Chapter 13: Do You Still Remember Me?
The sky was overcast that day, but the rain never came.
The clouds hung low, heavy and gray—just like Aurel's heart.
Dark.
Heavy.
And unsure of when it would break.
She stood in front of the hospital gate.
Her hands trembled as she stared at the old, rust-stained sign:
"National Hope Mental Hospital."
Hope, she thought. Ironic.
Inside that building, the person who was once her greatest hope
now couldn't even tell day from night.
Her steps felt heavier with every stride.
She walked slowly through a quiet little garden.
The only sounds were the wind and sparrows perched on the trees.
Her hand gripped something in her pocket—a red bracelet from Rey.
Worn with time, but still whole.
Just like her feelings.
A nurse greeted her at the main hallway.
"Room 207. He usually sits by the window.
But don't expect too much, ma'am.
Sometimes he remembers people. Sometimes he doesn't."
Aurel simply nodded.
Room 207.
Her steps grew slower.
Her chest ached.
She didn't even know what she would say when she saw him.
---
Inside that room…
Rey sat with his back to the door.
His hair had grown past his ears.
He looked thinner, his shoulders slightly hunched.
He stared out the window, as if searching for something.
Or someone.
Aurel stood at the doorway.
She didn't speak.
She didn't step in right away.
She just looked at him—
the man she had once waited for every day,
every night,
every birthday.
And now…
he was right in front of her.
But he was no longer the Rey she knew.
"The nurse said someone was coming," Rey said quietly, his voice flat.
"Who are you?"
Aurel held her breath. Her throat tightened.
"It's me… Aurel."
Rey was silent.
Then he let out a small laugh—
but it wasn't joy.
It was bitter.
Like someone who had learned to live with disappointment.
"That name… it shows up a lot in my dreams."
Aurel stepped closer, sitting on the small chair beside his bed.
Her hands trembled as she took the red bracelet from her pocket.
She placed it on the table.
"Do you remember this?"
Rey stared at the bracelet.
For a long time.
Then suddenly, his face stiffened.
His eyes turned red.
He stood up—wobbly, unsteady.
"Aurel…?"
Aurel looked at him, hope swelling in her chest.
"Yes. It's me…"
Rey stared at her face.
Long. Deeply.
But his gaze was fragmented—
like someone trying to recall a memory just beyond reach.
"Did I… make a promise? To you?"
Aurel covered her mouth, tears falling down her cheeks.
She nodded.
"You said you'd come back.
You said you'd become someone worthy of me."
Rey closed his eyes.
And then suddenly—
he collapsed to the floor.
He cried.
Not in anger.
Not out of frustration.
He cried the kind of cry that breaks you.
As if all the pain, all the silence,
all the unspoken words finally broke free.
"I came home, Rel… but you were already gone…"
Aurel knelt down and held him.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry I didn't wait…"
Rey clutched her shirt, tightly—
like a child afraid of being left again.
"Don't go again…" he whispered.
And in that small room,
two people who had once loved each other deeply
could only hold one another—
trying to piece back together the broken fragments
of hearts that had been shattered for far too long.