CHAPTER 35

"When we arrived home, I could not believe it. Hector can recognize our son. He said he could hear a child's voice in his mind, but it turns out it's Marco," Maya said.

We were facing each other at my office desk. Hector was in the treatment area for his examination. I started taking notes and listing what Maya said in my journal because hearing that Hector could recognize his son was a significant improvement.

"It's good that he can recognize Marco," I said. "Maya, you need to make a lot of sacrifices and understand your husband's situation now."

"Why is that, doctor? He forgets things easily. He can't remember what happened yesterday."

"Your husband has new amnesia. It's called anterograde amnesia. He has short-term memory issues. In other words, he has difficulty creating new memories, leading him to forget things quickly." I took a deep breath and held my pen tightly while looking at Maya. "Maya, don't get tired of reminding him. It will help reduce his forgetfulness."

I could see the excessive worry in Maya's eyes as she put her hands together, fingers trembling. "Will he be disabled? Will he recover?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"He will still be able to function daily," I said, holding her left hand tightly. Instead of spreading anger, I now sympathize with her. "According to the test results, his body, motor skills, and speech are normal. But right now, he has two types of amnesia."

Maya's eyes widened. I knew she didn't understand the two types of amnesia well, but what I said was enough to worry her. "Doctor, please do everything to bring back my husband's memory. I don't want to see him suffer. I love him so much."

Maya gently squeezed my hand. Given how much she cherished Hector, why did those words make me feel like they were stabbing me little by little? I regained my composure, pushing aside those thoughts. I preferred to stay positive. I needed to be happy because, in some way, she loved Hector more than I had ever shown him.

I asked Maya to wait in the reception area because I would have a one-on-one examination with Hector. Now, facing him again—just the two of us—I longed to ask him, "How are you?" You've gained weight; maybe you've been eating a lot lately? Your son is as handsome as you are. Your mannerisms haven't changed; you're still the same.

I wished I could, but his soulful eyes only pierced through emptiness.

Maybe it could be the other way around—that Hector would ask me, "How are you?" But I knew it was unlikely to happen. I took a deep breath, and my heart started beating abnormally again. I recently learned about breathing meditation. I needed to do it now because it had helped me somehow.

"Hello, Hector?" I said. I missed calling him by his name.

His eyes turned to me as if he were a lost child. He was very calm now, and maybe the headache he complained about had disappeared entirely.

"I'm okay? Why am I here?" he said in a slow, clear voice.

I prepared my journal and opened the voice recorder. Hector was the focus of my case study today.

"Is your Nape still hurting?" I asked.

"Nape? Was it hurting?" His confusion confirmed that part of his head had recovered.

"You're here in my clinic now, Hector," I said. He rubbed his palms together, indicating his procedural memory remained intact. "You just came from brain surgery. By the way, I'm Dr. Clara Montemayor, your psychologist."

He stared at me, his eyebrows knitting together in tension. His lower eyelid puffed, and I wished I could touch it again.

Hector suddenly said, "I knew a girl named Clara before."

I felt a sudden rush of tension. My heart started beating faster, but I was intrigued at the same time. I swallowed a lump and forced myself to look into his eyes. "Who is Clara?"

He didn't answer right away. He ran his hand through his hair and then looked at me. "I had a crush on this girl."

A flood of memories from high school surged through my mind. I couldn't help but feel emotional, but I tried to contain my tears. I didn't want to cry in front of him. "You had a crush on Clara?" I mustered the courage to ask.

He looked back at me, and I averted my gaze because his stare made me blush.

This is impossible; he has declarative memory impairment, which is why he has anterograde amnesia. Because he also has retrograde amnesia, he can't recall or feel familiar.

I noticed that he wasn't fazed and was staring back at me. I just lowered my head again and continued writing in my journal.

"My heart is beating faster," he said. I stopped writing.

I lifted my head and looked at him. He ran his hand through his hair again, messing it up. I cleared my throat. "Relax, Hector. Don't force yourself to remember."

Because I had another plan, I had to pretend we didn't know each other. But I couldn't help but hold Hector's left hand. He glanced at it before turning to look at me again.

"Dr. Ara!" I was surprised when Rachel suddenly appeared at the door. Hector looked taken aback.

I glanced at Rachel. "Mrs. De Leon collapsed!" she yelled.

I quickly stood up and ran towards the reception area. I covered my mouth when I saw Maya lying on the floor. I went out of the clinic and asked for help.