Chapter 3 I Don't Think It Should Go Up I

• I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD GO UP
• — Mr. Alexis Hauser was banned by his family and is in a nursing home. At least... That's what I read in the newspaper a while ago.
• - Like this? — I was stunned.
• — Maybe it's a lot of information for a short time, Maria Eduarda.
• — I'm his family. My grandfather only has me. How come someone banned him? And if it really was done, it wasn't by the “family”.
• — I will intervene in the call to your husband.
• — Do you think you can do it? — I was hopeful.
• — I will speak directly to the hospital director. I have a good relationship with her.
• — Thank you, Doctor Verbena... Thank you very much. I know I owe you a big debt. And I promise I will pay every penny. I don't know what's going on, but I guarantee that my family has possessions and...
• — I don't want your money, Maria Eduarda. Honestly, I have enough and what I paid for you to be hospitalized here I won't miss at all.
• — I'm sorry... If I offended you.
• She took a deep breath and returned to her calm appearance:
• - Everything is fine. As soon as I check the results of all the tests, I will discharge you. And I will try to do everything as quickly as possible, since I am not sure how long I will be able to intervene in the situation of notifying your husband.
• — Thank you, Doctor Verbena.
• The woman walked towards the door and before leaving, she looked at me and asked seriously:
• — Don't you think about the possibility that your husband didn't come to see you simply because... He didn't want to?
• I smiled, sure of what I was saying:
• — No. I know something happened to make Andress act this way. And that's why I want to surprise you. I imagine how much I'm suffering, thinking that there's no chance that I'll ever come back from the coma.
• — Do you understand that “not looking” or “not wanting to know news” also includes phone calls?
• - Yes I understood! I had no difficulty understanding. My husband didn't come to the hospital and he didn't call to see how I was. And I'm still certain that something happened to make Andress act like this. He loves me. And this is the only certainty I have ever had in my life, doctor.
• She smiled and closed the door. And I was confused as to why Dr. Verbena seemed to want to alert me to something regarding my husband's attitude.
• I might not remember some things, but I was sure that every moment with Andress Montez Deocca was vivid in my mind, every single one of them. And everyone was very loving and caring. I've loved Andress since forever, when we were still children. Thanks to him and his mother I was Maria Eduarda Montez Deocca, fulfilled professionally and personally.
• Ten days later, I received a Verbena outfit so I could leave the hospital and finally return home, after almost a year... More precisely 11 months and 21 days.
• As soon as I put on the jeans and white shirt with the embroidered collar, I felt like I was someone else.
• I looked at Verbena:
• — I know it's normal that I don't remember anything that happened while I was in a coma ... But it's as if a year of my life was taken away. And now I'm leaving here ... But it's as if I left a Maria Eduarda in this room...
• Verbena smiled:
• — I imagine we now have three Marias Eduarda's here... The one before the coma, the one during the coma and the one after the coma.
• — I hope one day I can connect them... — I shook my head, confused.
• — You will. I know you can do it!
• Verbena accompanied me through the hospital to the exit, where she called a taxi to take me to the Deocca mansion. As soon as the driver opened the door for me, I looked affectionately at my doctor and until then the only person I seemed to know in my life:
• — I will never have enough words to thank you, doctor.
• — Verbena, please. You can call me that.
• — Will we see each other again? I asked.
• She gave me that smile that reassured me in an inexplicable way:
• — I don't know if that's correct, Maria Eduarda. I think our connection ends here. I managed to bring her back to life. Now you do your part... Which is to live it in such a way that you never regret anything. Don't leave anything for later. It's proof that tomorrow may never come. And not everyone gets second chances.
• — Thank you for the clothes, for paying the hospital bill, for taking care of me and not giving up, when it seems like the whole world did... — I smiled awkwardly. — I hope I can understand what happened once and for all. And be able to move on with my life.
• — I'm sure you can do it, Maria Eduarda.
• I gave her a hug, smelling the floral scent that seemed to accompany me for a lifetime. Yes, because those days that I spent recovering in the hospital seemed to be compared to the year that I was in a coma, they took so long to pass.
• — Good luck, Maria Eduarda.
• — Thank you for everything, I give... Verbena! — I corrected myself a while ago.
• I felt it in the back seat of the car and the driver closed the door. I didn't even have a suitcase. All I had left were the few memories my mind carried.
• — Remember that it needs to be left at the front door — Verbena warned the driver. — And you will only get out of there when the passenger enters the house.
• — I understand everything, doctor. Don’t worry,” he reassured.
• As the driver drove the car through the streets of Noriah Norte, I recognized each place, as if I had been there my whole life. Yes, I remembered my car, as well as sometimes sitting in the passenger seat, next to Andress.
• I slightly opened the window and let the fresh wind enter the interior of the car, feeling the strands of my hair mess up. And that pleased me and made me happy.
• I was alive! Although she didn't remember the moment of drowning, she was grateful to have been given a second chance! And if God left me in a hospital bed for a year, I certainly still had a mission to accomplish.
• It was night. The streets were lit by yellow streetlights. A mild mist covered some parts of the route.
• It came to mind that I was also in the backseat of a car, with the window half open, the wind blowing my hair. And in front Kayde driving and Ashley in the passenger seat. We laughed and had fun.
• Kayde, my friend, came to mind, redhead, light eyes, high cheekbones and hair that was always slightly messy. He had a charming smile and was overflowing with joy and friendliness. Ashley was fun too. Is beautiful. Tall, thin, brown eyes and hair. I loved her laugh and joked that she sounded like a witch. She and Kayde were dating. And that night he asked her to marry him. And I was together. We were great friends... Since our school days, when we were teenagers.
• It seemed like yesterday that it all happened. I smiled, alone, looking out of the car. I knew that little by little I would remember everything.
• About forty minutes later we were entering the Montez Deocca property, inside one of the most prestigious luxury condominiums in Noriah Norte.
• The house was located among a gigantic lawn. Not very large in size, but extremely luxurious, it had almost 50% glass in its composition, which meant that during the day there was a lot of natural light and at night it provided a beautiful view of the moon and stars. I laughed when I remembered how afraid I was of thunderstorms and asked Andress to cover the windows in the room to avoid the lightning that seemed to take over the environment during storms.
• He always said it was unnecessary, that all I had to do was hug him and everything would be fine. So I forced myself to stay in his arms and he smoothed my hair until the bad weather passed.