The strong scent of herbs permeated the air as Joey groggily opened his eyes.
What greeted him was a dimly lit space and a simple ceiling. He found himself lying on a rather hard bed, covered with a thin quilt that emitted a faint fragrance.
Joey felt like he had had a very long, strange dream. In the dream, sometimes there were magnificent palaces, sometimes there were battlefields with swords flashing, sometimes there were gentle smiles, and sometimes there were hideous and terrifying faces. He couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality, he only felt a splitting headache, and his body felt like it had been torn apart, incredibly exhausted and weak.
He tried to sit up, but he felt a burst of stinging pain in his head, forcing him to lie back down on the bed. He raised his hand and touched his head, discovering a large lump on the back of his head. Even a light touch made him grimace in pain.
"Where… where am I?" Joey murmured softly, his voice hoarse and weak.
He began to recall what had happened before, but his mind was blank, only a few scattered fragments like seashells scattered on the beach, unable to piece together a complete picture.
"Who am I? What exactly happened to me?" Joey's heart was filled with fear and unease. He discovered that he had not only lost his memory, but also his sense of self.
His consciousness was like drifting in the vast sea, ready to be engulfed by darkness at any time. He wanted to find a reef to rely on, but he found himself surrounded by mist, unable to tell which direction to go.
He felt an unspeakable fear deep in his heart. He was afraid that he would never be able to recover his memory, and he was afraid that he would be forever lost in this strange world.
Just when he was feeling helpless and desperate, a gentle voice came over.
"You're awake? That's great! How are you feeling now?"
Jane walked to the bedside, holding a bowl of steaming porridge. When she saw Joey wake up, a joyful smile appeared on her face.
"I… my head hurts… I can't remember anything…" Looking at the strange girl in front of him, Joey said hoarsely, his voice filled with confusion and unease.
The girl standing in front of Joey wore a simple ponytail, and a few wisps of hair gently brushed in the breeze, adding a touch of liveliness to her. She wore a plain cotton dress, slightly old but clean, and the hem of the dress reflected a soft light in the sunlight.
Her skin, although not snow-white, exuded a natural, healthy color, as delicate as a freshly ripened peach. The most striking feature was her eyes, bright and clear, like two pools of emerald green water, or like stars in the night sky, as if they could wash away all worries. Whenever she smiled slightly, two shallow dimples would appear at the corners of her eyes, making people feel as warm as a spring breeze.
Hearing Joey say that he had amnesia, Jane was startled. She had thought he was only temporarily unconscious, but she hadn't expected that he had lost his memory.
She placed the porridge on the table by the bed, then helped Joey sit up.
"Drink some porridge first, you'll feel better after you drink it," Jane said softly.
She cooled a spoonful of porridge by blowing on it and carefully fed it to Joey's mouth. Her temperament was fresh and natural, without any artificiality, and her every move was imbued with a gentle manner that made people feel at ease.
Joey felt embarrassed and grateful. He opened his mouth and let Jane feed the porridge into his mouth. He found that the porridge Jane had fed him was very light, but it tasted good, and it brought a trace of comfort to his parched stomach.
"Are you feeling better now?" Jane asked with concern.
"Yes, much better, thank you," Joey said softly.
"You're welcome, you should rest well first, we can talk more when your health recovers," Jane said gently.
"I… how should I call you?" Joey asked.
Jane smiled slightly and said, "My name is Jane. What about you? What's your name?"
Joey was stunned. He tried to remember, but his mind was blank. He couldn't remember his name.
"I… I don't remember…" Joey said dejectedly, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
Jane felt a little sorry when she saw Joey's lost expression. She thought for a moment and said, "Since you can't remember your name, why don't I give you a name? I'll call you Tomo, okay? I hope you can remember your past by tomorrow."
"Tomo…" Joey murmured the name, feeling that the name was not bad, and that it seemed a little familiar.
"Okay, I'm called Tomo." He nodded happily.
Jane felt a touch of relief in her heart when she saw Joey finally smile. She decided to let Tomo stay at her home temporarily, and they would make a decision after he had recovered his memory.
"You're still very weak, you should rest well. I'll go help you make some medicine, you'll feel better after you take it," Jane said, and got up to go to the kitchen to make the medicine.
"Okay… Thank you, Jane," Joey said gratefully again. He was filled with gratitude and trust for the girl before him.
Joey lay alone on the bed, looking at the simple ceiling, his heart filled with unease and confusion. He didn't know where he had come from, nor where he was going. He was like a traveler who had lost his way, lost in the vast darkness.
He began to explore everything around him with his hands, trying to grasp something that could help him restore his memory. He touched the pillow next to the bed, which had a faint fragrance, and he guessed that it must be Jane's scent.
He touched the table next to the bed, and on the table were an empty bowl and a bowl of medicine. He picked up the medicine bowl and smelled it, and found that a strong herbal scent remained inside.
He touched some clothes, a loose sportswear jacket and a baseball cap. But he didn't remember ever wearing them.
He knew nothing about his past, and he was also filled with unfamiliarity with this world. He didn't know who he was, nor where he had come from, and he didn't know what his future would be like.
Fear and unease surged into his heart like a tide, making him feel suffocated.
"Why is this happening? What exactly did I experience? What should I do?" Joey asked helplessly in his heart.
A strong desire surged from the depths of his heart. He wanted to recover his memory, he wanted to know who he was, and he wanted to know why he had appeared here.
But now, besides the splitting headache and endless confusion, he couldn't do anything.
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to drive those chaotic thoughts out of his mind, but found that he couldn't stop them from pouring in.
On the other side, after settling Joey down, Jane began making medicine in the kitchen. She would often look towards Joey's room, her eyes filled with concern and worry.
"Who exactly is this person? He doesn't seem like a bad person, why did he collapse on the side of the road?" Jane wondered in her heart, she always felt that she had seen him somewhere before.
"I should find an opportunity to ask about it," Jane muttered to herself.
In the following days, Joey's life seemed to fall into a fog. Most of his time was spent in a state of unconsciousness. When he woke up, his eyes were always hollow and confused, occasionally showing deep fear. He couldn't remember his past, and even his name was given to him by Jane. He could only rely on Jane's patient care to barely get through one uneasy day after another, and one long night after another. In the dead of night, he would often wake up from nightmares, his forehead covered with cold sweat, shouting some disjointed words incoherently, but those words were meaningless, as if they were just fragments from the depths of his consciousness.
Jane took care of him every day. She carefully helped him change his medicine, for fear of hurting him. When feeding him, she would always coax him gently, as if treating a fragile child. When washing him, she would gently wipe his face for him, her movements patient and meticulous. Her voice was gentle and firm, "Don't be afraid, everything will be fine. One day, you will remember everything." Her words were like a lamp, trying to penetrate the fog in Joey's heart and bring him a trace of comfort.
But in places where Joey couldn't see, Jane's heart was full of anxiety and unease. In addition to taking care of Joey during the day, she also diligently paid attention to all kinds of news and missing person notices. Whenever a TV news report was broadcast or a newspaper was delivered, she would immediately turn to it, afraid of missing any information about missing persons. However, all of her efforts were like a stone sinking into the sea, without any response. She even took time to go to the police station in town, hoping to get some clues, but the answer was always the same—no one had reported a missing person matching Joey.
Despite the disappointments, Jane did not give up. She began to ask acquaintances for help, describing Joey's characteristics to the neighbors who did business in the city, hoping to broaden the search area and find his family. Whenever she mentioned these efforts to Joey, she always used a light tone, pretending to be nonchalant and saying, "We will definitely find clues, don't worry." But in fact, her heart had already prepared for all possibilities—including that Joey might never be able to recover his memory.
A few days later, still no news came. Jane stood in the small courtyard outside the house, looking at the distant mountain shadows, and her heart filled with a sense of helplessness. A breeze caressed her long hair, and she muttered to herself, "Could he have come from another place? If that's the case, it will be troublesome to find his family..." She sighed softly, but still raised her head, looking further into the distance.
At this moment, although her heart was full of loss and fatigue, she still held a glimmer of hope. Perhaps it was that she didn't want the person before her, who had lost his sense of self, to fall into despair, or perhaps she had a natural stubbornness towards fate. In short, she was determined to help Joey recover everything he had lost, no matter how difficult it was.
"This child, he doesn't seem like a bad person, why can't he remember anything?" Grandmother said worriedly.
"Yes, grandma, I also think it's strange. Although the clothes on his body are dirty, the material is very good. And looking at his appearance, he shouldn't be a rough person," Jane said.
"Sigh, maybe he is from a rich family. I just don't know where his family is, how could he have ended up here," Grandmother sighed.
"Grandma, I will try my best to help him find his family. He really is too pitiful now," Jane said.
"You child are just too soft-hearted. But seeing him like that, he is also quite pitiful, not even remembering who he is," Grandmother looked at Jane kindly and said softly.
Jane looked at Joey, who was lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully, and felt a trace of helplessness in her heart. She knew that all she could do now was to take good care of him, hoping that he could recover soon, and remember his past soon.