Contest Entry - What a Character!

Who am I? Why am I here? I think I must have been asleep for some time. I know the answers to these questions; let's see if I can figure out where I am.  This is a hospital bed and I am alone in this room, there are machines on the wall and around the bed, ok, I am in the hospital, why?

My body seems to be intact, I can move everything, not tied down, and I cannot find any physical reason for being in a hospital.  I sit up and my head feels dizzy, just sit for a minute, ok, legs next, I can get them to hang over the side of the bed, I am out of breath just doing these two things, what happened to me? Time to stand up and find someone to answer questions, here we go….wait.…no....now I'm on the floor, my legs did not work right, I could not stand up!  What happened to me?!

Alright, if I am in a hospital room there has to be a call button, great it's hanging off the side of the bed.  How do I get that call button? Maybe I can pull myself back up.  This is hard, made it, got the call button and pushing it, over and over, now maybe I can get someone to come in here.

That answered some questions for me, I was in a coma for a long time, the nurse was surprised that I was awake and up, she immediately called for my doctor.  They got me back in the bed and told me to stay there and not try to get up anymore.  Now that I was back among the living, their words, they would send physical therapy to help me get my legs working again.

So, I was in a coma. Let's see, my name is …. what is my name? There is nothing in this room to give me any hint.  Am I John, Adam, Rick? None of those seem right….wait..my name…my name is…Patrick!  My name is Patrick! I remember now! What a relief… to know who I am! Ok, I know my name is Patrick, now, who am I? What do I do for a living? What do I like?

My body looks to be in good shape, according to the mirror, I have dark black hair and blue eyes…blue eyes?  I am not fat or flabby, my muscles are not as strong,  I discovered that trying to get up. So was I a body builder, runner, or just someone who took care of himself? 

I am going to lie back and close my eyes and try to relax; maybe if I just relax I will remember what I need to!  What do you know, I fell asleep! Regular sleep, not deep coma. I do feel somewhat better, not as agitated.

Now, let's see, it's coming back to me, I was jogging, ok, I'm a jogger! I was jogging, in the park when I saw a mugging!  I tried to help the victim when I got hit from behind! Someone hit me in the head! Why would they do that?  Am I a cop…? I must be a cop! No wonder I'm in good shape, I would have to be, to be on the police force.

Well, let's see now, my name is Patrick, I like to jog, and I am a policeman. That's a pretty good start! Let's see what else I can get my smashed head to remember!

Why am I alone here, do I have any family? Friends? Where is everyone? Why would I be here alone? Well, let's see, the doctor said I had been in a coma for a long time, how long? Maybe they all got tired of waiting for me to wake up.  Now, I don't want to start feeling sorry for myself, I can figure this out.  I think I will rest for awhile now, my head is groggy.

I am more rested now, and lunch was ok - mostly liquid, they said until we see if all my bodily functions are working right.  Still no one else is here.  I asked the nurse if any family or friends were close by and she did not say too much, said she would contact my doctor. I don't understand why they won't tell me anything.  Do they want me to remember on my own or are they hiding something - well, I am a cop - so I am suspicious.

Let's see now, I am a cop and I was jogging in the park, see a damsel in distress and try to help, get conked on the head, go into a coma, wake up in the hospital, no one but hospital staff around, I don't remember much and staff does not fill in the blanks, am I undercover, do they really not know me or who I am?  So many questions!

Just clear my mind and meditate, hey, that seemed to come natural to me, clear my mind and meditate, relax, deep slow breaths, calming down now, able to think more clearly. Looking at my hands, I don't see any rings, I don't have on a watch, well they would take those off while in a coma.  I will talk with the staff and see what they took off me when I came in.  I will keep adding things to my working memory. I will figure all of this out!

Nurse Jenson said that I did not have on a watch or any rings when I came in.  I find that strange, I'm jogging with-out a watch?  How do I keep track of the time? Something is out of whack with all of this…..is it me?  That knock on the head must have really addled this old head of mine!

Someone is knocking on the door….hello, do I know you?  Yes, I know him; he's here to fill in the blanks!  Well now, do I believe all he just said?  It sounds just a little far-fetched to me! I remember bits and pieces, some of it fits, but some of it does not.

Here is what I know…my name is Patrick, but I am not a cop, I am secret service. I was shadowing the girl that was getting mugged. Someone hit me to get the girl, they took my watch and but I did not have any rings when I went down.  I am a jogger so that helped, I also practice meditation/relaxation to de-stress, so that came naturally.  I don't have a wife, because of the job, but several girl friends, nothing serious.  I tend to be a loner, that's why no one was around when I woke up.  He said that I build models, as a hobby, models of different types of Unidentified Flying Objects - UFO's! Says I have quite a collection of them! How strange is that?

He told me that I spend my free time jogging and exercising to keep myself in shape.  Not quite the body builder but close, he does not think it will take me long to get back on my feet. I was in a coma for about 6 months and they have not been able to locate the girl. They need me to find her, how am I going to do that with these holes in my memory?











Word Count 1, 232