Status: DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Master of Sardonic Wit
1.
August 25 1993
His eyesight was blurry but for the first time in two years, he could see light, colors surrounding him. He groaned and blinked several times before his ears caught up the sound of footsteps leaving the room. He heard a door opening and the footsteps faded together with the monotone voice of the person who had just left the room. Taking slow shaky breaths, the man kept blinking with his half-closed eyes, trying to get rid of the blur sight.
He heard people talking to him, yet he couldn't register what they were saying, or manage to open his mouth to say something back, he felt a frown appear on his forehead before he fell asleep again, leaving the man, or woman as he couldn't quite see enough details to be sure, once again alone without the questions answered.
Throughout the day, he woke up, sometimes for 5 minutes, something for only a few seconds. But whenever he could, he tried to stay conscious as long as possible, which sometimes proved hard to be as his body was too tired and worn out to stay awake for longer than a few minutes. Each time he opened his eyes and was met with the blurry sight of a ceiling, someone was called and talked to him. No matter how much he wanted, he just couldn't answer to the questions the man, or woman as he still hadn't figured it out, asked him.
“Mr. Euringer?” a female voice asked him, making him realize that the person that has been hovering above him for the past few times he had woken up was female.
Groaning, he turned his head away and forced his eyes to close again as the girl shone with a light in his eyes, she probably had a good reason but he didn't really care about that right now, it hurt his eyes so she had to stop doing it, no matter what her reason was.
“Oh good, you're responding, I'll call the doctor,” her soft voice said before she left the room. So his last name was Euringer, he thought, briefly, he wondered what his first name was. Realizing that it was safe to open his eyes again, he opened them and blinked several times, trying not to fall asleep again as he turned his head carefully to inspect the room, even though his eyesight was still not able to make out exact things and details.
“Ah, Mr. Euringer, welcome back,” a deep male voice said, not immediately unfamiliar to him but it took him a while to realize that the voice belonged to the man who had questioned him several times before as he kept falling asleep during the questions.
The man in the bed opened his mouth and tried to form a question but didn't manage to get anything out. The doctor took this in account and scribbled something down the paper he had brought.
“I will ask you a few questions right now and you can just nod or shake your head in answer to them, is that okay with you, sir?”
He nodded, blinking several times and consciously trying to lift up his arm for no reason but failed miserably at that as he just turned his head to face the ceiling again and sighed a little, closing his eyes for a small seconds before opening them again as the doctor asked him the first question.
“Can you move anything else except your head?”
He shook his head, trying to twitch his toes and fingers but realized that nothing happened. The doctor didn't say anything in response but once again wrote on his paper with the pen tightly in his hand.
“Do you remember anything?”
He frowned for a moment, digging deep in his mind to try and find anything that could resemble a memory or at least something from his past, a name, a face, anything. He shook his head sadly and looked down to his hands, for the first time he realized that he had a breathing mask on his face as he felt the plastic on his face moving slightly, helping him with getting oxygen in his longs. An IV was also seen in a blur, making him wince as he finally realized that he was indeed in a hospital and not in an all to good state.
“Alright, Mr. Euringer, you shall be taken off the breathing machine in a minute, once the mask if off your face, I want you to focus on your breathing and try to do it on your own alright?”
Mr. Euringer nodded his head slowly and felt himself falling asleep again but forced himself to stay awake, taking slow breaths with the mask firmly placed on his face. Another person entered the room and he closed his eyes for a moment, gentle hands carefully touched his face, the first touch he actually felt since he woke up.
Slowly, the nurse lifted up his head slightly and took off the breathing mask of his face, taking a shaky deep breath, he tried to keep his breathing stable as he realized after a few minutes that he was breathing on his own without a machine helping him. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted again.
August 27 1993
Three days ago, he could breath on his own for the first time since he woke up. In the mean time, he had learned a lot more essential information about himself that he should know. He was a certain James Euringer, age 24, allergic to milk and other things made from milk, at least, that was what his medical history said. He was also rather skinny with dark hair that now hung until just above his shoulders while green eyes (mixes with brown and grey) stared back at him from the mirror he was holding in his hand, still attached to the IV.
Placing the mirror back on his lap, James sighed, he didn't look the same anymore. Then again, he was clueless on how he looked before he had woken up so he couldn't really tell. He just felt different. His eyesight had gotten better too, when he had woken up this morning, he could finally see some details whenever he looked at something, a positive thing to his recovery.
The same nurse that has been helping him for the past three days entered the room, a warming smile playing on her lips as she saw that he was up. He couldn't speak yet, much to his dismay because he certainly didn't like being so helpless, he could just lift up his right arm and move his head, but that was all he could at that moment and even moving his arm required a lot of effort.
Each day, he had an hour of moving different parts of his body or trying to develop his senses again, he had forgotten to write and talk, and even walking was out of the question so he had to relearn all of that again in a matter of therapy and sessions of the next few months. He had started with this therapy the day before, trying to lift his arm with help from the nurse (which he had found out was named Anastacia) and succeeding for a small part as he kept practicing even after the hour of therapy, in the end, it had payed off and he could even move some of his fingers enough to hold something for a few seconds.
“How are we feeling today?” Anastacia asked, opening the dirty white curtains that hung in front of the window that had view on the parking lot of the hospital and also access to a small balcony, or at least, that's what he's been told, he hadn't exactly been out of the bed since he couldn't walk yet so he just had to trust the other people on telling it for him and hoping they weren't telling any lies.
James nodded satisfied, still worn out, sleeping for such a long time and laying still the whole day, longing for that small hour of therapy and trying to move was tiresome after a while and he couldn't help but feel helpless as he laid in the bed and watched Anastacia move so she could open the window a little, letting some fresh air in the room.
He still didn't know anything about how he got in the hospital or how long he had been there, it's not like he could ask, he would just have to wait until someone told him or informed him of his current situation. Anastacia smiled sweetly at him and gave him a small peck on the cheek before she left the room again, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
“Ah, Mr. Euringer, I see you're awake, I got your personal file here with me, apparently you fell in a coma about a year and 43 days ago, due to a car accident,” the doctor informed James, who looked a little shocked by the fact that he had been sleeping for almost two years and almost a two months and he was still so tired.
“You were the only survivor of the crash.”
James nodded sadly and looked down at his hands, so skinny that could even see his veins. The doctor fell silent for a moment before he looked through other papers in James' personal file and searched for information that the man would like to know even though he couldn't speak and tell him himself.
“We've been trying to contact your family for the last three days but apparently, we didn't find any phone number between your documents, we'll keep on trying to reach them but-” James shook his head, disappointed in his family that they didn't even care that he woke up but in the back of his mind knowing that if he didn't have their phone number in something that belonged to him, they didn't care. The doctor looked sad for a moment and then nodded in agreement, knowing that it was useless to try and contact them without any information about how to.
“Now now, you're on your way to recovery, let's start today's therapy session shall we? Perhaps we should try to walk today, or at least move your legs, we don't want clots to form now do we?” the doctor said, somewhat trying to lighten up the sad mood in the room.
James looked up and made direct eye contact with the doctor before nodding with a confident smile, he wouldn't let everything get to him before he got better, walking, talking and writing and actually being able to do everything himself again was his main goal right now, family came later.
Bending his leg with help from Anastacia, James winced in pain for just a brief second, not being used in moving his leg for the past year and a half. Softly massaging his legs, James tried to flex his toes, looking quite proud of himself as he managed to do so, even though it was only for a brief second and easily missed by someone who didn't look upon it. Anastacia winked at him, showing him an encouraging smile as she massaged his other leg, making sure that no clot would form in his leg and possibly kill him if it reached his heart.
Twitching his toes again just to see if he wasn't dreaming, James smiled proudly yet tired as he leaned back and rested his head on the pillows behind his back and head. Anastacia bended his leg again, making him open his eyes again and realize that he shouldn't be falling asleep at this moment but instead focus on trying to move even though sleep was trying to catch up with him. He had been sleeping for the almost two years and now the road to recovery was open for him, he couldn't stop right now.
“Well, it seems like you're on your way to recovery pretty good, but it's going to take a while before you're able to finally get everything under control again, but seeing as this is only your third day and you're able to twitch your toes already and move your arm slightly is a good sign,” Anastacia informed him, placing a hand on his shoulder before she once again left the room after giving his cheek a soft peck.
September 3 1993
Now what the doctors had gotten out of his medical file was not much, but it was something. James Euringer had been a lonesome man, he had only chose to give his own cellphone number to the hospital in case of an emergency and the number of his house, long since sold on to different people and so, the doctors had no idea how to contact anyone close to the man or family members to let them know he had woken up.
According to his medical file, his birthday was on the 7th of September, which was only a few days away according to the calender that decorated his room. After they had told him what they knew, he had just given them a nod and a solemn look, accepting everything and taking recovery before family. Of course, in the back of his mind, he knew that those two things were connected, family could help him with memories from his childhood and the life before he fell in a coma.
The nurses were kind to him and helped him through everything, they were his only company during rainy days and to make sure he was kept busy and not bored while he laid there in his bed all day, staring at the walls, they had made sure he had several books to read, although easy children's books were the starters because of the fact that he still had to relearn how to read properly, and the pictures could also keep him busy.
Access to the computers and laptops, James searched for all clues to his past and wondered if there were any stored and forgotten articles about the crash of so long ago in his opinion, killing the only person in the car except him on impact, he had just fallen into a coma and doomed to stay in one for the rest of his life, but he had waken up and now he had a second chance at life, one he would gladly take. Of course, these texts were still to difficult for James to read them himself so the nurses helped him with that, reading them before telling him what it said exactly.
With help from the doctors and therapy, that took reading and talking before walking -even though he already did that on his own anyway- and so helped him on his search for answers. James Euringer proved himself to be an intelligent man and a quick learner to boot as he strived for perfection and tried to eliminate all imperfections, an impossible task to do but it gave him some sort of goal, even though he knew that he would never succeed.
On a sudden day, James even had a visitor from a student. A young girl that visited the hospital regularly and was told to come and talk with James since he was a good listener and she could use one of those from time to time. Kayleigh her name was, kept checking in with him even though she didn't even work in the hospital, she was still looking for a job but she had told him that it could take another while, in the mean time, she kept mothering him, bringing him a home-cooked meal twice a week (being a student herself and single, she appreciated that someone enjoyed what she loved to do, which was cooking) and a fresh supply of books, each time a new challenge to the still learning James Euringer.
Following the news -between the learning programs for children - which he enjoyed too much for his opinion - James soon learned that the world needed a change, yet, being in the state he was in right now, he never even thought of starting something that would lead towards it, not that he planned on doing something like that, it seemed almost impossible. He couldn't even write something decent down, let alone talk.
What he did learn about himself though, through all the research with Kayleigh, who gladly helped him find himself, was that he hated any news on financial, which surprised both of them greatly because during their search for information on him, they had found out that James had been a rather successful businessman, praised by many for his sly tactics of financial things were involved. Of course, he still looked at the prizes and criticized them if they were too much for the product, but right now, as he lay in that hospital bed and working on relearning everything, James couldn't really give a fuck about the current stock market and finance problems.
“Apparently, Mr. Euringer, you have a brother, who we are still trying to contact at this very moment but it's worth a shot,” the doctor said as he walked in the room with James' file in his hand.
James nodded a little surprised by the news but accepting both sides of it, there was a chance his brother would react just like his parents and not care about him, and then where was the chance that his brother did actually care. James didn't really know anything at this moment, nor did he really care.
“Mr. Euringer, did you just hear what I just said?”
He looked up at the doctor and frowned, shaking his head in honesty and knew that he had been too deep in his thoughts about his brother that he hadn't even listened to what the doctor had just told him. The older man sighed and shook his head before looking back at the file in front of him.
“You're making a good recovery, that's for sure, you've only been awake for the last 9 days but the way you're doing is remarkable for a man who just woke up from a coma of two years,” the man looked up from the file and looked proud at James who had a tiny smile playing on his lips before he nodded and turned his hazel eyes back to his hands folded on his lap.
“You still got a long way to go, but I'm sure we'll get there, I'll inform you when we get more information about your brother.”
9 days, he was only awake for 9 days, it seemed like forever to him. Then again, he had lost sense of time since he had woken up. He sighed and looked outside his window and wished that he could get outside again, actually talk to people and get his life back as soon as possible.
September 7 1993
Walking through the hospital with a small package under her arm, Kayleigh smiled to herself and thought of the present hidden in the box, wrapped in some bright paper. Seeing that James was still walking around in his pajama's, she had made sure to bring some personal touch to his current wardrobe and she was sure her small present would help with achieving that goal.
Kayleigh hadn't looked around much, only hearing that it was James' birthday today a few days ago. Yet, she had gotten these from a friend, who told her that he didn't need them anyway and she had no intention of wearing them herself, so perhaps James would be happy with them. She certainly hoped so.
“Well hi there birthday boy, 25 years old today, you're getting old” Kayleigh joked and entered the room with a small smile on her lips and a present in her hands. James looked at her with a frown and then at the small package wrapped in bright pink paper. The young girl giggled slightly and shook her head at him before putting the package on the table for a moment while she took off her long dark grey trench coat.
“Who's that for?” James asked without words but the nod towards the package was enough before Kayleigh looked at him with a raised eyebrow and placed it firmly on his lap. He still hadn't learned much yet and his ability to speak was rather limited to the simple answers to questions asked him.
“For you, now open it!” she said excited, slightly jumping up and down at the thought of his reaction to her small present.
James looked at her for a moment and then at the small box, placed on his lap. He sighed and rolled his eyes before grabbing it and taking the paper off rather carefully. Kayleigh tapped her foot on the floor at his carefulness and crossed her arms in front of her chest, waiting until he finally opened the package.
Getting out the present out of the box, James inspected them and a crooked grin appeared on his lips before he threw the blankets of his legs and swung them over the side with the help of Kayleigh and put them on. He smiled at her and hugged her tightly, surprising her and making her slightly gasp for air before she chuckled and shook her head, patting his back at his excitement.
“So, does that mean you like them?” Kayleigh asked shy, stepping back from the hug and looking at the slippers she had gotten him.
She was surprised they even fit him but then again, her friend had had a large size himself so that surprise wasn't a big one in the end. Not to mention that the slippers were hilarious as hell, they were made to resemble the killer rabbit from Monty Python, one of her favorite films and she was sure that James would love it too once he saw it.
James nodded excited and moved his feet a little, admiring the slippers and a huge grin still playing on his lips. This had to be one of the best birthday gifts ever, he was sure of it.
November 25 1993
It was three months since he had woken up from that coma. Thank god he had been able to get out of his bed about two weeks earlier, making him spend most of his time outside now even though it was starting to freeze out there because it was already winter. Not that James really cared, he sort of liked the cold around him.
What he did found out about finally standing on his own legs again was that he was really tall, like, taller than his doctor, which amused him greatly whenever he faced his doctor when he was standing up and watching his surroundings. His hair was also longer and now it was about to hang over his shoulders, reminding him that he desperately needed a haircut.
“James?”
An unknown voice filled the room and made James jump up slightly before he turned around, leaning his hands on the railing behind him and saw a man standing in front of him that he didn't recognize, yet, his face looked familiar in some sort yet he couldn't quite place it. James frowned a little and relaxed at the presence of the man for some reason before he slowly walked to the seat on the small balcony and sat down, massaging his temple slightly before he looked up to the man again and made eye contact.
“You don't remember do you?”
James shook his head sadly and placed it back in his hands before sighing and trying not to show the sadness to the man who he didn't recognize, it had to be awful for someone to have a friend, perhaps family member and that they won't even remember you, he couldn't bear going through it himself yet here he was, putting other people through it.
“I'm sorry,” he blurted out, for the past few months he had finally regained his ability to speak, which relieved him greatly, nodding or shaking his head to answer the questions had slowly been annoying him. The man moved to sit in the seat next to him and wrapped his arm around James' shoulder, pulling him in a half-way hug.
“I don't even remember you? What kind of friend am I?” James whispered to himself as he tried to hide himself from the man's view.
“One that is bound by blood to me and who I still love even though he forget about me,” the man replied before he placed his hand under James' chin and forced him to make eye contact with him.
James frowned a little at the man before shooting up from his seat and shaking his head, his back turned to the man and his head hung low as he tried to get through his mind and find out who the man really was. The words 'bound by blood' rang in his ears, so it had to be either a brother, cousin or perhaps even his father. But he looked way to young to be a father, let alone be his father so he scrapped that option as soon as it entered his mind.
“Who? Who are you?” James muttered, finally turning around to face the man once again, his legs slightly shaking. Two hazel eyes looked back at his own hazel eyes and the man smiled slightly at James before opening his mouth to answer.
“Well, our mom would hit you around now,” the man smiled, “and probably yell at you for even asking that but since she's not around...”
“Geez, you could've just told me “I am your brother” and then do some weak Darth Vader imitation but no,” James rolled his eyes, pouting a little at the absence of a bad Darth Vader imitation.
“How is it that you seem to remember that particular line but not me?” the man asked, looking quite hurt at James who raised an eyebrow at his own remark before he shrugged.
“Felt right to say that, don't know, who is Darth Vader anyway?”
“You got a long way to go brother, don't worry, I'm sure a few hits on the head will get you right up again,” the man stood up from the chair finally and walked over to James before pulling him in a hug.
“I still don't know your name by the way...”
“It's Mark, well actually Markus but everyone calls me Mark so yeah, and don't you dare to forget it again!” Mark said jokingly, looking at his brother with a grin on his face before James nodded slightly, still confused and progressing the information but did chose to return the hug his brother gave him.
“Now who in God's name is Darth Vader?” James asked, moving inside as a cold wind reached the two brothers and he was only dressed in some light pajama pants and a t-shirt while his brother was clearly prepared on the weather and was wearing a coat, scarf and even some gloves and a hat, covering his head and even almost his eyes if not for the brim being just above his eyebrows.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier, I was so busy with book conventions and all those things, I did get the phone call from the hospital that you woke up, I canceled a few things but I don't really care, you're my fucking brother and I need to be there with you," Mark said, removing his coat, hat and gloves but leaving on his scarf loosely around his neck as he watched his brother sit down on the hospital bed and pull the covers over his legs.
James frowned a little at what Mark was telling him but dropped him, either Mark would realize it and tell him or he'd find out himself later, he was too tired to think now, looking at the sky outside, he noticed that it was getting dark, letting him know that the night was starting. He stifled a yawn and laid his head down on the pillow behind him, smiling a little at his brother and actually happy for his company.
"Sleep, you look like you need it, and too much information isn't all too good for your brain," Mark said, moving closer to the bed and placing a hand on his brother's shoulder before James shook his head yet closed his eyes and muttered a soft 'no' before slightly open his eyes again.
"James, don't act difficult, I know you did it before the coma but you need that night of sleep," Mark looked straight in James' eyes and gave his shoulder a soft squeeze before picking up his coat and gloves that were hidden in his hat from the chair.
"I'm going to be here tomorrow, but now I want you to sleep right now, don't worry, I'll be here first thing in the morning alright?"
James nodded tiredly and smiled at his brother, placing his hand on his brother's hand and giving it a small squeeze before closing his eyes completely and falling asleep.
His eyesight was blurry but for the first time in two years, he could see light, colors surrounding him. He groaned and blinked several times before his ears caught up the sound of footsteps leaving the room. He heard a door opening and the footsteps faded together with the monotone voice of the person who had just left the room. Taking slow shaky breaths, the man kept blinking with his half-closed eyes, trying to get rid of the blur sight.
He heard people talking to him, yet he couldn't register what they were saying, or manage to open his mouth to say something back, he felt a frown appear on his forehead before he fell asleep again, leaving the man, or woman as he couldn't quite see enough details to be sure, once again alone without the questions answered.
Throughout the day, he woke up, sometimes for 5 minutes, something for only a few seconds. But whenever he could, he tried to stay conscious as long as possible, which sometimes proved hard to be as his body was too tired and worn out to stay awake for longer than a few minutes. Each time he opened his eyes and was met with the blurry sight of a ceiling, someone was called and talked to him. No matter how much he wanted, he just couldn't answer to the questions the man, or woman as he still hadn't figured it out, asked him.
“Mr. Euringer?” a female voice asked him, making him realize that the person that has been hovering above him for the past few times he had woken up was female.
Groaning, he turned his head away and forced his eyes to close again as the girl shone with a light in his eyes, she probably had a good reason but he didn't really care about that right now, it hurt his eyes so she had to stop doing it, no matter what her reason was.
“Oh good, you're responding, I'll call the doctor,” her soft voice said before she left the room. So his last name was Euringer, he thought, briefly, he wondered what his first name was. Realizing that it was safe to open his eyes again, he opened them and blinked several times, trying not to fall asleep again as he turned his head carefully to inspect the room, even though his eyesight was still not able to make out exact things and details.
“Ah, Mr. Euringer, welcome back,” a deep male voice said, not immediately unfamiliar to him but it took him a while to realize that the voice belonged to the man who had questioned him several times before as he kept falling asleep during the questions.
The man in the bed opened his mouth and tried to form a question but didn't manage to get anything out. The doctor took this in account and scribbled something down the paper he had brought.
“I will ask you a few questions right now and you can just nod or shake your head in answer to them, is that okay with you, sir?”
He nodded, blinking several times and consciously trying to lift up his arm for no reason but failed miserably at that as he just turned his head to face the ceiling again and sighed a little, closing his eyes for a small seconds before opening them again as the doctor asked him the first question.
“Can you move anything else except your head?”
He shook his head, trying to twitch his toes and fingers but realized that nothing happened. The doctor didn't say anything in response but once again wrote on his paper with the pen tightly in his hand.
“Do you remember anything?”
He frowned for a moment, digging deep in his mind to try and find anything that could resemble a memory or at least something from his past, a name, a face, anything. He shook his head sadly and looked down to his hands, for the first time he realized that he had a breathing mask on his face as he felt the plastic on his face moving slightly, helping him with getting oxygen in his longs. An IV was also seen in a blur, making him wince as he finally realized that he was indeed in a hospital and not in an all to good state.
“Alright, Mr. Euringer, you shall be taken off the breathing machine in a minute, once the mask if off your face, I want you to focus on your breathing and try to do it on your own alright?”
Mr. Euringer nodded his head slowly and felt himself falling asleep again but forced himself to stay awake, taking slow breaths with the mask firmly placed on his face. Another person entered the room and he closed his eyes for a moment, gentle hands carefully touched his face, the first touch he actually felt since he woke up.
Slowly, the nurse lifted up his head slightly and took off the breathing mask of his face, taking a shaky deep breath, he tried to keep his breathing stable as he realized after a few minutes that he was breathing on his own without a machine helping him. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted again.
August 27 1993
Three days ago, he could breath on his own for the first time since he woke up. In the mean time, he had learned a lot more essential information about himself that he should know. He was a certain James Euringer, age 24, allergic to milk and other things made from milk, at least, that was what his medical history said. He was also rather skinny with dark hair that now hung until just above his shoulders while green eyes (mixes with brown and grey) stared back at him from the mirror he was holding in his hand, still attached to the IV.
Placing the mirror back on his lap, James sighed, he didn't look the same anymore. Then again, he was clueless on how he looked before he had woken up so he couldn't really tell. He just felt different. His eyesight had gotten better too, when he had woken up this morning, he could finally see some details whenever he looked at something, a positive thing to his recovery.
The same nurse that has been helping him for the past three days entered the room, a warming smile playing on her lips as she saw that he was up. He couldn't speak yet, much to his dismay because he certainly didn't like being so helpless, he could just lift up his right arm and move his head, but that was all he could at that moment and even moving his arm required a lot of effort.
Each day, he had an hour of moving different parts of his body or trying to develop his senses again, he had forgotten to write and talk, and even walking was out of the question so he had to relearn all of that again in a matter of therapy and sessions of the next few months. He had started with this therapy the day before, trying to lift his arm with help from the nurse (which he had found out was named Anastacia) and succeeding for a small part as he kept practicing even after the hour of therapy, in the end, it had payed off and he could even move some of his fingers enough to hold something for a few seconds.
“How are we feeling today?” Anastacia asked, opening the dirty white curtains that hung in front of the window that had view on the parking lot of the hospital and also access to a small balcony, or at least, that's what he's been told, he hadn't exactly been out of the bed since he couldn't walk yet so he just had to trust the other people on telling it for him and hoping they weren't telling any lies.
James nodded satisfied, still worn out, sleeping for such a long time and laying still the whole day, longing for that small hour of therapy and trying to move was tiresome after a while and he couldn't help but feel helpless as he laid in the bed and watched Anastacia move so she could open the window a little, letting some fresh air in the room.
He still didn't know anything about how he got in the hospital or how long he had been there, it's not like he could ask, he would just have to wait until someone told him or informed him of his current situation. Anastacia smiled sweetly at him and gave him a small peck on the cheek before she left the room again, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
“Ah, Mr. Euringer, I see you're awake, I got your personal file here with me, apparently you fell in a coma about a year and 43 days ago, due to a car accident,” the doctor informed James, who looked a little shocked by the fact that he had been sleeping for almost two years and almost a two months and he was still so tired.
“You were the only survivor of the crash.”
James nodded sadly and looked down at his hands, so skinny that could even see his veins. The doctor fell silent for a moment before he looked through other papers in James' personal file and searched for information that the man would like to know even though he couldn't speak and tell him himself.
“We've been trying to contact your family for the last three days but apparently, we didn't find any phone number between your documents, we'll keep on trying to reach them but-” James shook his head, disappointed in his family that they didn't even care that he woke up but in the back of his mind knowing that if he didn't have their phone number in something that belonged to him, they didn't care. The doctor looked sad for a moment and then nodded in agreement, knowing that it was useless to try and contact them without any information about how to.
“Now now, you're on your way to recovery, let's start today's therapy session shall we? Perhaps we should try to walk today, or at least move your legs, we don't want clots to form now do we?” the doctor said, somewhat trying to lighten up the sad mood in the room.
James looked up and made direct eye contact with the doctor before nodding with a confident smile, he wouldn't let everything get to him before he got better, walking, talking and writing and actually being able to do everything himself again was his main goal right now, family came later.
Bending his leg with help from Anastacia, James winced in pain for just a brief second, not being used in moving his leg for the past year and a half. Softly massaging his legs, James tried to flex his toes, looking quite proud of himself as he managed to do so, even though it was only for a brief second and easily missed by someone who didn't look upon it. Anastacia winked at him, showing him an encouraging smile as she massaged his other leg, making sure that no clot would form in his leg and possibly kill him if it reached his heart.
Twitching his toes again just to see if he wasn't dreaming, James smiled proudly yet tired as he leaned back and rested his head on the pillows behind his back and head. Anastacia bended his leg again, making him open his eyes again and realize that he shouldn't be falling asleep at this moment but instead focus on trying to move even though sleep was trying to catch up with him. He had been sleeping for the almost two years and now the road to recovery was open for him, he couldn't stop right now.
“Well, it seems like you're on your way to recovery pretty good, but it's going to take a while before you're able to finally get everything under control again, but seeing as this is only your third day and you're able to twitch your toes already and move your arm slightly is a good sign,” Anastacia informed him, placing a hand on his shoulder before she once again left the room after giving his cheek a soft peck.
September 3 1993
Now what the doctors had gotten out of his medical file was not much, but it was something. James Euringer had been a lonesome man, he had only chose to give his own cellphone number to the hospital in case of an emergency and the number of his house, long since sold on to different people and so, the doctors had no idea how to contact anyone close to the man or family members to let them know he had woken up.
According to his medical file, his birthday was on the 7th of September, which was only a few days away according to the calender that decorated his room. After they had told him what they knew, he had just given them a nod and a solemn look, accepting everything and taking recovery before family. Of course, in the back of his mind, he knew that those two things were connected, family could help him with memories from his childhood and the life before he fell in a coma.
The nurses were kind to him and helped him through everything, they were his only company during rainy days and to make sure he was kept busy and not bored while he laid there in his bed all day, staring at the walls, they had made sure he had several books to read, although easy children's books were the starters because of the fact that he still had to relearn how to read properly, and the pictures could also keep him busy.
Access to the computers and laptops, James searched for all clues to his past and wondered if there were any stored and forgotten articles about the crash of so long ago in his opinion, killing the only person in the car except him on impact, he had just fallen into a coma and doomed to stay in one for the rest of his life, but he had waken up and now he had a second chance at life, one he would gladly take. Of course, these texts were still to difficult for James to read them himself so the nurses helped him with that, reading them before telling him what it said exactly.
With help from the doctors and therapy, that took reading and talking before walking -even though he already did that on his own anyway- and so helped him on his search for answers. James Euringer proved himself to be an intelligent man and a quick learner to boot as he strived for perfection and tried to eliminate all imperfections, an impossible task to do but it gave him some sort of goal, even though he knew that he would never succeed.
On a sudden day, James even had a visitor from a student. A young girl that visited the hospital regularly and was told to come and talk with James since he was a good listener and she could use one of those from time to time. Kayleigh her name was, kept checking in with him even though she didn't even work in the hospital, she was still looking for a job but she had told him that it could take another while, in the mean time, she kept mothering him, bringing him a home-cooked meal twice a week (being a student herself and single, she appreciated that someone enjoyed what she loved to do, which was cooking) and a fresh supply of books, each time a new challenge to the still learning James Euringer.
Following the news -between the learning programs for children - which he enjoyed too much for his opinion - James soon learned that the world needed a change, yet, being in the state he was in right now, he never even thought of starting something that would lead towards it, not that he planned on doing something like that, it seemed almost impossible. He couldn't even write something decent down, let alone talk.
What he did learn about himself though, through all the research with Kayleigh, who gladly helped him find himself, was that he hated any news on financial, which surprised both of them greatly because during their search for information on him, they had found out that James had been a rather successful businessman, praised by many for his sly tactics of financial things were involved. Of course, he still looked at the prizes and criticized them if they were too much for the product, but right now, as he lay in that hospital bed and working on relearning everything, James couldn't really give a fuck about the current stock market and finance problems.
“Apparently, Mr. Euringer, you have a brother, who we are still trying to contact at this very moment but it's worth a shot,” the doctor said as he walked in the room with James' file in his hand.
James nodded a little surprised by the news but accepting both sides of it, there was a chance his brother would react just like his parents and not care about him, and then where was the chance that his brother did actually care. James didn't really know anything at this moment, nor did he really care.
“Mr. Euringer, did you just hear what I just said?”
He looked up at the doctor and frowned, shaking his head in honesty and knew that he had been too deep in his thoughts about his brother that he hadn't even listened to what the doctor had just told him. The older man sighed and shook his head before looking back at the file in front of him.
“You're making a good recovery, that's for sure, you've only been awake for the last 9 days but the way you're doing is remarkable for a man who just woke up from a coma of two years,” the man looked up from the file and looked proud at James who had a tiny smile playing on his lips before he nodded and turned his hazel eyes back to his hands folded on his lap.
“You still got a long way to go, but I'm sure we'll get there, I'll inform you when we get more information about your brother.”
9 days, he was only awake for 9 days, it seemed like forever to him. Then again, he had lost sense of time since he had woken up. He sighed and looked outside his window and wished that he could get outside again, actually talk to people and get his life back as soon as possible.
September 7 1993
Walking through the hospital with a small package under her arm, Kayleigh smiled to herself and thought of the present hidden in the box, wrapped in some bright paper. Seeing that James was still walking around in his pajama's, she had made sure to bring some personal touch to his current wardrobe and she was sure her small present would help with achieving that goal.
Kayleigh hadn't looked around much, only hearing that it was James' birthday today a few days ago. Yet, she had gotten these from a friend, who told her that he didn't need them anyway and she had no intention of wearing them herself, so perhaps James would be happy with them. She certainly hoped so.
“Well hi there birthday boy, 25 years old today, you're getting old” Kayleigh joked and entered the room with a small smile on her lips and a present in her hands. James looked at her with a frown and then at the small package wrapped in bright pink paper. The young girl giggled slightly and shook her head at him before putting the package on the table for a moment while she took off her long dark grey trench coat.
“Who's that for?” James asked without words but the nod towards the package was enough before Kayleigh looked at him with a raised eyebrow and placed it firmly on his lap. He still hadn't learned much yet and his ability to speak was rather limited to the simple answers to questions asked him.
“For you, now open it!” she said excited, slightly jumping up and down at the thought of his reaction to her small present.
James looked at her for a moment and then at the small box, placed on his lap. He sighed and rolled his eyes before grabbing it and taking the paper off rather carefully. Kayleigh tapped her foot on the floor at his carefulness and crossed her arms in front of her chest, waiting until he finally opened the package.
Getting out the present out of the box, James inspected them and a crooked grin appeared on his lips before he threw the blankets of his legs and swung them over the side with the help of Kayleigh and put them on. He smiled at her and hugged her tightly, surprising her and making her slightly gasp for air before she chuckled and shook her head, patting his back at his excitement.
“So, does that mean you like them?” Kayleigh asked shy, stepping back from the hug and looking at the slippers she had gotten him.
She was surprised they even fit him but then again, her friend had had a large size himself so that surprise wasn't a big one in the end. Not to mention that the slippers were hilarious as hell, they were made to resemble the killer rabbit from Monty Python, one of her favorite films and she was sure that James would love it too once he saw it.
James nodded excited and moved his feet a little, admiring the slippers and a huge grin still playing on his lips. This had to be one of the best birthday gifts ever, he was sure of it.
November 25 1993
It was three months since he had woken up from that coma. Thank god he had been able to get out of his bed about two weeks earlier, making him spend most of his time outside now even though it was starting to freeze out there because it was already winter. Not that James really cared, he sort of liked the cold around him.
What he did found out about finally standing on his own legs again was that he was really tall, like, taller than his doctor, which amused him greatly whenever he faced his doctor when he was standing up and watching his surroundings. His hair was also longer and now it was about to hang over his shoulders, reminding him that he desperately needed a haircut.
“James?”
An unknown voice filled the room and made James jump up slightly before he turned around, leaning his hands on the railing behind him and saw a man standing in front of him that he didn't recognize, yet, his face looked familiar in some sort yet he couldn't quite place it. James frowned a little and relaxed at the presence of the man for some reason before he slowly walked to the seat on the small balcony and sat down, massaging his temple slightly before he looked up to the man again and made eye contact.
“You don't remember do you?”
James shook his head sadly and placed it back in his hands before sighing and trying not to show the sadness to the man who he didn't recognize, it had to be awful for someone to have a friend, perhaps family member and that they won't even remember you, he couldn't bear going through it himself yet here he was, putting other people through it.
“I'm sorry,” he blurted out, for the past few months he had finally regained his ability to speak, which relieved him greatly, nodding or shaking his head to answer the questions had slowly been annoying him. The man moved to sit in the seat next to him and wrapped his arm around James' shoulder, pulling him in a half-way hug.
“I don't even remember you? What kind of friend am I?” James whispered to himself as he tried to hide himself from the man's view.
“One that is bound by blood to me and who I still love even though he forget about me,” the man replied before he placed his hand under James' chin and forced him to make eye contact with him.
James frowned a little at the man before shooting up from his seat and shaking his head, his back turned to the man and his head hung low as he tried to get through his mind and find out who the man really was. The words 'bound by blood' rang in his ears, so it had to be either a brother, cousin or perhaps even his father. But he looked way to young to be a father, let alone be his father so he scrapped that option as soon as it entered his mind.
“Who? Who are you?” James muttered, finally turning around to face the man once again, his legs slightly shaking. Two hazel eyes looked back at his own hazel eyes and the man smiled slightly at James before opening his mouth to answer.
“Well, our mom would hit you around now,” the man smiled, “and probably yell at you for even asking that but since she's not around...”
“Geez, you could've just told me “I am your brother” and then do some weak Darth Vader imitation but no,” James rolled his eyes, pouting a little at the absence of a bad Darth Vader imitation.
“How is it that you seem to remember that particular line but not me?” the man asked, looking quite hurt at James who raised an eyebrow at his own remark before he shrugged.
“Felt right to say that, don't know, who is Darth Vader anyway?”
“You got a long way to go brother, don't worry, I'm sure a few hits on the head will get you right up again,” the man stood up from the chair finally and walked over to James before pulling him in a hug.
“I still don't know your name by the way...”
“It's Mark, well actually Markus but everyone calls me Mark so yeah, and don't you dare to forget it again!” Mark said jokingly, looking at his brother with a grin on his face before James nodded slightly, still confused and progressing the information but did chose to return the hug his brother gave him.
“Now who in God's name is Darth Vader?” James asked, moving inside as a cold wind reached the two brothers and he was only dressed in some light pajama pants and a t-shirt while his brother was clearly prepared on the weather and was wearing a coat, scarf and even some gloves and a hat, covering his head and even almost his eyes if not for the brim being just above his eyebrows.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier, I was so busy with book conventions and all those things, I did get the phone call from the hospital that you woke up, I canceled a few things but I don't really care, you're my fucking brother and I need to be there with you," Mark said, removing his coat, hat and gloves but leaving on his scarf loosely around his neck as he watched his brother sit down on the hospital bed and pull the covers over his legs.
James frowned a little at what Mark was telling him but dropped him, either Mark would realize it and tell him or he'd find out himself later, he was too tired to think now, looking at the sky outside, he noticed that it was getting dark, letting him know that the night was starting. He stifled a yawn and laid his head down on the pillow behind him, smiling a little at his brother and actually happy for his company.
"Sleep, you look like you need it, and too much information isn't all too good for your brain," Mark said, moving closer to the bed and placing a hand on his brother's shoulder before James shook his head yet closed his eyes and muttered a soft 'no' before slightly open his eyes again.
"James, don't act difficult, I know you did it before the coma but you need that night of sleep," Mark looked straight in James' eyes and gave his shoulder a soft squeeze before picking up his coat and gloves that were hidden in his hat from the chair.
"I'm going to be here tomorrow, but now I want you to sleep right now, don't worry, I'll be here first thing in the morning alright?"
James nodded tiredly and smiled at his brother, placing his hand on his brother's hand and giving it a small squeeze before closing his eyes completely and falling asleep.