Page 9 of Love and Memories

“Lord, I hope she knows You. I hope she remembers to trust You and lean on You when things are tough. Amen.”

With his mission complete, Travis got to his feet and stretched his back. Now he could go home knowing he’d done all he could do. He’d ask his friends and everyone at church to pray for her, and his job here was done.

He turned to leave, and a small movement caught his eye. The woman’s finger twitched.

Travis stopped and watched the delicate hand as her fingers lazily moved. Her head turned slightly, brushing against the pillow. Blinking slowly, she opened her eyes and squinted at the lights.

Travis’s entire body froze. He could finally find out who she was and get her in touch with her family.

Her gaze settled on him, and she continued to blink. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

Travis pressed the button beside her bed to call the nurse and settled back into the chair by the woman’s side.

She looked at him, then looked around the room before bringing her attention back to him. In a low, hoarse voice, she whispered, “Who are you?”

4

ISABELLA

Isabella pushed through the heavy fog and blinked against the light. A weight rested over her limbs, and she stretched against it. Her whole body radiated a tingling numbness mixed with a dull ache.

A hospital. This couldn’t be a dream. The pain was real, but her mind swam with confusion. Thoughts danced just within reach before disappearing again.

Isabella pressed her eyes closed before trying to focus her vision again. A man sat beside her bed with his intense stare fixed on her.

Her throat itched, and her tongue pressed against the roof of her dry mouth. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Every inch of her body throbbed, and her mind begged for the release of sleep.

She tried again, pushing the words out with as much breath as she could muster. “Who are you?”

The man scooted closer, resting his hand on the bed railing beside her. “I’m Travis. You were involved in an accident.”

Isabella squinted. Travis. The name wasn’t familiar.

“What happened?” she asked in a soft voice.

The man reached for the remote by the bed and pressed a button. “You were hit by a vehicle. We don’t know much more than that. It was a hit-and-run.”

“Hit by a vehicle,” she repeated lazily. The statement set off dim alarm bells in her brain, but she couldn’t grasp the meaning.

“Well, we determined it must have mostly missed you. You didn’t have crushed bones or any blunt force trauma besides your head.”

Hit by a vehicle.

How could that be true? What had she been doing on the road?

No, she wouldn’t have been on the road. That was careless. Why hadn’t she gotten out of the way?

Something wasn’t right. Why couldn’t she remember?

She couldn’t remember anything. Her breaths quickened as she searched for any memory of what happened, but there was nothing. A massive void filled her thoughts.

“What happened?” she repeated. The question was laced with more authority as her lungs expanded and contracted rhythmically.

“We’re not sure,” the man said.

“Who iswe? Who areyou?” she asked quickly. She certainly wasn’t sure either, and finding the answers was becoming her main objective.

“I’m a paramedic. I was called to the scene when you were injured a few days ago.”

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