Tragic Love [Champion, By Marie Lu]

                                                                       P.O.V from Daniella (Day)

        Dr. Kann puts both hands on my shoulders. "I don't want to worry you, Ms.Iparis, not at all. Julian has pulled through his surgery remarkably well. He seems quite  alert and coherent. We ran a quick scan of his brain." His voice turns more excited. "We'll need to do a more thorough check, of course, but upon first glance it seems everything has normalized. His hippocampus looks healthy, and signals seem to be firing normally. In almost every aspect, the Julian that we know is back."

        Tears prickle at the edges of my eyes. The Julian we know is back. After five months of waiting, the news is so sudden. One minute he was lying unconscious in bed, hanging on to life night by night, and now he's awake. Just like that. I break into a smile with the doctor, and before I can stop myself, I hug him. He laughs, patting my head awkwardly, but I don't care. He helped Julian live, and that's all I wanted. "Can he have visitors?" I ask. Then abruptly, I realize what the doctor actually said. "Why do you say ‘almost’?"

        The doctor smile wavers. He adjusts his glasses again. "It's nothing we can't fix over the course of extended therapy. You see, the hippocampus region affects memories, both short- and long-term. It seems that Julian's long-term memories-his family, his brother, his friend Tess, and so on-are intact. After a few questions, however, it seems like he has very little recollection of both people and events from the last year or two. We call it retrograde amnesia. He remembers his family's deaths, for instance..." Dr.Kann's voice trails off uncomfortably here. "But he does not seem familiar with the Commander Jameson's name, or recent Colonies’ invasion. He also doesn't seem to recall you."

        My smile fades. "He... Doesn't remember me?"

        "Of course, this is something that can heal over time, with proper therapy," Dr.Kann again reassures me. "His short-term memory abilities are working well. He remembers most things I tell him, and forms new memories without too much issue. I just want to warn you before you see him. Don't be startled that he might not remember you. Take your time and reintroduce yourself to him. Gradually, perhaps in a few years’ time, his old memories might come back."

        I nod at the doctor as if in a dream. "Okay," I whisper in a surprisingly, hush tone. The breath taking lump, threatens to strangle me. I swallow hard, and try my best to resist the urge to cry, and I give the Doctor a wryly smile. Trying to express my optimism and appreciation.

        "You can see him now, if you'd like." He smiles at me, as if he's delivering the greatest news in the world. And he is. Well, sort of. I mean, I am grateful for Julian to be alive, and well, but at the same time, he doesn't remember me, or what we been through. God! I sound so selfish. But, love makes you selfish. Love is a person. A person that you will keep kicking, screaming, and craving more of. Julian is my love, and I wish he would remember me, like how I remember him.

        But when he leaves me, I just stand there for a moment. My mind in a haze. Thinking. Lost. Then I take slow steps toward the hallway where Julian's hospital room is, the corridor closing around me like a foggy, blurry tunnel. The only thing running through my mind is the memory of my desperate prayer over Julian's wounded body, the promise I had offered up to the heavens in exchange for his life.

        Let him live. I am willing to sacrifice anything to make this happen.

        My heart sinks, turns a dull gray. I understand now. I know that something, or someone, had answered my prayer, and at the same time has also told me what my sacrifice must be. I have been offered a chance to never hurt Julian again. Then I think of Tess, and how much she loves him, and how she didn't hurt him, like how I did. She is perfect for him. They know each other. Been together for years, whereas, he remembers not even the slightest memory of me. They belong together, and now they can finally be together. Anger builds up inside of me. I suddenly have the urge to strangle, anyone, someone... Tess. I shake my head incredulously. I would never hurt Tess, like how I hurt Julian. The thought randomly invades my mind, and my legs begin to lose feeling. I begin to feel lightheaded. I feel the world around me collapse. Then Julian enters my mind, and how he wouldn't want me to behave this way. I must stay strong for him, I owe it to him.