CHAPTER 4

The ringing of an alarm clock filled the air as it indicated the beginning of a brand new day. Tom opened his eyes and stared ahead at the ceiling for a few seconds before turning off the alarm ringing at his bedside.

He got up from his bed and then sauntered to the window to open the curtains, letting daylight flicker into his room. The next routine was the one that led him to the bathroom, taking a cold shower immediately after brushing his mouth.

After freshening up, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. A simple breakfast of toast and orange juice with fried eggs. A healthy breakfast to start up his day had been his routine for the past few days.

Over the course of the past days, he had received calls from different people sending their condolences to him regarding the tragic death of his parents and sibling, he received calls from family members and family friends, relatives, even friends from college called him.

Obviously he had no recollection of any of them, so they took it that his amnesia was making it difficult for him to remember them. This had everyone introducing themselves to him and not putting him in an awkward position when they called. 

Many wanted to check up on him but he refused their offer and told them he was doing fine and just putting the pieces together and would heal on his own time. Half of those calls were him just lying through his teeth to reduce the cringe he felt every time someone he was supposed to know called and he had to explain his predicament. Hopefully his predecessor didn't have any ongoing current relationship with a girl because that was a conversation he didn't want to have anytime soon. Awkward would have been an understatement.

Tom's grandparents had called and wanted him to stay with them for a while, yet again he declined their offer and even stopped them from coming to visit him until the funeral. He was very calm and compassionate when talking with his grandparents because he knew a little of how terrible they would have been feeling at the moment. He spent over an hour comforting them on the phone, reassuring them that he was okay, a little bit shaken, but okay. 

Preparations for the funeral of his parents and younger sibling are in the works. Turned out his predecessor was still in college and he'll have to continue in order for him to adjust and settle in to his new normal.

*Ring* 

A ringing sound came from his phone while he was still having breakfast. Grabbing the device, he flashed a glance at the highlighted screen to see who was calling. Hopefully not a family member. 

Fortunately, it was a reminder placed on that date to remind him of his doctor's appointment. 

"Crap, I totally forgot about these boring sessions with the doctor." Tom let out a sigh of exhaustion at the reminder. 

His appointment with the doctor will be the last one till further notice. The doctor usually checks for any mental damages and tries to help him with his amnesia.

Tom finished up breakfast and decided to watch TV a bit before heading out. Each time he turned on the TV, it's usually about heroes and villains, crime rate just kept rising even with the presence of heroes.

He took a sit and let himself sink comfortably into his cozy couch, reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

He kept scrolling and switching from channel to channel, unable to find anything he found entertaining. He then turned off the TV and just decided to go for his doctor's appointment instead.

Tom got up from his couch and walked in a direction leading to his room up the stairs. He goes to his wardrobe in search of an outfit that suited his taste. The wardrobe was filled with dark colored clothes which is actually his style of clothing.

He picked up an ash-grey form fitting turtleneck sweatshirt  and complimented it with a dark blue jean trousers. Wearing a coat over the sweatshirt because of how chill the outside was, he grabbed a white beanie and a pair of shoes and left the house.

Walking into the hospital, right away his nose flared with harsh yet common smell of the institution. The high concentration of antiseptic, a little bitter, with undertones of the artificial fragrance contained in soaps and cleaners filled the air.

A scent so familiar that it reminded him of his first day at the hospital, the day he woke up in this verse.

Taking the elevator which led to the doctor's office, Tom stumbled into a familiar person. It was the same nurse who was in charge of his daily checkups during his time at the hospital.

"Look at you…..you are looking much better than you did a month ago." The familiar nurse said with a stunned expression on her face.

"I don't only look better, but I feel better too." He looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face, almost as if he was totally unfazed by her enthusiasm to see him. He always had a problem with the bubbly type. 

"Come on now, don't hit me with that cold gaze of yours. It's nice seeing you again even though you don't feel the same." She said so with a smile, ignoring his attitude towards her as she hit his shoulder with a teasing punch.

"I'll admit that it's nice seeing you haven't changed a bit. You are as enthusiastic as ever." 

"There you go, it doesn't hurt to reciprocate the positive energy a person directs at you through a conversation, right?"

"Right, but it's still a pain in the ass to pretend like I care about such hyper pleasantries when I find it tiresome."

"Oh, you really are something else. I hope we get to catch up sometime, I have to attend to a patient right now, bye!" She waved him goodbye and hastily walked into the elevator and tapped on the buttons nervously.

He watched her till the elevator doors closed and they lost sight of each other, this little encounter cracked a smirk on Tom's face. Her behavior was a bit amusing to him.

"Now, time to attend to the business of the day." He made his way towards the doctor's office and knocked on the glass door that had Dr. Walter's name was imprinted on it.

"Come on Tom, I know it's you." A calm, soft-spoken and familiar voice came from the other side of the door, from within the office. 

He opened the door and walked into the office then shut the door close without backing the doctor's desk for even a second. 

"How did you know I was the one at the door?" Tom asked his doctor, not with curiosity but amusement in his voice as his brows cocked upwards. 

"There's no one else who knocks on my office door just once and stands there without saying a word or identifying themselves until there's a reply from me." Doctor Walter said this with an expression of self assurance as if he was stating the obvious with the look on his face as he stared directly at Tom who was standing directly opposite the doctor's desk, his glancing around the office with his left hand in his pants pocket. 

Tom shrugged off the doctor's reply as he slumped into a chair near the desk and took a seat, responding to the doctor's hand gesture.

"Okay, can we just get this over with as soon as we possibly can? This session is starting to feel a little bothersome."

"Haha, I'm glad that you at least have a sense of humor left." Dr. Walter let out a small laugh before his face turned somber with a hard expression sitting on it as he looked at the young man in front of him. 

"Have you recovered even the slightest piece of memory back since you've been home and surrounded by familiar objects and pictures?"

"Nope, not even the tiniest bit."

"I'm afraid I would have to diagnose you with retrograde amnesia as it seems our efforts with retrieving your memories are not producing the desired results." Dr. Walter said this with a sympathetic expression and cursed himself deep down for not being able to help the young man who was the last surviving child of his dear friend. 

"Oh, retrograde amnesia. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that a type of amnesia where the chances of a patient recovering their memories are very slim and almost never regain their previous memories?" He apprehensively asked the concerned doctor. 

"As much as it pains me to admit, that's correct. I'm very sorry I wasn't able to help you when you needed it the most."

"That's okay Doc, I'll just take it as my second chance at life. Not everyone is lucky enough to have one." He had a gratified expression on him as he said this, mainly because with this diagnosis it won't be awkward when he walks by someone he was supposed to recognize or when he does things differently from his predecessor. 

"I have to admit, I'm almost surprised you are taking this news so well, but with that attitude of yours it's difficult imagining you not doing so."

"Well, what can I say but that's just me coming to terms and adjusting to my new reality." Tom said with such composure and calmness that would have made Thomas Shelby proud. 

"I heard about the funeral of your parents and siblings taking place this weekend. How are the preparations going?"

Tom nodded and answered. "Honestly everything concerning the funeral is being handled by my grandparents and a few relatives, who I'll definitely have to meet on that day."

"I will do my best to be at the funeral and remember Tom, I'm here for you if you ever need help with anything." Dr. Walter said this with an assuring tone and without the slightest doubt in his voice.

"I know Doc and thank you, I look forward to seeing you at the funeral. I will be taking my leave now." Tom stood up and shook hands with the doctor before taking his leave.