Surgery

Leila is stunned for a moment. Why will she be asking such a question? She just came to know how to get rid of the headache that has threatened to take her head.

Jane looks up and repeats her question, "Have you had any head trauma before?"

"No, I haven't" Leila responded bluntly

"Do you encounter issues sleeping?"

"Yeah, sometimes I find it difficult to sleep"

"What about concentration? Do you find it difficult to concentrate?"

"My thoughts flood my mind sometimes, so yeah"

"How often do you eat?"

Leila thinks for a while. "I scarcely eat. I don't feel hungry most of the time"

Jane looks back at Leila's report analysing it. "Your report says you have an injury in your head"

Leila stares at Jane blankly for some seconds, then she hears her ask, "Any recent accidents or … past accidents?"

"I've not had any accidents as far as I remember" Leila replied

"Well, any sort of hit to the head of any kind?"

"No"

"Are you certain?"

"I won't say so if I wasn't sure"

Jane sighs and then looks back at the report. After a minute, she places it down, "A part of your brain is open, and I believe that is part of the issue. Whoever did the head surgery did not finish it up completely"

"So, what are you saying? I came here because of my headache"

"The headache is one of the effects of it. If it's not recent, then it has stood the test of time, but we might have to go for another surgery to cover it up properly"

"Are you saying I'm bleeding in my brain?"

"Well, no. Luckily, it hasn't got to that stage, so we can prevent it, but the surgery won't be immediate"

"Why?"

"Your body isn't fully prepared for it. I'll give you some drugs to relieve the headaches and some other ones to prepare your body for the surgery"

"How long till I'll come to get the surgery?"

"About six months to a year. You'll come for a checkup every two months to check your progress and once we notice your body is ready, we will proceed"

Jane rises and then remembers something, "Do you tend to forget things?"

"Recent ones, no, but I can't seem to place my childhood memories"

Jane nods. "Have you tried remembering them?"

"I did and that's what gave me a headache"

"Mm, okay. I'll be right back" Jane walks out of the office,

Leila lets out a sigh as she relaxes on the backrest with her hand on her chin. She has not got into any accident nor has her head hit anything either.

Beep!

Her phone lights up as it receives a notification. It reads, "Interview is by 2 pm tomorrow"

[Okay]

She sends it back and Jane walks in. "There is a chance that the injury in your head could be part of the reason you can't remember your childhood, but I won't say for sure. We will have to run another scan of your brain to be certain" Jane informed and takes a seat,

"How long will that take?" Leila inquired,

"The results will be out two hours after the test is taken" Jane responded

She hands Leila a small white bag with the hospital's name on it. "That's the drugs. The prescription is on them. Judiciously take them and in no time, the surgery will be done and you'll get better"

"What are the chances of this surgery killing me?" Leila asked,

"Well, ...-" Jane pauses, thinking

"Don't try to turn it around"

"This surgery is a fifty-fifty chance of getting better"

"Fine" Leila stands, "I'll come back tomorrow for the scan and the results"

"I'll advise you to take the scan and await the result tomorrow" Jane suggested

"Okay"

After ten minutes, Leila steps out of the hospital and into the car. This time she drives herself, as the drugs she had taken in the hospital had taken effect immediately to relieve her pain.

She decided to stop at a park to receive some cold night breeze before heading home. Leila takes a seat on the bench and spreads her arms on the backrest, then crosses her legs. She shuts her eyes and throws her head back.

Not long after, someone takes a seat beside her. Without opening her eyes, she speaks. "I want to believe you are not following me"

After a quiet minute, Leila opens her eyes slowly and then sits upright with her hands still spread. She meets the gaze of Nolan, who just stares blankly at her trying to read her.

Leila raises a brow. "Mr Nolan, may I help you?"

"Ly, did I do something?" she heard me ask

"It seems you are drunk again, Mr Nolan" Leila shuts her eyes again and throws her head back

Nolan stares at her blankly. His eyes were filled with so much as he stared at her. Something within him, tells him to stand up and leave, while another tells him to seat and speak with Leila.

"Ly, I…" Nolan pauses,

Leila blinks her eyes open, not understanding what was going on. Nolan sounded like a child wanting to ask for permission for something and is scared to do so. Thinking something had happened to him, she decided to drop her aura to give him space to speak.

She drops her hands then faces him waiting for him to speak but all he did was stare into her eyes. If she was not mistaken, he looked different, his countenance was timid and his eyes revealed uncertainty.

After some minutes, Leila's lips curve up in a sinister smile. "He is just acting. Stupid of me to think otherwise"

While rising, she speaks, "Mr Nolan, you are indeed drunk. You should really-"

Nolan grabs her wrist, suddenly, stopping her from moving further and interrupting her. Leila's gaze flies to him as he slowly rises from the bench, still holding her wrists.

"Ly, I… I didn't make those scandals of us"