Life's Not Fair

Chapter Four

Sha'riah

We entered. I didn’t want to see anything bad, I didn’t know what to expect.  The first thing I saw was him lying there on the hospital bed, his tiny body surrounded by thick wires going in and out of him. I couldn’t watch properly. Mum sat there and cried miserably as she stroked his coolie hair backwards. The doctor stood on the other side of the bed watching silently with a clipboard in his left hand. Then I began to dread the worst. Could he be…?

I turned to Marcus who was watching with the same facial expression as me. "Is he gonna be okay?" I asked quietly. Both the doctor and my mum turned to face me.

“Are you a relative?” he asked.

“I’m his sister.” He nodded slowly.

“Well it’s hard to say right now, since he just had a seizure. When he shows sign of consciousness we will be able to tell."

More tears escaped my eyes.

Marcus noticed and held me close. "Everything’s gonna be fine," he whispered gently into my ear.  I sniffed.

I found it quite hard to believe that.

Suddenly I heard a faint cough. Everyone turned to the hospital bed to witness Shawn sitting upright, coughing. The way I was grinning from ear to ear was immense. He’s alive…my annoying little brother is back!

Mum’s lips broke out into a huge smile, and Marcus sighed heavily in relief. "Shawn darling…how are you feeling?” Shawn didn’t even answer, instead he continued to cough frantically. Mum patted his back and watched him worriedly.

“Why’s he coughing so much?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Merely a side effect. He will feel rough for quite some time," the doctor answered.

"How long is quite some time?" Marcus questioned.

“A few days, nothing to worry about.”

I nodded and he eventually stopped.

“Welcome back Shawn,” mum said with a small smile. She was so happy to have him back, I actually thought he wouldn’t make it…boy I was wrong. Shawn peered around the room silently in confusion. He looked at us all, then down at himself, then towards mum.

“­­Who…are you?" he asked slowly. Mums eyes widened. Me and Marcus shared a quick glance.

“Shawn, mi bebe, are you okay?" Once again he peered down at his hands and watched them. He seemed distant and confused, as if he didn’t know where to begin.

"Who's…Shawn?" he rasped quietly with furrowed brows.

Mums head snapped in the direction of the doctor. “Why is he asking all these questions? What’s wrong with my child?” The doctor then went closer to Shawn and examined his eyes and mouth, then scribbled down onto his clipboard.

"Turns out it’s another side effect: Shawn appears to have temporary amnesia.”

We all froze.

The doctor continued writing notes down onto his clipboard. Silence filled the air, an uncomfortable one. My whole mind was blank, I didn’t know what to think at a time like this. Just when I thought things were looking up, and now this. Another tear slid down my cheek.

"How long will he be like this?" mum asked as she watched Shawn. He stared right back at her with a straight face. He honestly didn’t have any recollection of my mother whatsoever.

"It's too early to tell, but there is really nothing to worry about. He will be back to his old self in no time." The doctor gave a reassuring smile, but it wasn’t convincing at all. How dare this prick smile at a time like this!