Appreciation
El Deols, Anthanna
"Hello…" Cara sang in a pleasant tone as she walked into the house.
Henry welcomed her with a smile. He was sitting in the living room, holding a health book in his hand. The book was closed, and a finger was in the middle, helping him keep the page he stopped reading at. His attention had been turned to the television set previously before Cara walked in.
She had two bags with her. Lesedi was following behind her with three extra ones. It was obvious she had gone shopping on her way from work.
"You can take those ones to the store," Cara said to Lesedi, who nodded and continued walking.
"Welcome, Cara," Henry greeted her, still carrying a smile on his face.
She smiled back at him as she settled on the sofa beside him. She stared at his face silently for a while, and he also stared back, taking his eyes off the TV completely.
"Why are you staring like that?" he asked, already feeling weird about it.
"Well,' she chuckled and looked away. "You're looking so different tonight."
"How do I look?" he asked, interested in hearing her answer. She stared at him intently for seconds without speaking. She seemed not to be able to point out specifically why he looked different. "Well, I just had my haircut today." He gave her a clue.
"I see," she took another look at him. "You look very handsome in the new haircut."
His smile broadened, "Thank you."
"So, I got you some things on my way back," she said, handing him one of the bags. "I don't know if you'd like them."
"Thank you," he collected the bag and looked into it.
"Why don't you try them on now, especially the shoe?" she requested.
"Okay," he dropped the bag and took out the carton of sports shoes in it. He raised one of the pair up first and then placed it on the ground to see if his leg would fit in. "I really love this," he said as he unlaced it.
She watched him put on the pair and get up on his feet.
"They're my size. How did you know my size without asking me?" he questioned playfully as he bounced on his feet with the shoe.
"Come on, you've been here for weeks. I definitely know the sizes of your shoes, your shirts and even trousers now."
"Hmm…. Thank you, they're so nice." he said and sat back, taking off the sports shoes gently.
"You're welcome,' she said and rested her back in the chair. "Uhm…" she leaned forward again and looked at his face with a smile. She looked like she wanted to make a request but wasn't sure if he would grant it. "I tried to come up with a workout program for myself sometime ago, and for some months, I followed a workout routine. However, I stopped in January this year. I would like to continue by starting tomorrow. I don't know if you'd like to join me."
"Oh! Certainly, I would like to work out with you, I've been doing some push-ups and other exercises on my own, but I'd…"
"Huh?" She interrupted him. Her face got covered with a worried look as she squinted at his face. "How long have you been exercising without letting me know?"
His eyebrows gathered, and his shoulders dropped weakly as he wondered the reason for her reaction. "Just a few days ago."
"Are you sure it's really a few days ago and not up to a week yet?"
"Yes, not for up to six days. I only started after the doctor confirmed that most of the wounds were healed already."
She let out a sigh of relief.
Henry smiled. He could see that she worried about him so much like he was a kid.
"So I was saying, I'd like to go out and do some more, probably some dumbbell exercises," he added.
"Dumbbell exercises?" She widened her eyes at him in shock. She let out a loud laugh. "I'm sure you're going to ask for heavy barbells soon."
"No, just…"
"I'm not going to let you have that," she said, shaking her head in total disagreement. "You are still recovering from a lot of wounds. You have to recover fully before you think of building more muscles."
He sighed. He wasn't going to argue with her. The look on her face made it obvious she wasn't going to agree with his reasons.
"Come to think of it, you have enough muscles already." she said, punching him hard on the shoulder. "Ouch!" she yelled, shaking her hand vigorously as she felt some pain in her knuckles.
"Haha! Sorry about that," he laughed at her.
She gave him a childish look and then sat back on the sofa. "So we will continue with my workout routine tomorrow. We'll take a jog for a few kilometres tomorrow morning to the public gym. There we would do some more exercises suitable for both of us, no dumbbells yet," she said, stressing her tone in the last statement to emphasise her point.
"It's okay, Cara," Henry agreed.
"Good," she picked up the other bag from the ground and was about to get up.
"I have something else to talk about, Cara," Henry stopped her.
She sat back and looked at his face. He was carrying a serious look, and his tone also sounded serious.
"Please go ahead."
"Cara," he began in low tones. "I must say once again that I am grateful to you for being so kind and patient with me." he took a brief pause and sniffed. "You helped me and saved me from death, and you don't seem tired of having me around you since then." he paused again and looked at her face. Her eyebrows were gathered together as she listened to him with utmost seriousness.
"Why are you talking about this, Henry?" she asked, wondering what he was driving at and suspecting it would be something she would not like.
"Cara, you've done your best to help me regain my memory.
I know, and I've seen all your efforts in trying to help me find my roots, but no one seems to know me in the whole of Anthanna. I probably do not have a family, or I have one who does not want me anymore." he continued after readjusting his sitting position. "Since we've not been able to identify who I was in the past or find out if anyone has been looking for me, I would suggest we stop spending time and money on helping me regain my memory."
"Don't talk like that, Henry. I believe we just need to try more. You'll get back to yourself soon again," She tried to encourage.
Henry sighed and shook his head. "The doctor explained that I was seriously injured by those who dropped me at the Nura River. It was a narrow escape from death, and it led to retrograde amnesia. I have taken my time to read about retrograde amnesia online. With my findings and the doctor's report, I'm sure there's no way I'm going to recall those memories any longer. It's better we just stop troubling ourselves and let me start a new life."
Cara closed her eyes and inhaled, and exhaled lightly. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes. She knew he was saying the truth but could not openly agree with him. The doctor had told her that there was a higher possibility that he would never regain his memory again, and even Tom had told her several times to stop wasting her time and efforts.
"So what do you plan? What kind of new life do you want to start?" she asked.
"I think I should leave to somewhere very far from El Deols, somewhere far from Nura.I can learn a new craft and take a new job afterwards," he explained.
"Why do you want to live somewhere very far away?" she asked, not liking the idea even though she knew deeply inside that it was the right thing to do for his safety.
"Cara, some people tried to kill me. I don't know them and I don't know why, this makes me afraid. These guys may still recognize me and come back for me if they see me. The only way I can forget about them is to leave here." he replied.
Cara could see fear written all over his face, and it seemed funny to see a man well built like him so frightened.
"Listen to me, Henry, you are safe with me. You are safe with us. My Dad has had a great influence in this country, especially in El Deols. No one can touch you as long as you are with us." she said, trying to dissuade him from thinking of leaving.
"You may be right, Cara, but that would mean I would have to live the rest of my life depending on you, and I haven't even met your father yet.