Nice to Meet... You?

side: ???

I'd gone to work in the morning as usual and was in the middle of my duties when a call came in from the hospital.

When they told me that my son Shouya had woken up, the news was so jolting I nearly dropped my phone. His exams had already wrapped up, and they wanted me to come in during afternoon visiting hours.

I fidgeted my way through the morning's tasks, and once the afternoon came I shoved my work onto a subordinate I trusted and bolted for the hospital at full speed.

Walking so fast I was nearly bowling other patients over, I reached the hospital reception, where I was led not to my son's room but to another one. The attending doctor and the nurse in charge were waiting.

The fact that the other nurse wasn't here meant she was either off duty or in my son's room… I was so worried that even trivial things were catching at me. First I needed to hear what the doctor had to say.

"Izumi-san, as I told you over the phone, your son Shouya-san has woken up. But there is something I need to share with you before you meet him."

Something you need to share…?

The unsettling phrasing sent ugly possibilities about my son cascading through my head, one after another. It had been a serious accident. Paralysis on one side? An amputation, maybe…

But it was no use stewing over it on my own… I needed to hear what the doctor had to say first.

"As you know, Shouya-san's right arm was broken by the impact of being struck by the car. Treatment is already complete, so it's now just a matter of monitoring his recovery and waiting for the bone to knit."

That much I'd been told before. The real subject would come next.

"He fell into a coma due to a heavy blow to the head during the accident, but he woke this morning. His consciousness is not clouded, and there were no problems with communication."

Hearing that he could hold a conversation, all the dread of moments ago melted into relief, as if it had never been there.

"However… during questioning, he said that he can't recall anything besides his own name. We believe the impact to his head during the accident has caused damage to his memory."

Damage to his memory? And nothing besides his own name…?

I tried desperately to make sense of the doctor's words, but only unacceptable conclusions came to mind. Did that mean he couldn't remember me, or anyone else in the family?

Holding back the urge to slide out of my chair, I asked Kudou-sensei.

"Will his memory… come back?"

"It's not as though there are no cases of memory-loss patients recovering their memories. However, the likelihood is exceedingly…"

Kudou-sensei and Nakano-san the nurse both wore expressions that told me just how slim that hope was.

As he entered adolescence he'd started avoiding women, but he had been growing into such a kind, wonderful boy. Once I understood that boy was no longer there, I couldn't hold back the tears.

"We're scheduled to bring in a specialist for further testing at a later date, but…"

Kudou-sensei's voice felt terribly far away. Even if we ran the tests again, the results weren't going to swing dramatically in such a short span. The chance that his memories would return was essentially zero. Just the fact that he'd woken up at all was already close to a miracle.

… Then rather than clinging to memories that won't return, what I should do as a mother is face the boy he is now. Even with his memories gone, he's still the son I'm bound to by blood. That doesn't change.

"Could you… let me see him?"

I looked Kudou-sensei straight in the eye and told her I wanted to see my son.

"… Understood. But first, let's confirm that Shouya-san is feeling well enough."

"Of course. Thank you."

With that, Kudou-sensei headed off to the hospital room to check on my son.

"Nakano-san… how has my son been?"

I was anxious about how he was doing, so I asked Nakano-san, the nurse in charge, about his day.

"He's been very calm, and he's been very kind to us nurses as well."

Coming right on the heels of what I'd just been told, the comment could just as easily be read as her being considerate of family, and it left me with feelings I couldn't put into words.

"I-I see… And how is his memory? Was there anything besides his name that he could remember?"

"Nothing besides his name. Not even his date of birth… He can use the nurse call button on his own, so it's not as if he can't converse or manage daily life, but pieces of common general knowledge are missing too… and… his memories of you, Mother…"

Being told outright that he didn't remember me, I couldn't fully hide the shock.

An awkward silence settled over the room, but then a ringtone sounded from Nakano-san's phone. After excusing herself with a word to me, she answered and began talking.

"Shouya-san's condition is stable, so visitation is approved. He says he'd like to see you as well, Mother…"

"Understood. Please."

Even if his memories are gone and he's no longer the boy we knew, he's still the son I'm bound to by blood. That doesn't change.

I steeled myself to accept him as his mother and headed for the hospital room.

===================================

side: Izumi Shouya

A while after the exams wrapped up, it was time for lunch.

That said, a severely injured patient who'd just woken from a coma couldn't very well be served regular food. It was hospital fare: watery, mushy, blandly flavored.

"I apologize. It isn't anything especially tasty, but please eat what you can…"

Having just woken up, I couldn't move properly, and my dominant hand was out of commission too, so Houzawa-san fed me in small bites.

Being fed by a beautiful woman like Houzawa-san while she watched me was, under normal circumstances, the kind of event that ought to lift one's spirits. But everything that went into my mouth was ruining the moment.

"Mmgh… Thanks for the meal…"

"Yes! It was my humble offering! It's a real help that you ate it without picking and choosing!"

It really wasn't a taste you could politely describe as something you'd want to eat again.

It would be rough on small children and the elderly.

Houzawa-san left the room to return the dishes, and for the first time in a while I had some time alone.

Come to think of it, I remembered being told that my mother would visit once afternoon visiting hours started.

She'd be one of the people who knew the pre-memory-loss me best. Which is to say, the odds were quite high that she'd be shocked seeing the me who'd lost his memories.

Would she still recognize the current me as family? Aside from the blood connection, I might as well be a complete stranger.

The doctor told me I'm a fifteen-year-old, third-year middle-school student… still a tough age to be living on your own.

Carrying the unease of the impending meeting with my mother in my chest, drifting in and out of a doze, I heard a knock at the door.

"Shouya-san, this is Kudou. May I come in?"

"Yes. Please."

"Excuse me."

I thought Houzawa-san had come back, but it was Kudou-sensei. Lunch was over, so maybe this was the afternoon check-up? Kudou-sensei seated herself in the chair beside the bed, the same as in the morning.

"Shouya-san, any change in how you're feeling?"

"No, nothing in particular… If anything, I'm a little sleepy."

I had enough drowsiness in me that if I flattened the bed and lay back I could probably fall asleep.

"I see… that's good to hear. Actually, your mother is asking to visit. What would you like to do? If you're too tired, I can tell her on your behalf to come another day…"

I'd been told she'd come once it was afternoon, but she was already here, huh…

I wasn't fully ready, but it would be unkind to turn her away, and I'd have to meet her eventually. Sooner was better.

"Now is fine. Please let me see my mother."

"Understood. I'll bring her right in."

When I answered, Kudou-sensei placed a call on her phone. She must have been waiting with someone in another room.

"I've explained the general situation to your mother. Including the matter of your memory."

It seems the doctor had spoken with my mother while I was here in the room. She'd probably judged that letting my mother come in with foreknowledge of the amnesia would be a little easier on us both. I had to bow my head to Kudou-sensei's consideration.

"Kudou-sensei, I've brought Shouya-san's mother."

A knock and a voice announcing my mother's arrival rang through the room. Too tense for the impending reunion to manage it myself, I let the doctor invite her in on my behalf.

"Excuse me."

Nakano-san came in first, asking permission as she did. Her voice was stiffer and more formal than usual; you could tell she was nervous about an amnesiac son's reunion with his mother.

From where I was, I couldn't see the two of them yet, but with every approaching footstep I could feel my heartbeat grow louder.

I drew a slow, deep breath and waited, and behind Nakano-san a graceful, mature woman in a suit came into view.

"Taku-chan…!"

The instant her wide eyes landed on me, she rushed to my bedside and crumpled to her knees.

"… Thank goodness… truly… thank goodness…"

Tears streaking her cheeks, her words choked off, she gripped my hand, and I simply gripped hers back.