Fallen angel

Shen walked quickly. He was worried about Lina and the way she had reacted to Victor Tachibana. He had never seen her look so shocked. She had portrayed herself as a weak woman during the initial stages of their relationship, but never did he get the sense that there was something that could terrify her.

Did she recognise Victor Tachibana? Shen had never seen that man before. Maybe he was a work associate of Lina's. Why did she have that reaction?

Thinking of work, he realised Lina hadn't asked about what she did. Had she forgotten that too?

He rubbed the bridge between his eyebrows as he realised the sheer amount of information he would have to relay to his wife. There were a lot of people relying on her and he had barely been holding the fort.

It was not a question of his capability. Lina just had her own way of doing things. Even though she never talked herself up and acted innocent, Shen knew that not many people could do what she did. It would be tough bringing her back into the real world after the coma.

Secondly, he didn't know if he wanted to let her out of his sight.

Maybe he had given her too much space. If only he had been more forceful, more involved...he could have known how to protect her.

'This has to be related to me though. She got hurt, most definitely because someone was targeting me' he thought to himself.

When he entered there bedroom, he saw Lina sitting on the chaise by the big window with the curtains drawn. It was late afternoon now and the sun was filtering in, illuminating her small, gentle figure. The stoic, cold expression left Shen's face as he gazed at her lonely figure, wrapped in the pink, knit dress. His wife was a fallen angel, and all he wanted, was to give her her wings back.

As Lina sat still, staring out at the mansion ground from the window, she felt two warm, strong arms envelope her. Her stiff body finally relaxed as she sunk into her husband's embrace.

His presence seemed to soothe her but she felt extremely uneasy.

"That man, I've seen him before." she whispered

"Do you remember him?"

"No."

"Were you scared, baby?"

"I can't explain. I was petrified, but I didn't feel the urge to run away."

Lina's head felt muddled and her body was getting more and more tired as she continued to think about Victor.

'Tachibana...Tachibana...' she repeated his name mentally, replaying the scene in her head. The name and the face together seemed like she was reliving a past life.

Shen lightly kissed her cheek, waking her up from the trance.

"He's gone now, so don't think too much. We need to complete your check up first okay? Be good and let's return to the medical wing."

With that, Lina allowed herself to be guided by her husband back to the clinic, where a nervous looking Dr. Yoshi had all the equipment prepared.

*******************

He started with checking her pulse and listening to her heartbeat. The preliminary checks were successful and the x-rays proved her physical state to be almost entirely in the process of recovery with no serious long term effects.

Shen was relieved with this news, but there was an elephant in the room.

After going through an MRI scan, the Dr. Yoshi sat down to discuss the situation with the husband and wife pair.

"Madam, you don't have any recollection of past events no matter how far you go back, am I right? Including a lack of awareness of your identity?"

The old doctor spoke gently and sympathetically.

"Yes, Doctor. That is correct."

"But you remember how to take care of yourself, have an understanding of the world around you and are able to enjoy the same things as earlier such as particular foods or weather?"

This time Shen answered for her.

"Her tastes remain the same, she still enjoys the same foods and is able to use appliances, and groom herself as well as she did before."

A warmth spread through Lina's heart. She'd really enjoyed her breakfast and Shen knew exactly the things she loved or how she behaved before. He was able to answer the doctor accurately. It made her feel safer.

"We're dealing with traumatic retrograde amnesia here. Madam dealt with a severe blow to the head when hit by the truck, and the blood loss..."

As the doctor was speaking, Shen's face turned dark. He didn't need a reminder of what Lina had been through. He thought keeping their marriage a secret from the world would keep her safe from the dangers of being connected to him.

He was reminded of his inability to protect her, failing in his duty as a husband to her.

As his thoughts wandered to dark places and self blame, he sensed a warm, little hand squeeze his. He looked beside him to see Lina's soft brown eyes smiling at him. Somehow she could sense his guilt, and was trying hard to reassure him.

As Dr. Yoshi continued speaking, the two of them listened carefully.

There was a good chance that her memory would return slowly, but Lina would have to exercise her brain regularly. She would have to visit places she used to enjoy spending time at, look at pictures of people she knew well and interact with familiar stimuli.

Her diet and lifestyle would be well monitored and regulated to get enough sleep, eat foods rich in Vitamin B-12 and Omega 3 fatty acids.

With time, she hoped she could recover her memory, feeling confident her husband wouldn't let her down.

As the doctor neared the completion of his post check up lecture, Shen got up to show him out.

He turned to Shen with a sudden graveness.

"Young master, actually, there is something else. But I waited to be alone with you, because there is something about madam you should know that is highly disturbing."