Parallel

Chapter 2

The wait in the doctor's office was excruciatingly long. He was never on time. His appointments always took longer than predicted. The nurse called out for my name and I got up to go open the door to his office.

"Good to see you Nick." He was busy staring at his computer, probably finishing things up from his last patient.

"Hello Doc." I closed the door behind me quietly and approached his desk.

"What can I do for you today?" His gaze unwavering from his screen. His fingers were busy clicking and typing away.

"I've been having these headaches, maybe it's a migraine. I just want to know the cause of it and how to stop it." I sat myself in front of him. I took a gaze around his office, taking in the photos of his family he displayed on his desk. A daughter. She looked young. His back wall was decorated with certificates. There was his Bachelor degree as well as his doctorate and PhD. To my right was a small window, it allowed natural lighting in.

"Can you tell me more about your symptoms?" He finally turned around to look me in the eye.

"Like my head hurts so bad. They seem to last for a few minutes and then they go away." He wrote everything I said down on a yellow notepad.

"A-and... um..." I was nervous to confess.

"What is it? What other symptoms do you experience?" He studied me intently.

"I-I don't know how to explain it." How could I explain this? Do I tell him that I saw images in my head? He might think I'm crazy.

He noticed me fidgeting and assured me that it was okay to let him know what I experienced so he could provide professional advice and help.

"Whenever I have these headaches, I see images, memories you may call it. I don't recall these memories at all. No recollection whatsoever. But they felt so real. So vivid. It was like I had lived it before but at the same time I do not remember them. It felt like they were my memories but also not mine." I chuckled because I just sounded so crazy. Who would even believe this? Memories that are mine but not mine? That was so insane to say out loud.

"Do you experience any kind of memory loss? Or did anything feel out of place at any point? Something that feels surreal to you that has happened." He waited attentively for my reply.

"I think it happened a few days ago. I woke up to find myself in my apartment where my dead girlfriend was alive. I remembered she passed away a year ago and I woke up that day to her standing in front of me. It seemed so surreal."

"You said she passed away a year ago? Do you recall anything that has happened in the past year?" He was continuously noting down everything I have said so far.

I tried to think about it. I closed my eyes to think of the events of last year. I saw bits and pieces of them, like I was alone for a while after she was gone. I remember crying in my car after every time someone accidentally mentioned her. It took me a few months to be completely back on my feet. Wait. Wait a minute. The events in between that and before I found Jill was alive were missing. I tried to think harder but nothing was evoked. Hold on. There. I saw it again. That girl who kept smiling in my memories. Her face was always blurred. There it was again. A discomfort. A tug in my chest. Why was it hard for me to breathe? I felt a little miserable.

"Are you okay Nick?" He had a frown on his forehead. Doc was concerned.

"Y-yeah." I coughed. Doc grabbed a water bottle out of his bottom draw and handed it to me. I took a little sip in hope of easing this ache. "Thank you Doc."

"No problem. Now, it seems to me that you have a temporary memory loss caused by this migraine. I will prescribe you some analgesic to subdue the pain but in the meantime let's take a MRI to see if there are any underlying issues." He dialled a number on the telephone and requested a time for me.