There is something you’re afraid to forget? Your first memories, maybe? Your first kiss? Your first big goal in your life? Any other great memory that you don’t want to lose? Your family? Your children, your partner? Or maybe something more common, but not less important? Put out the kitchen fire, probably? Or lock the door of your house before going on a trip? Or maybe something even more simple? Because, there are things that are impossible to forget, right? Have you ever forgotten to breath? Or blink? No, really?
Because there are things that in fact, cannot be forgotten, right?
So, here is my story. I used to work into a construction place some time ago. I really hadn’t a concrete specialization, but everybody always counted with me to finish the daily tasks, supervising, directing and reviewing everything.
Some day, during an inspection, as something that is more usual than we like to recognize in construction works, an installation was performed incorrectly, so, when checking it out, one of the supports gave way, a beam fell and a whole wall fell apart just by mi side, hitting me. I fainted and the next thing I knew was my wife being by mi side, into a hospital room, with a worried face, but rejoicing instantly to see my react. While regaining consciousness, I was informed of everything that happened. Traumatic brain injury, possible cerebral lesion and, by checking that I had difficulty to remember certain things, as my phone number, address and even a few full previous days, temporary amnesia.
Things weren’t as bad as they could, in fact, I was alive and I could move my entire body, so, things could were way worse, undoubtedly. The next weeks, recovering me at home were quite good, my wife tenderly cared for me while I was getting better and when finally, I was in a good shape to go back to work, I did it. That’s when her personality changed. Started by questioning my arrival timing, why I didn’t pick up her numerous calls during the day and other things like that, arguing that, after that accident, she was worried of my well-being above all.
But things got worse. Screams, Jealousy scenes and even once, she threw me a plate which broke when it hit against the floor, made that I wanted to go far away from it all. But I felt that in that whole situation, something was wrong, but I didn’t know what was it exactly, I couldn’t remember.
Finally, tired of all that situation, I decided to do something. She wasn’t going to listen to me, so, when turned back home from work, I just started by packaging my stuff to get away from that place where I wouldn’t feel happy that way. My wife entered in the room, started arguing and finally hit me. Was in that moment that I screamed: “That’s exactly the kind of things because I want to leave you, Rose!”. In that moment, suddenly, something clicked in my mind.
I started sweating cold, while fleeting images crossed my mind. My wife telling me that somebody used to call constantly but didn’t say anything when she picked up the phone, or that she thought have looked somebody into our yard at night, or that she had heard steps when I had to work at night, or noticing things randomly moved around the house, and I the meantime, me answering in that moment that all was just her paranoia, or that she was simply exaggerating, or that she could call the police if she thought it was necessary. That mental click gave me the key about I needed to know in that moment. I noticed that I just called my wife “Rose”, but I remembered that the woman which I married to was named, in fact, “Marie”, while seeing that unknown woman leap on me with a knife on her hand... How could I have forgotten it?