"5…4…3…2…1… Happy New Year!!!" the Harts began to cheer as they hugged each other. Two weeks after the kidnapping incident, Martha was worried about James, so she urged James to see a therapist.
The therapist later informed Martha that James was suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), hence, she told Martha that she should keep a critical eye on James, provided his emotional instability.
But that did not happen. James might get scared sometimes, but his mental fortitude was strong. Shortly after the incident, he kept his calm and peaceful demeanour, causing Martha to be surprised.
How can a ten-year-old boy not have gotten shaken about what happened? Martha concluded that maybe it was the amnesia that caused James to behave abnormally.
"Finally, we entered 2023 alive and kicking. We thank God for his protection, despite the things we've gone through. I thank God because He gave me such wonderful family, my adoring wife, my beautiful kids, and James, a gift from my late sister-in-law." John made a speech holding a wine glass, prompting the family to smile and cheer.
Martha then stood up and poured a little wine from the wine bottle, then stood next to her husband and lightly kissed his lips, before facing the kids "Just like he said, we thank God we are still kicking despite a lot going on a few weeks ago.
"However, as we are celebrating, we still need to take a moment of silence for James' parent that died in the fire. We will miss you" Martha then stopped smiling, and solemnly bowed her head, causing the rest of the family to do the same.
James felt a little strange. They were mourning for his parents, and he didn't feel sad or depressed at all. He just silently gazed at everyone as they bowed their head in sadness. With all his memories gone, he felt like a person that was born a month ago, except that that baby has a scanty memory.
Esther silently stared at James, his facial expressions unreadable. Esther could not help but feel pity for her cousin. She could not imagine her parents died, and she could not remember them, or her herself for god sake. It was something she prayed it never happen to her.
One minute later, Martha then raised her head and smiled brightly "Alright then, we have gifts for you kids, here" she said as she brought out a large box from the corner of the sitting room. She brought out a talking teddy bear and approached Toby, her youngest son.
"Here you go honey" she smiled as she handed the teddy bear to him "Yay! Teddy bear. Toby love you!" Toby screeched as she hugged the teddy tightly, causing the bear to play a recorded voice "Hi Toby, my name is Ted, Mommy loves you" the teddy voiced.
Martha chuckled as she walked back to the box and brought out another box. This time, it was a smartphone box. "Esther, remember when you kept asking me to buy you a cellphone, and I told you that until you passed your exams and promote to grade 8?
"Well, here it is, an iPhone 14 Pro Max!" Martha excitedly said, causing Esther to jump up in glee as she ran to hug her mom "Mom thank you thank you thank you!!!" she excitedly gushed as she collected the phone and hugged it closer to herself. "Woah young woman, don't fall me, I'm an old woman girl" Martha chucked as she hugged her daughter back.
Martha then took out a model aeroplane and handed it to Nicolas who also displayed the same level of excitement as Esther's, she then took out a watch and handed it to Anthony.
However, when it came to James' turn, she carefully took out a thumb drive and two photobooks and handed it to James "James, this is for you. It was what was left of your parents. The thumb drive and the photobook contain photos of you and your parents, and according to the doctor, this is more than enough to bring back your forgotten memories, if you can still remember." She said, trying to cheer the mood.
James stared at the book in her hand, then smiled. "This is the best gift ever, thank you aunt Martha" James gladly accepted it and held it closer to him. This was what was left of his forgotten life. Don't worry, I would remember you, mom and dad, he thought.
A week ago, James had run to his room and sat on his bed. The AI had previously told him that the memory recovery was complete, so he told him that he should stay in a secluded place to apply the memory to his long-term memory.
"All right, I'm comfortable. Let's do this!" James was looking forward to remembering the previous life he had forgotten, thanks to the fire.
[Okay, I am going to shut down your consciousness, but don't worry, you are safe. It would take a while to apply your memory, so lock your door and inform your parents that you will be in the room for a long time]
"How long would it take"
[3 hours]
James then climbed out of his bed, went to inform Martha a John that he would be in his room for the next three and half hours. Martha thought it was a strange request but decided to approve it. James then climbed his bed once more and lay down.
"So, should I try to sleep or what?" James asked.
[No, I would manually turn off your consciousness. You would be in a very deep sleep, just like a vegetable, so if you want to use the toilet, do it now because there are not going to be any interruptions].
"No, I'm fine. Let's do this".
James then began to get dizzy. He realized he could not move his limbs anymore, then he could not feel his body, then he could not hear his surroundings. It was like he was shutting down, like a computer.
The last thing that turned off was his vision. Then the AI began writing the memory to his consciousness.