Fish?
None of those made sense as names, but I recalled a vague association with water.
Salamander?
That was close. It brought to mind the image of slippery but cute little amphibians.
Newt. Yes, that was right. The nurse’s name was Newt.
Filled with a sense of accomplishment, I tried to smile back, but the corners of my mouth pinched when they moved.
“Newt. You’re Newt.” My throat still hurt when I talked, though thankfully not as much as before.
Newt paused where he was checking a tube that was connected to my arm before smiling at me again. “Yes, that’s right. And I think you said your name was Mia?”
I nodded, and the creaking of my neck rattled in my ears.
“Yes. I’m Mia.”
Each word took the breath of an entire sentence for me to say.
Returning to his work doing… whatever it is that nurses do, Newt nodded along with the conversation.
“And what’s your last name, Mia. That’s a unique name, but unfortunately, it’s still not enough for us to look you up. Your last name will be a big help.”
Although he didn’t say it, I knew what he meant bya unique name. Mia was a common name for girls, but for boys, it was almost unheard of.
“I’m…” I started to answer automatically, then stopped when nothing came forward.
“I’m… I’m…”
My last name felt like it was right on the tip of my tongue and would fall out at any moment if I could just form my mouth into the right shape. Yet, no matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t come up with the name.
“I don’t know,” I eventually admitted.
What kind of person didn’t even know their own last name?
That was such a stupid thing to forget.
However, the more I tried to remember, the more I began to realize how much I didn’t know.
I was in a hospital, but how had I gotten there?
What had I been doing before I ended up unconscious?
Friends?
Family?
It was all just a big blank in my head.
A high-pitched beeping sound rang out near my ear, splitting my head with each painful wail. I flinched and pressed my hands over my ears to block it out, and for the first time, I noticed the bandages wrapped around my arms.
“Mia,” Newt said urgently. “You need to calm down. Please. Your heart rate is way too high.”
The machines kept wailing, and more people poured into the room. Hands guided me to lie back down on the bed, yet despite the reclined position, I still couldn’t calm down. The many people, probably nurses, argued around me. I couldn’t make out everything they were saying, but one statement stood out as clearly as if it had been tattooed directly into my brain.
“Sedative.”