response, Jessica shook her friend’s body, demanding an answer from the latter to ensure that she hasn’t passed out. “ANSWER ME! STEPH!”
Stephanie could vaguely hear Jessica’s words. Her head is throbbing with pain. Her vision slowly became misty and blur as tears start to form in her eyes. The cut stings badly.
Just then, Simone opened the front door, surprised by the sight in front of her. She immediately dropped the letters and keys to rush to her daughter’s side.
“Jessica! What happened?!”
“Mummy! Please save her. We were playing, and then she lost her footing and crashed into the glass.” Jessica responded right away, afraid that each second might take her friend away.
“Okay baby, everything will be fine. Go grab the keys and get in the car now.” Simone hugged the injured petite girl into her arms as Jessica ran across the living room to get the car keys as well as opening the door for the mother. On the way out, Simone grabbed a piece of clean cloth. After closing the door, Jessica dashed forward to open the car door.
“Baby, call Uncle John now and tell him that we are sending Steph to the hospital. Also, press this cloth on Steph’s bleeding.” Simone spoke with worry as she loaded the injured girl into the back seat, with Jessica following.
Simone hastily turned on the engine and speeded down the road, every now and then glancing at the rear mirror to ensure that Stephanie has not passed out.
Stephanie does not know what is happen. She only knows that her head is splitting and she can feel wetness in on her forehead, something that is similar when she is perspiring, but she knows it’s not sweat.
“Jes..si” Stephanie mumbled as she felt like her body is giving up on her.
“YES? ARE YOU FEELING OKAY?! DON’T SLEEP OKAY! REMAIN AWAKE STEPH!” Jessica is so worried that she might burst any moment. She blamed herself for letting Stephanie’s grip and seeing her friend’s weak body in front of her, she felt hurt. She wished that she was the one who crashed into the glass panel; she wished that she was the one bleeding and the one suffering all the pain now.
“ok..ay” Stephanie manage to say this before she passed out completely. Shortly after that, the car reached the hospital and Simone ran into the emergency ward with the injured girl in her arms.
___
“We need help here! This girl is bleeding profusely!” Simone yelled across the recipient area. The nurses quickly rolled a sick bed towards the trio.
“We will get her treatment. Please stay here and register her before heading towards the ward” The nurse instructed while rolling the bed towards the emergency ward. Simone ran to the receptionist and got the procedures done. She held on her daughter hand while making her way towards the ward. Just then, Stephanie’s father entered the entrance.
“Simone! What happened? Why is Stephanie here?!”
“I’m not sure about the whole incident. But let’s head towards the ward first and see if she is fine. Come on.”
All the while, Jessica is fighting back her tears so that she will not break down. She doesn’t want her fear and worries to be represented with tears. Furthermore, she knows that her best friend would not want to see her crying face when she is conscious. After a few minutes of waiting outside the ward, the doctor on duty came out and requested to speak to the patient’s immediate family.
“Are you the patient’s father?”
“Yes I am, doctor. What is wrong with my daughter?” Stephanie’s father questioned the doctor while grabbing the latter’s arm. He can’t afford to lose another kin of his.
“We suspect it is a case of head concussion. There are cuts on the patient’s forehead. We have to do a CAT scan before I can tell you exactly what is wrong. But fear not, her life is not in danger and the scan is just precautionary. The doctor replied calmly, so as not to alarm the family any further.
“What is a head concussion, mummy?” Jessica nudged her mother, hoping for a response. She desperately needed one.
“We have already done the CAT scan and the results will be out by tomorrow. The hospital will inform you accordingly. You may enter the ward but the patient will only regain conscious after a while so please remind quiet.” The doctor continued as he did not heard Jessica’s question. He took his leave and the trio entered the ward, to see a small petite girl with bandages on her forehead lying on the hospital bed. Her father walked to the side and stroked her hair lovingly. He can’t bear to see her daughter like this, but it will hurt further if she is gone like her mother. Simone noticed that the dual needed some time alone, pulled her daughter out of the ward.
“Jessica? What exactly happened when I was away?!”
“We were playing merry-go-round. Then I got dizzy and release the grip on my arm. Steph lost her footing and crashed into the cabinet. She was bleeding and I did not know what to do. I kept screaming and screaming then you came back.” Jessica was recalling and explaining the whole incident with her head hanging low and only looked up when she mention her mother. She is guiltily and she blamed herself that this is happening. She started to sob quietly, unable to resist her raging tears.
“Okay. I understand honey. Hush hush.” Simone pulled her daughter in for a hug, just what she needed. They remained like this until Jessica’s sob subsidized before Simone continued.
“Head concussion happens when your head hits a hard object. The brain will shift and hit the skull’s boney surface. The impact will result in pain which might be too much for Stephanie to handle. That is why she passed out. It could be serious but luckily, she did not suffer any fatal injuries. So everything will be fine, baby” Simone explained it clearly to her daughter because she knew that her daughter need to understand the current situation well so that she will not blame herself and learn from the lesson.
After the short talking session, the mother and daughter returned to the ward and notice that Stephanie has already regain conscious. Jessica rushed up to the injured girl’s side and hugged her tight. She was glad that her best friend is okay, if not, she would not forgive herself. Simone pulled John away from the chair and explained the whole incident to him. He nodded his head while listening and kept his vision on the injured girl.
“It’s okay. I trust that you will not let anything happen to her, which is why I put her under your care. But I really hope none of this will happen again.”
“I will never let this happen. It ache me to see her like this” with this being said, they both turned and looked at the girls.
“STEPH! You scared me! You were bleeding just now!”
“I’m so sorry for scaring you.”
“How are you feeling? Are you okay now?” Jessica questioned her again while placing her hand on injured girl’s forehead, as if she was having a fever.
“I am feeling better now. My head is not that painful anymore. Stephanie smiled as she reassured her friend’s question.
Just then, the doctor entered the ward.
“I was informed that the patient has regained her conscious so I am here to conduct a simple check-up.” The doctor spoke to the adults before making his way towards the hospital bed.
“Hello girls. I am a doctor of this hospital and I am here to ask you a few questions”
“Okay.” Stephanie replied simply.
“What is your name?”
“Stephanie Hwang.” when she mentioned the name, Stephanie felt a short sharp pain in her head but she ignored it and continued answering the questions.
“Okay. Do you know how old you are?”
“I am 10 this year.”
“Excellent. Tell me where your hometown is.”
“I moved here when I was 7. I stayed in Korea before.”
“Very good. Tell me more about your childhood.”
“I think I lived with my father near the eastern area in Korea. After that… that… I think I stayed in a childcare while my daddy is at work. I was always alone but I am glad I’ve got Jessica here with me.” Stephanie’s father got closer to her daughter as he thought that there should be more her answers. He wondered why she didn’t mention Taeyeon’s name when answering the doctor’s questions.
“Baby, you remembered that you have a play mate when you were at Joah?”
“Do I? I.. cant.. really remember.” Stephanie tried to recall her playmate while searching her name and face in her memory bank. But sadly, a vague face appeared in her mind. She can’t remember how she looked like exactly and what her name is.
“Who is your father?” the doctor continued his check-up procedures.
“Right there, John Hwang.” Stephanie replied while pointing her index finger towards the direction of her father.
___
“Doctor, what is happening to my daughter? When can’t she remember what happened 3years ago?”
“She is suffering from Retrograde Amnesia. It is a form of memory loss for events prior to the accident. She does not remember or vaguely remembers them. She only seems to forget about that specific period of time. There is nothing to worry about it. The memories will come back in pieces like puzzles when she wants to remember them.”
“Is that so…. Okay doctor.”
“The scans result will be out tomorrow morning. If there is no problem, your daughter will be discharged in the noon. Well, I will take be leave then.” The doctor bowed slightly to the patient’s kin and exited.
___
*the next day*
“Nurse Lee, please help me call for Stephanie’s father. Tell them that the CAT scans’ results are out.
…
“Here they are, Doctor.”
“Thank you Nurse Lee.” The doctor said to the nurse before diverting this attention to Stephanie’s father. “Take a sit.”
“Like I have said, the CAT scans’ results are out. I want to tell you what exactly is happening to your daughter. The injury has slightly damaged her left brain. If you have noticed, there is a cut on the left of her forehead.” John nodded to the doctor’s explanation but remain silent while the doctor continued. “Our brains are divided into 2, the left and the right. The left is in-charge of the past and present whereas the right is present and future. Because her injury has damaged the left, it will affect her past memories. Do you get it so far?”
“Yes doctor. So you are telling me she will lose all her past memories?”
“There are chances where she will recall them but it is all up to the patient.”
“I get it.”
“Okay, if there are no further questions, you may proceed to the counter for discharge procedures as your daughter is okay.”
“Thank you, doctor.” John stood up and held his hand out for a handshake. The doctor gladly accepted while sending him out.
___
Stephanie went to her bedroom after her discharge. She slumbered on her bed as the hospital bed was as hard as a rock. She wanted some proper rest. Just before she was drifted to her sleep, she noticed a glass bottle sitting on her tabletop, with three blue stars contained within.
What is that? Did I made them or did someone give it to me?
___
After taking a full day rest, Stephanie insisted on attending her school as she has already missed three days of lessons although her father said otherwise. Being persistent and firm, her father allowed her to go ahead but he spied on her daughter’s movement. He is worried that her injury might cause inconvenience in school so he decided to stay till the end of school.
Art lesson was the first lesson of the day. Stephanie pulled out her sets of colouring kit and placed on her desk. While doing so, she felt a tight embrace from her back. She squealed while her head turned to her right. The person did not want to be caught in action shifted to her left. She shifted their heads simultaneously. Finally, Jessica then popped her head in front of her best friend and the latter squealed again due to the shock. The teacher walked over to check what the commotion was about.
“Got cha!”
“You are such a meanie, Jessica Jung! Humph!” before Jessica could reply her friend, the teacher is already at their desks.
“Stephanie, are you feeling okay?” the teacher came over to her table and knelt down so that their eye levels are the same. However, when the teacher mentioned her full name, the girl felt a sharp pain in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as the pain was becoming unbearable. The teacher noticing that the girl was not feeling well, put her hands on the latter’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze; “Are you okay, Stephanie? What is happening?” the pain was too much for the girl to withstand. She did not know she is reacting this way. Suddenly, her mind began playing a series of episodes.
“Stephanie, you are a motherless daughter!”
“You are really bad in Korean, Stephanie!”
“No one is playing with you, Stephanie and you know why? Cause nobody likes you!”
John from afar noticed her daughter’s odd behaviour, came forward and excused the daughter from the teacher. Jessica remained seated at her desk while she eyed the father and daughter exiting the room’s door.
I hope she is fine. A defeated sigh escaped from Jessica’s lips.
___
“Baby, baby. Are you feeling alright?” Stephanie’s pain in the head has subsidized and she felt a lot better. She opened her eyes and her father was in front of her, eyes filled with concern and worry.
“Yes daddy. I don’t know why I always have a headache especially when people mention my English name. Daddy, what is happening to me?”
“You are doing fine, darling. Everything will be okay.” John assured her daughter by pulling her into a hug.
___
John entered her daughter’s bedroom after he witnessed what happened to the latter this afternoon. He thought of a solution. He knocked on the door before entering.
“Baby, what are you doing?”
“Oh daddy. I was wondering why I have this bottle of blue stars here and there are only three of them. Daddy, do you know what are they for?”
John approached her daughter and sat on her bed before continuing, “They hold a special meaning to you and someone. You promised someone that you will fold a blue star for her on her birthday which falls on 9th march. Does it ring any bell?” Stephanie tried to think back but she failed miserably. She can’t remember making this promise and that someone she promised to, but she knows it holds a significant meaning.
“No bells ringing, daddy. But I will continue to fold them every year. I think it is important.”
“Yes, it is. She was very important to you but never mind that, you will remember her one day. Oh yes, I wanted to talk to you about something. You said you will experience headaches when people mention your full English name right? I was wondering if I should change your name to Tiffany. What do you think?”
“Tiffany? I like that name, but why that?”
“Because your mother wanted to name you that, but I opposed. I thought Ste…” her father paused at the name before moving on because he was afraid that it will bring pain for her daughter. “…your current name was more suitable. Since that name is bringing you unnecessary pain, I thought it would be appropriate to change your name. After all, it was one of your mother’s unfinished wish.”
“I would like to finish mummy’s wish! Okay. Now I will be called Tiffany! I will thank mummy for this beautiful name in my prayers!
“I am glad you liked this name. I’m sure your mummy will be delighted. It’s getting late, come on and get on the bed.” John tugged her daughter well with the covers and kissed her forehead as a goodnight kiss.
From now on, I’m Tiffany Hwang Mi Young. She mentally spoke to herself while drifting off into her sleep.
