Now that I have an idea of what’s in my throat, I'm less nervous to look around. It’s clear that I’m a patient in a hospital, but I have no idea how I got here. Did I end up passing out last night and my parents brought me here? That would explain all of the weird stuff. I probably ended up getting hit in the head during the earthquake and just dreamed the entirety of yesterday.

I’m all alone in the room too. My parents are surprisingly not sitting in that chair with their eyes glued to me. I’ve never been to the hospital before, and I imagine they wouldn’t want me talking to a doctor without them. So they can’t be too far then. Not even when I’m passed out would they trust me.

But this tube in my throat is really the only thing I can focus on. It’s super uncomfortable and I really want it gone. I’m not going to try taking it out on my own though. I need to somehow contact a nurse or something.

I look around for one of those call buttons that I always see in TV shows but have no luck in finding one. They probably wouldn’t even give one of those to a patient that’s passed out anyways. So my best option is to wave someone down that walks by the one window that’s on the door to the room. It’s a small window, so I have to rely on some luck in a person looking in.

Lifting my arm his harder than I imagined it would be. It feels really weak and stiff, making it quite painful to move. I can only lift it for a second before needing to put it back down. But I’m determined to do this, so I give it another attempt. All the while I can hear the heart-rate monitor beeping much quicker. It’s so hard for me to raise my arm that it feels like a workout.

But luck must be on my side, as a woman peeks her head into the window and makes eye contact with me. Her eyes widen slightly as if surprised to see me looking back. She then urgently opens the door.

The woman who walks in the room is wearing regular hospital attire. Something I shouldn’t find too surprising. But with all the weird outfits that my classmates have been wearing, seeing something so normal is strange. I was beginning to thing that all the strangeness of the last day has finally ended, but then she opened her mouth to speak.

She’s speaking Japanese. Why is she speaking Japanese?

Having not had too much practice with learning it, I’m only able to work out a word or two that she said. But she continues talking to me as if she expects me to understand. I think she’s saying something about the breathing tube based on her gestures. Once she’s done saying whatever it was to me, she turns around and walks out the door.

I’m only alone for a moment though. Not long after she left, she came walking back into the room with someone else. A person I assumed to be a doctor based on his white coat. And when he begins talking, he’s also speaking in Japanese. Something else must be going on. It feels like there is some new, strange thing happening every day. When will my life get back to normal?

My eyes follow the doctor as he puts on gloves and approaches the side of my bed. He’s removing the tube that’s in my nose.

The removal happens quickly. It was a weird sensation feeling the tube sliding through my throat. I almost sneezed once the end came out and tickled the tip of my nose. My eyes were watering after the tube was completely removed. I don’t know how long it was in there, but I was so relived to have it out.

I then felt the top portion of the bed suddenly lifting and I look over to see the nurse raising it. She raised it until I was in an upright position, and for some reason, it was making my entire body ache the whole time it was moving. She then asked me something I didn’t understand. Nervous to speak after just having that tube removed, I just nodded yes.

While all of this was happening, the doctor had been speaking to me the whole time in Japanese. I feel like he's asking me questions, only I still can't make out much of what he's saying. But I can’t just sit here and not respond. I need to make it clear I can’t understand him.

So I mentally prepare myself to tell him that I don’t speak Japanese "Gomennasai, nihongo hanashimasen." it comes out really rough and I'm not even sure if I said it right. But based on the way he responds, I’m assuming her understood.

"Okay... wait." he responds and leaves the room in a polite matter. I’m left alone with the nurse who is standing off in the corner and looks to be monitoring me. I don't think either of them know English. Hopefully the doctor is going out to find someone that can explain what’s happening to me.

With nothing else to do, and my eyes being fully adjusted, I begin to look around the room. It looks just as you would expect out of any hospital room. There’s a lot more stuff here than I’m used to, but that doesn’t seem off at all. Nothing strange except for the whiteboard and posters having Japanese writing on them.

I keep scanning across the room until I see a mirror to the side of me. And what’s in that mirror makes me do a double-take. It’s me… only different.

My normally black hair is now bleached blonde. Did someone dye my hair while I was passed out or something? No that doesn’t make sense. You can still see the black of my hair in my overly grown-out roots. It’s obvious my hair was bleached a while ago for the roots to grow out to the extent they are. But how did my hair get this color without me noticing?

Then there’s my face. I couldn’t exactly pin-point why it looked different, but after further inspection, I realize my face looks older. Like I somehow aged a few years over night. And there was a bit more weight on it as well. Actually, my whole body looked like it was carrying a bit more weight.

There’s no way what I’m seeing can be real. How hard must I have hit my head to make me not remember my own face? I’m panicking a little. The machine in the room is picking up my quickening heartbeat and beeps at the same speed. Panic that would continue if the door hadn’t opened.

Walking into the room once more is the doctor, and he has another man following behind him this time. The man is wearing more of business attire rather than scrubs, but is still has a hospital badge to indicate that he works her as well.

He gives me a small bow and introduces himself "Hello, my name is Mr. Yamada. I am one of the hospital's translators and social workers. I'm here to help you communicate with your doctor."

The beeping on the machine slows as I become relived to hear another person speaking English "Oh my gosh, thank you! I have no idea whats going on right now. Did I get injured in the earthquake yesterday or something?"

He doesn’t respond to me immediately. Instead he repeats what I said to the doctor in Japanese, then waits as the doctor tells him something back, which he then relays to me "The doctor wants to know if you can tell us your name, what city you live in, and what day it is."

Well those are easy questions that I shouldn't have any issue answering “Yeah I can do that. I’m not really sure how long I was out, but last I remember it was September 18^th. And the city I live in is… uh… I can’t really remember that right now, but I know it’s in America. My name should be easy though, it’s… my name is… um” the machine once again beeps quicker as I start to panic “Why can’t I remember my name?”

The doctor is looking at the vitals machine when Mr. Yamada tells him what I said. While the two of them are having a conversation, I’m breathing heavily and trying to calm myself down. How could I forget my own name? I remember everything in recent memory, so how could I possibly not remember something as common as my own name?

When their conversation is done, Mr. Yamada turns his attention back to me "Sorry for the interruption. I was discussing with the doctor about what you said. It appears that you're showing some symptoms of amnesia, which is not uncommon in situations like this.”

I’m stunned. It’s a struggle for me to find a response “I-I… amnesia? B-but I remember everything everything about my life…” my words trail off as I try my hardest to think of my name.

He can see I’m struggling “Maybe I should start out with your name first. Your name is Matsumoto Emily. Does that sound familiar at all?"

My eyes tear up upon hearing that "Mr. Yamada... I don't recognize that name at all…” my name is really Emily? Shouldn't I recognize it at least a little bit? But I felt nothing after he said that name. It feels like this is just some terrible dream. Emily is my name?