Serena’s eyelids fluttered open, her gaze unfocused as she adjusted to the soft glow of the room. Gradually, her vision cleared, and her eyes settled on the man seated beside her bed. His presence was calm and his dark eyes full of warmth and relief as they t hers.
"You’re awake again finally," he said softly.
She frowned, her brow knitting as the words tugged at sothing deep within her. The sensation was fleeting, elusive, and frustratingly out of reach. It took a mont before fragnts of her earlier waking resurfaced—a jumble of confusion and fear. She rembered opening her eyes to this sa room, cold and unfamiliar, and the crushing panic that had surged through her chest when she realized she didn’t know who she was.
Her body stiffened instinctively, the weight of that earlier terror creeping back as she searched her mind for any mories that might have returned.
But no matter how hard she tried, the answers eluded her. The headache from before was gone, replaced by an unsettling emptiness, as though her mories had been wiped clean.
The only thing that stood out, clear and vivid, was this man’s voice—the way he’d spoken her na with such certainty.
"Serena," he had called her.
Serena opened her mouth to speak, but no words ca out—only a dry rasp that scraped painfully against her throat. She winced, instinctively bringing a hand to her neck.
The man imdiately noticed her discomfort and leaned forward, concern flickering across his features. "Hold on," he murmured gently, reaching for a glass of water on the bedside table. A straw bobbed slightly in the clear liquid as he lifted the glass.
"Here, let help you," he said, sliding his free hand behind her head to support her. His touch was steady but careful, as though she might break if he pressed too hard. Tilting the glass slightly, he guided the straw to her lips.
"Drink slowly," he advised.
Serena hesitated for a mont before taking a cautious sip. The cool water was a welco relief, soothing the parched ache in her throat. She drank a little more, and once she had her fill, the man eased her back onto the pillows, adjusting them so she was comfortable.
"Better?" he asked in a low voice.
She nodded.
I know you must have a lot of questions," he said, sitting back in his chair but keeping his gaze fixed on her. "But you need to take it easy for now. Try not to overwhelm yourself."
Serena’s lips parted again, her voice faint but audible this ti. "How... how did I get here?"
His expression darkened slightly, his jaw tightening as though the mory troubled him. He exhaled slowly before answering. "Soone attacked you. You were found near a cliff, unconscious and barely alive. The doctors think you might’ve fallen—or maybe you were pushed. We don’t know for sure yet. The police are still investigating, trying to find whoever did this to you."
Serena’s brow furrowed as she processed his words. "Attacked?" she repeated, her voice quivering. She thought she had been in an accident. But she was attacked?
"You’re safe now. That’s what matters. No one’s going to hurt you again."
Despite his reassurance, Serena’s mind swirled with unease. Serena’s fingers gripped the edge of the blanket as she tried to process what he had told her. The word attacked lingered in her mind, cold and heavy, but another thought pushed its way forward—a fragnt of a conversation she’d had earlier.
Her voice was steadier this ti, though still faint. "The nurse... she ntioned sothing," Serena began hesitantly, her eyes searching his face. "She said I’ve... been through this before. That I’d lost my mories once."
The man’s expression softened, though a shadow of sothing unreadable passed briefly over his features. He nodded slowly, leaning forward in his chair.
"It’s true," he said with reluctance. "About two years ago, you were in an accident—a terrible one. It left you in a vegetative state for months. When you finally woke up, your mories were gone, just like now."
Serena’s breath hitched, her chest tightening. "But... I recovered?" she asked in a heavy tone.
"You did," he assured her, "Once your body healed, your mories ca back—bit by bit. It took ti, but eventually, you rembered everything."
She absorbed his words in silence, her mind spinning with questions she didn’t know how to articulate. The idea of losing her mories not once, but twice, felt surreal.
"You recovered well last ti," he continued. "And there’s no reason to think it won’t happen again. Your body just needs ti to heal, Serena. Don’t push yourself too hard. Let things co back to you naturally."
She looked up at him again, her eyes clouded with uncertainty. "And if they don’t co back?" she asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.
"They will. But even if it takes longer this ti... I’ll be here. You won’t go through this alone, Serena. I promise."
She didn’t feel fully assured, even as he sat beside her with a calm and trustworthy deanor. Sothing inside her whispered that he wasn’t telling her everything.
Still, she couldn’t push him away—not when he seed to be the only person who knew her at all.
"Who are you to ?" she asked softly, her voice trembling slightly. "Where is my family?"
The man sighed deeply, his brow furrowing slightly as he gently took her hand in his. "I am your family, Serena. Just ."
Her heart ached at his words. "My family? What about my parents? Are they—?"
"They died a long ti ago," he interrupted quietly, his voice heavy with emotion. "You were raised by your grandmother, but she passed away years ago too. It’s just you and now, against the world."
"You’re my..."
"I’m your older brother," he said softly. "My na is Edwin Dawn. And you are Serena Dawn, my little sister."
Serena nodded and closed her eyes, trying to make sense of the entire situation. So, this man was her brother.
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