The Flashback

Zainab gently opened her eyes and the room she found herself in didn't look familiar. She felt a sharp pain in her head as she tried turning to see the other part of the room and she was curious about why she was lying in the hospital bed with different medical equipment standing tall by her side.

The continuous beeping sound from the monitor interfered with her thoughts several times. She couldn't remember who she was or how she got to the hospital.

She was trying to get out of bed but the creaking sound from the door made her halt and she turned to see who it was.

"Oh, you are up. Your family must be happy to see you," a nurse carrying a metal tray said to Zainab who just stared at her as she checked her vital before calling a doctor.

A few minutes later, Doctor Wale came in with Zainab's parents and they were excited to see her back to life.
Three days ago, Zainab was going about her daily activities at the university when a bike ran into her. She didn't sustain any physical injury but became unconscious immediately when she fell to the ground.

"Zainab! Thank you Allah for returning my daughter to me," Mama Zainab screamed as rushed to hug her on the sick bed while Papa Zainab patted his daughter's back.

"Please be careful, she is just recovering," the doctor warned as he checked the monitors.

"Who are you people?" Zainab asked and the room went silent.

Her parents looked at each other and they were confused but before they started introducing themselves, the doctor cut in.

"Zainab, you feel pain in your head?" He asked.

"Yes, I do. It's like a sting here," She touched the part where the pain was coming from.

Hmmm! The doctor sighed heavily and Zainab's parents knew something wasn't right.

"Let me see you in my office," Doctor Wale said to Papa Zainab

"No, don't go anywhere. Tell us what's the problem," Mama Zainab replied and insisted.

*"Okay, the thing is that Zainab might have lost her memory. I told you earlier that there is a 50% chance of that to have happened due to the nature of her accident so we will run a few checks on her when the brain specialist arrives," the doctor replied.

"Ha, God this mustn't happen to me. Zainab is my only child, doctor please do something," Mama Zainab started crying and Doctor Wale went to speak with Papa Zainab at one corner of the hospital room.

The specialist arrived and after running several checks on Zainab, it was confirmed that she had lost her memories but it wasn't a severe condition. There is a high chance of Zainab remembering her past life within a short time.

Weeks passed and she was discharged from the hospital. Upon her arrival home, Zainab didn't remember even her bedroom and everywhere felt completely strange to her. For some days, Zainab just stayed in her room and it bothered her parents a lot.

The house, the people around her and everything she was doing didn't feel familiar so Zainab barely spoke to anyone. Her parents tried everything they could but nothing happened even after two years.

Although she had loosened up at home, she interacted with her parents but the fact that she still hasn't remembered them properly didn't make her parents happy.

"Doctor, it's been two years and some months now. Zainab still hasn't remembered anything," Papa Zainab almost broke down into tears after they went for the regular monthly checkup.

"Papa Zainab, you have to be patient. Just let her continue with her medications, I know she will regain her memories and remember that I am just a doctor. Let's hope in God," Doctor Wale replied.

They left the hospital that day and went back home. Upon their arrival home, Papa Zainab informed his family about doing general cleaning in the house due to a recent rat invasion and they chose the weekend for the job.

The weekend came and the family started turning every box in the house to ensure they chased the rats out of their hiding.

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While Zainab was removing the items from one box, she stumbled on an old photo frame. The picture of a little little girl without front teeth on the first page made her laugh and the face looked familiar to her.

She turned pages and admired the beautiful faces in the pictures. Zainab finally saw a picture and she had a strong feeling about knowing the people in the picture.

"Dad, Mom, Ahmed," she said gently.

She stared at the pictures for a few minutes before leaving where she was to join her parents in the store.

"Where is Ahmed? I do not see him around the house," Zainab asked and Mama Zainab burst into tears as Zainab repeated the question when no one answered.

Papa Zainab's eyes were filled with tears as well and Zainab's first time remembering anything brought back a sad memory.

"He died, your brother didn't survive the illness," Papa Zainab replied.

Zainab immediately had a flashback of everything that happened on the day Ahmed died and she felt chills travelling through her veins.

"I am so sorry Daddy," she said to her father and the parents quickly wiped their tears.

"Mummy!" Zainab called and went to hug her mother.

They were there for a few minutes reminiscing about past incidents and a few days later, they went for another check-up as advised by Doctor Wale.

Test results showed Zainab was fine now and she returned to her old life.