The Girl I Met at the Hospital

 I was at home one day, I had a school assignment to do, but it was time for me to have a cup of milk and then my pill so I could sleep at night, so I went down to the first floor, I started to prepare the milk, it is powdered milk, so I added water to make it liquid, as I walked around the first floor of the house… I was concentrating not only on making the milk liquid, but I was also concentrating, mentally solving the math homework I had, when all of a sudden a memory came to my mind…

I was at the Roberto del Rio hospital, in Independencia, Santiago, Chile, it was the year 2011, I had an appointment with a doctor, for my hypothyroidism, but I was still waiting for them to call me, while I was waiting, I was drawing the dinosaurs I had seen before in a TV show, called Dino Dan, about a boy who saw dinosaurs everywhere, that year that series had just been released in Chile, so it was new to me, even though the series was created in 2009. When I was drawing, a girl came up to me, this girl had light skin and dark hair, she immediately wanted to talk to me, she asked me what was I doing, I told her that I was drawing a dinosaur that I had seen in a series called Dino Dan, which was on TV on the Discovery Kids channel, she told me that it was impressive, and she told me I drew well, then she told me her name, at the same time she wrote it on a page of my notebook, "Amaya", when she told me her name, I immediately remembered a scene that I had seen in The Simpsons, starring Artie Ziff, at the end of episode 14 of season 15, where the character was annoying smokers. I laughed and imitated the character, also saying where my reference came from, she laughed too, and then we continued talking about my drawings, until the doctor called, and we said goodbye, that was the only time I saw her.

For some reason I remembered the scene in my mind, while I was preparing my chocolate milk, a feeling of nostalgia and strangeness ran through my body.

- Why did I remember this, and just at this moment? - I thought to myself

After I finished drinking the chocolate milk, and taking my sleeping pill, I went to continue with my homework, but I couldn't get that memory out of my mind, why did I remember that moment… and why now, it doesn't make sense, probably, you think that that was my first love, but… the truth is that at that time I was about 7 years old, and before that, even though I was ashamed to say it, I had already liked a girl, in kindergarten, a classmate named Megumi. The truth is that at that time I used to say that I liked someone, just because I found her face attractive, and I, innocently, imitated the behavior of someone in love, which I had seen in movies or series that I watched with my mother.

I also remember that on that occasion my mother was next to me in the hospital.

I would like to ask my mother if she remembers that girl, but probably, with her lack of memory, she will not even remember what happened this morning, so I don't ask anything and I keep silent.

A day has passed, I'm in class in the morning, I still can't shake off the memory of the girl

I wrote to one of my friends about that memory, and he said it would be a good story to tell. The truth is that my current situation reminds me of Fuutarou-kun, from the anime series Go-Toubun no Hanayome, Fuutarou is a high school student, in Japan, who 5 years before the beginning of the series, he met a girl, whom at the time he considered an annoyance, not realizing that he was in love, being only 12 years old, that girl made him change, from being a problem child to being a genius, and later he taught that girl and his 4 sisters, without knowing that the girl he met and one of his students, are the same person, in my case... I have not seen Amaya again, and probably she was the one who (unconsciously) inspired me to improve in my drawings… I would like to see her again, to catch up and tell her everything I have lived so far, what I've been through, what I've suffered and what I've achieved, as well as, of course, to thank her for what happened back then.

It's been 3 days since the conversation with my friend, Futago, and I still can't get those memories and thoughts out of my head, I keep thinking about Amaya, what have been of her, where is she now?

It is already Monday, in spite of being on trimester vacation, I am studying, because of the Liceos Bicentenarios program that the high school I study at joined, my grades have dropped a lot.

I used to have from 6.3 to 7.0 (7.0 is the maximum grade in Chile and 2.0 is the minimum, with the Liceos Bicentenarios program, the minimum grade becomes 1.0), now I have grades ranging from 4.1 to 6.1, it is the first time that my grades have dropped so much, I am quite ashamed of my results, but that is why I am now studying more, even studying on vacation, on Friday, May 21 I studied mathematics, today, Monday, May 24, I am studying philosophy,

I study philosophy, while I look at the notebook in which Amaya, the girl I met at the hospital,

wrote her name… I thought I didn't have that notebook, but I do... I still have it, only that in 2018 I drew more drawings in that notebook, not knowing it was the same one… it's been about 10 years since I met that girl, I hope I can meet her again, at some point, I pray to God that I can meet her again. I pray to God to grant me that wish, to be able to see her even one more time, and to be able to talk to her, and to hear her stories of what she has been through since then, even though I doubt she remembers me now, just as I had forgotten her until a couple of days ago.

- Kafu Mitsurin -