The idea for this fic came to me a few days ago while I was in the bus, heading to school and I involuntarily heard two lyrics of a song. Just two lyrics and I already had half of the story inside my head. So I just had to write it down. I think it will be just a two-chapters story but I hope you'll enjoy it.
Let me know what you think of it :D
Somebody was knocking at the door. Helen waited for one of the children to go and open it but the Sanctuary seemed to have remained empty. Not even BigGuy was around. Then she remembered. They were all gone to relocate some of the residents to the London and Paris Sanctuaries. She had remained home hoping she could take advantage of the situation and put some order into her files and research.
It had been an exhausting afternoon reading through all the former patients' files and now she was finally enjoying a short break drinking a cup of tea when someone knocked on the door.
Curiosity won over her exhaustion in the end so she got up and headed to the door. As she opened it a strange sight appeared in front of her eyes. At first it would've seemed to be just an ordinary homeless man who had been rambling through the city the whole day and now he needed a place to sleep. But then again, nobody could reach the Sanctuary building unless he had an access code. The homeless man was wearing some very old clothes covered with mud. His face was dirty and his beard unshaved but as Helen raised her gaze and looked into his eyes, her heart flinched. For there was no way she could ever forget those eyes.
"Nikola, my God! What are you doing here?" She asked with astonishment.
He looked at her as if struggling to find a proper answer but all he said was "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Helen asked raising an eyebrow. "Why did you come here? And what in God's name are you wearing?"
"I don't…" He struggled to reply, "I don't remember."
Then in a moment his sight became blurry and he collapsed to the ground.
~~~Three hours later~~~
He opened his eyes not knowing where he was. His gaze surrounded the chamber and stopped on the woman who had fallen asleep on the edge of his bed. The same woman who had opened the door for him. The sight of her made something move within him. But there would pass quite some time until he would be able to fully understand that involuntary reaction.
He took a moment to realize where he was. It seemed to be a hospital but then was he the only patient? He tried to get up from the bed but the movement made the woman wake up.
"Nikola! You are awake!" She exclaimed with joy in her voice. "You scared me earlier."
"I'm sorry." He answered. "That was not my intention."
Helen gazed him surprised by his answer. She was expecting everything but an apologize coming from Nikola.
"Are you alright?" She asked carefully. "What happened earlier?"
"I don't know." He answered.
"Are you avoiding my question?" She asked trying to figure out whatever game Nikola was playing this time. "You collapsed on the ground! At my door! I think I deserve some explanations!"
"Listen… doctor!" He started. "I appreciate your concern and the fact that you took care of me but I have already told you I have no idea what happened. I don't know why I came here! I don't even know if you really are a doctor. I don't remember!"
Helen shook her head in disbelief.
"Are you saying you don't know where you are or what is this place? Nikola, do you recognize me?" She asked.
"Should I?" He replied.
A lonely tear threatened to spill from Helen's eyes but she managed to keep her calm in front of this strange situation.
"What is that you remember of your life so far?" She asked.
"Not much. It feels like walking in the fog. I can't see more than three steps behind me. Now and then I catch a glimpse of a shape with the corner of the eye but when I turn around to see it more clearly it's already long gone. Sometimes flashbacks roll in front of my eyes for a fraction of second. I see faces, I hear names and I know they used to mean something to me but I just can't decipher their meaning anymore."
"Do you remember your name?"
"Nikola." He answered. "You called me Nikola so I'm guessing this has to be my name."
A long sigh left her chest. She was standing face to face with nothing more than a ghost of her friend. How was that possible? Why was Nikola suffering from amnesia? What was to do to give his memories back? Endless questions invaded her mind but the doctor within her knew she should handle this situation carefully.
"Nikola," she started, "it would appear you suffer from amnesia. I am hoping it's only temporary but I have to run some tests and check some analysis to be sure. I'm going to need some blood samples and I hope I can count on your cooperation."
He nodded.
"Also, I will bring you a notebook and I want you to write down everything you can remember, all the flashbacks. Just like a diary. It will help you settle your thoughts." She smiled softly.
"And don't worry." Helen said taking his hand into hers. "You have come to the right place. I will do everything I can to help you." She game him a reassuring smile.
He smiled back gently squeezing her hand. Although he could not remember this woman who seemed to know so much, touching the soft skin of her hand made his pulse accelerate. It felt so right that he soon found himself rubbing her long delicate fingers.
She noticed a few moments later and gently pulled her hand out of his warm grip.
"Well then…" She started. "I'll go to make the preparations for the blood analysis. If you need anything just push this button over here. And try to get some rest. We'll have another chat later."
Nikola nodded again. As she turned around to leave, he said,
"Wait! You haven't even told me your name!"
"Helen." She almost whispered.
"Helen. You have a very beautiful name." He said and smiled.
She smiled back and then walked out of the room. Closing the door behind her, Helen leaned her back against it and started crying in silence, a river of tears overflowing her face. What had happened to her Nikola?
Half an hour later, she entered the room again to get a blood sample for Nikola. He greeted her with a smile.
"Helen Magnus." He said.
"What did you say?" She asked surprised.
"Your name. It's Helen Magnus isn't it?"
"Yes. How did you – "
"I don't know." He answered quickly. "I remembered. It feels so natural saying your name out loud as if we'd know each other for years."
She blushed and said,
"We do."
Helen sat on the edge of the bed and gently grabbed his hand to find his vein. Then she took the syringe and with her delicate but firm fingers pressed the needle again his skin.
"You may precede Nikola."
A pair of deep blue eyes was gazing him. In a moment he recognized the blonde curled woman waiting in front of him. Helen. He was holding a syringe filled with blood. Raising his gaze he met Helen's reassuring smile so he gently pressed the needle into her vein.
"Nikola?"
"Nikola?"
He shook his head and found himself in the hospital room again.
"Nikola, are you alright?" Helen asked concerned.
"Yes. I think I've just remembered something." He replied while his mind was struggling to understand the flashback he just had.
"What did you see?" She asked.
"You. I was about to inject you with something."
"The Source Blood." Helen thought.
"What does it mean?" Nikola asked after a short moment of silence.
As much as she wanted to tell him, she knew that answering his question was not the best thing to do. Too much information at once could cause him a shock and his mind would reject it. He had to recover his memories gradually.
"It means…" She started, "…it means your memory is not permanently damaged and you're starting to recover." She smiled.
He raised an eyebrow still gazing her.
"I may have lost my memory but I can still tell when somebody is avoiding a question."
Helen started to explain,
"Before I answer your question, there are a lot of other things you should know. As a doctor and a friend, my first concern is your health, both physically and mentally. You have to get through this recovery step by step, to give your mind time for accommodation. That's why we'll have to start from scratch."
"Very well then." He nodded, "Let's start from scratch. You said we've known each other for years. Who am I?"
