Chapter 1
The last time we fought, it was a stormy night. I stormed out in a rage, only to slip by the riverbank and fall into the water. When I woke up in the hospital, my memories were a jumbled
mess.
Jasper Green, my brother, looked almost relieved as he stood by my bed. He pointed to a patient with a deathly pallor and said, “That’s your brother. Take a good look and stop bothering me.”
The pale man approached, his voice gentle as he reached out to ruffle my hair. “Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s go home.”
Later, I did everything I could to save this “brother“-braving blizzards to find a renowned specialist, sitting by his bedside through countless sleepless nights, even risking my own life for his sake.
But then, in the heart of that endless winter, Jasper blocked my way on the icy road, his voice trembling with panic. “Have you really… forgotten me?”
The doctors said I had memory loss after the accident. I’d fallen from a height into the river, hit my head, and spent over two weeks unconscious.
Two weeks ago, Jasper and I had a blowout fight. I still remember slamming the door and shouting, “I’d rather die than let you clean up my mess!”
He’d glared at me, cold fury in his eyes. “I hope you get your wish.”
But now, half a month later, I was alive.
When I finally opened my eyes, the pale sunlight of early winter spilled through the hospital window, and everything looked hazy. Slowly, sounds came back to me. Outside my door, I heard a doctor speaking with Jasper.
“A head injury, a long coma… memory loss or confusion is entirely possible. She might forget people close to her, even herself.”
I struggled to get out of bed, determined to prove that my memory was fine. I hated hospitals–hated the idea of being trapped here over a diagnosis that wasn’t even true.
As I reached the door, Jasper’s voice drifted through, low and cold, laced with something else–almost happiness. “Maybe it’s for the best.” he said..
He went on, as if trying to prove the doctor’s point. “She woke up last night, looked right at me, and asked who I was.”
He wasn’t lying. I vaguely remembered waking up in the dark, confused, unable to make out his face.
My hand froze on the doorknob as the doctor tried to reassure him. “Let’s wait until your sister wakes up. Even if there’s memory loss, we’ll help her through it-”
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Jasper cut him off. “There’s no need. It’s better if she forgets.”
I could hear the satisfaction in his voice.
Is this what he wanted? For me to just forget him?
All these years, after our parents died, we fought bitterly, over and over. He was the only family I had left. I’d thought about ending it all, but now, after surviving this, I wanted nothing more than to talk to him again.
I opened the door.
Our eyes met. For a split second, his face flashed with surprise, then hardened into that familiar coldness.
Because I’d been unconscious so long, my voice came out hoarse. “Jasper, I-”
He stared at me, disbelief flickering in his eyes, and then, almost desperately, he convinced himself that I was just confused, mistaking him for my brother.
The hallway was crowded with patients and nurses. He seemed eager to get rid of me, so he reached out and pointed–without even looking–at a sickly man passing by. “That’s your brother.”
For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. “What?”
A flicker of guilt, or maybe hesitation, flashed in Jasper’s eyes. We’d been siblings for over twenty years. No matter how much he hated or resented me, I couldn’t believe he’d shove me toward a stranger while I was still weak and recovering.
I wanted to talk. Really talk, for once. But just as I opened my mouth, he cut me off, his tone final. “I told you. That’s your brother. Get it straight, and stop bothering me.”
This time, his decision was made. He gestured to the man he’d picked out.
The doctor, wisely, had already slipped away. People in the corridor stared, their eyes full of curiosity and pity–like I was the crazy girl who couldn’t even recognize her own family.
The man Jasper pointed to was tall, with striking features and skin almost translucent with illness. Any ordinary person would be angry at being dragged into something so bizarre, but he just looked at Jasper, then at me, calm and waiting, as if curious to see what would happen
next.
Jasper spoke again, his voice cool. “I’m just a friend, stopping by as a courtesy. Go to him. Whether he acknowledges you is your business.”
And with that, he turned and walked away, not looking back.
My hands were shaking. I kept telling myself that Jasper had despised me for years–that losing a brother who hated me shouldn’t matter. We’d never gotten along, even as kids.
But my eyes still burned, and I couldn’t stop the tears from rising–anger, shame, helplessness all tangled together until I couldn’t speak.
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I watched him leave, the world spinning. I grabbed the door frame to steady myself, my ears
ringing.
Then, for the first time, the man Jasper had pointed to moved. He let go of the wall and walked
over to me.
For a second, I thought he was coming to scold me.
I tried to step back, but my legs were weak from weeks in bed and the sudden rush of emotion.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my head–gentle, not striking, just resting there.
A long moment passed before he finally spoke, his voice tired but kind. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home. I’ll take care of you.”
