Cecil woke up slowly, in a cloud of haze. He tried blinking for a few minutes to clear the haze from his head, and, when he could see properly, he looked around the room that he was in. It was glaringly white, and it smelled of antiseptic. The bed was small and uncomfortable, and he could feel plastic tubes snaking around his arms and face.
Cecil looked down at his arm and turned his head, following the direction of the tube that was currently attached to the crook of his elbow. But he soon abandoned his search for the source of the tube when he saw someone sitting in the chair that was pushed up next to the bed. He was slumped half on the arm of the chair and half on Cecil's bed, but he could see his face, and Cecil was suddenly struck by a memory. No, it was a dream. The dream that he had before he woke up.
This man was his husband. Or at least he was in the dream. They had met at a City Council meeting, but they hadn't started dating until a year after that, when the man had almost been killed, and then had invited Cecil out to the Arby's. After that they had started dating, even moved into an apartment together. Soon enough, they got married, and were living happily.
But then the dream had been suddenly illuminated by a bright light, and then everything had faded to black.
Now, Cecil was here, looking at the man that he had been in love with as he slept quietly. It couldn't have been real, could it? Cecil thought. But, no, It couldn't very well have been real. I don't even know the man's name. . . .
"But it was so real," Cecil whispered to himself. He saw the man move his head up, and look at Cecil with wide eyes before he jumped up and placed both of his hands on one of Cecil's arms.
"Cecil!" The man exclaimed. "You're awake! Oh thank goodness. . . ." One of the man's hands moved up to smooth Cecil's hair down on the top.
Cecil looked at him with curiosity, not knowing what to say considering that the man's eyes were wet.
"What were you saying," the man asked. "Something that was so real? What was it, sweetie?"
Cecil cocked his head to the side, and thought for a moment, trying to remember the details of his dream more clearly.
"I had thought. . ." he said before hesitating, a slight blush adorning his cheeks and ears. "I thought that we knew each other, and, um, that we were married, and. . ." but he trailed off, not knowing what to say to make this less awkward.
The man stared at him, which made Cecil feel even more uncomfortable.
"You. . . thought. . . that we were married? You thought that we knew each other?" The man asked a little confused.
"Uh, well, yeah," Cecil started, looking down at his hands in his lap. "But it was just a dream."
"Just. . . a dream?" The man murmured. "Cecil, do you know who I am?"
Cecil looked up at the man again. He didn't recognize him from anywhere except his dream. He frantically tried to remember a name—maybe he had heard it in the dream—but he couldn't.
"No, I don't know your name."
The man looked visibly shocked, and removed his hand from the top of Cecil's head. After a few moments, the man excused himself, and left Cecil laying in his bed, wondering what he had done or said wrong.
The man left the room, but very quickly returned with another man in tow. The first man went back to his spot next to Cecil's bed, and the new man picked up a clipboard that was hanging from the end of the bed.
"Hello Cecil," he said. "Carlos told me that you woke up, but that you don't know who he is, is that right?"
Cecil nodded, not knowing what else to say. The man wrote something down on the clipboard with a pen from his white coat pocket. Then he spoke again.
"Do you know who I am?"
Cecil shook his head.
"I'm Dr. Teddy Williams and I'm also manager of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex," he said. "Do you remember me now?"
Cecil looked just as confused as before, so the doctor said, "That's alright. We've only met once anyways. Now, do you remember what happened? Why you're in the hospital?"
Cecil looked at the man—Carlos, the doctor had said—for a moment before whispering, "No" and shaking his head.
"There was an accident over at the House That Doesn't Exist. You and Carlos were there. Carlos is relatively fine. But you were not. You came into the hospital with a severe head wound."
Cecil looked back at Carlos, who was looking directly at him. Cecil tried not to notice the wetness in the man's eyes or the slight squeeze from his hand on Cecil's arm.
Turning back to the doctor, Cecil asked, "So I know him, and I can't remember?"
The doctor nodded his head.
Cecil turned back to Carlos, who had started brushing his hand through his hair again. It was soothing, and Cecil found that he enjoyed it.
"So we're. . . uh, are—are we, um, you know. . . from my dream?" Cecil stumbled over his words, trying to find the best way to ask without hurting Carlos anymore than probably already had.
Carlos nodded, but he still had a slight smile on his face, like looking at Cecil was the best thing in the world.
"Your dream?" The doctor's voice shook Cecil from his reverie.
"Um, yeah," Cecil began as he explained his story of his dream to the doctor, feeling much less embarrassed now that he knew that it was true; that he really did marry the man that was carding his fingers through his hair at the moment.
"Hm," the doctor said at the end of Cecil's explanation. He had a smile on his face. "Well, I must say that this is wonderful news!"
"Really?" Carlos said momentarily ceasing his movements in Cecil hair.
"Yes, most definitely," Dr. Williams said. "This means that Cecil still has his memories, they're just being stored in his long-term memory," he explained. "Which is definitely better than if he had lost them."
"That's great!" Carlos exclaimed, moving down to be within Cecil's eyeline. "This means that you can get better again, honey!"
Cecil found himself smiling and grabbing at Carlos's hands as he leaned down and kissed Cecil's forehead.
Dr. Williams was smiling as he told them that he would check back in on them later, and that Carlos should try to elaborate on a few of Cecil's fragmented memories, if they are both feeling up to it. Also that Cecil should get some sleep as soon as he's feeling tired or run down. Then, he left the room, leaving Carlos sitting on the side of Cecil's bed, holding his hand, and recalling their story from the very beginning of Cecil's dream.
Imagine Person A gets into an accident, and dreams they are married to Person B. When they wake up, B is sitting besides their bed. A just says they thought it was so real, and when B asks what, A has no memory of who they really are.