- Five years ago -

The cool wind bit at his exposed skin as soon as he exited the doors of the public library. He was instantly engulfed with the sounds of life in the small city of Camden.

Pulling his weighted satchel bag up his shoulder he descended the stairs leading to the bustling sidewalk.

Nothing could have prepared him for what the doctor told him earlier that day. It was the sort of news that a person would not want to hear, especially on a Monday.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith, but there's a strong possibility that you won't ever get your memories back."

Tobias had sighed, running his hands through his light brown hair.

He didn't know what to think about this. He didn't know who he was or who he's suppose to be. All he knew was that he felt as if he was missing something and it wasn't just his memories.

It was as if a big part of himself was taken from him.

That feeling of knowing you've forgotten something but it was on the tip of your mind, just out of your reach, was his constant state. Every second, of every day.

He feared that it wasn't because of the accident three years ago that took his memories. He feared that it was a disease, that one day his memory loss would progress. That he would start forgetting smaller things as well as the bigger things.

He lived a normal life, he had a job, he paid his rent, he read his books, and he went on. He had the usual troubles, he had a mediocre life, with a regular amount of stress on top of his condition. He lived day by day like any other bloke.

He walked along the sidewalk, blending in with the crowd, from afar it looked like penguins huddling and wattling together.

According to his doctor he was about 38 years old. Which meant that nearly forty years of his life was missing. Forty years.

He turned a corner quickly, now walking a straight shot to his apartment complex.

Three years ago, he woke up in the hospital and was told he was found lying amongst the wreckage of a car crash, but neither one of the cars was his and the other two drivers were laying in their drivers seats dead by unknown causes prior to the car crash. As if they suddenly had heart attacks in unison causing the crash, but the doctors said their deaths were completely bewildering, because neither of them had any medical history showing signs of heart attacks or strokes.

He entered the apartment complex with one thing on his mind, sleep. He just needed to sleep. He was itching to read the three nooks he checked out of the library, the same books which weighted his satchel bag, but the day was exhausting emotionally.

"Hey there Tobi," Steven said, one of his elderly neighbors who insist that he attend every church service and every gathering his church has, "How's the building search going for your book shop?"

Tobias forced a polite smile and waved.

"Quite exhausting, nothing available for miles." He said, stepping out the stair way leading to his flat.

"Well good luck to you." The smiling older man said, then continued his task at spraying his plants.

Tobias grumbled.

He didn't want a shop outside of Camden, this town was all he knew and he did not want to have to take up the tiring burden of meeting new people.

As he made his way down the long narrow hall towards his flat he noticed one of his neighbors having trouble carrying her load of grocery bags down the hall in front of him.

"Miss Daniel, please, allow me." He said politely and ran up to her, taking a few bags from her struggling hands.

"Oh thank you dearie, I about broke my arm carrying that milk." She said, with a breathless chuckle, pulling her flat key out of the breast pocket of her shirt.

"The pleasure is mine." He said, following her towards the end of the corridor past his door. "If I would have known you were getting your groceries this day I would have gladly rescheduled my appointment to help, Miss Daniel."

She only laughed.

"Nonsense my boy, lord knows I need the exercise." She said, pushing her key into the door. "Go and set those bags on the kitchen table while I make us some tea."

"Oh that's really unnecessary, I really should be going." Tobias said.

"Oh posh," She waved him off, "I've missed our afternoon tea time, you know ever since you got that job I've rarely seen you."

He entered her flat behind her and set the few bags he had in his hands on the table and then lowered himself into a seat while she made the tea. She did make the best cup of tea. He couldn't put up to much of a fight. Besides after the day he had, a good cup of tea was all he needed.

"How was it any who, what is the news?" Miss Daniel asked as she set up the kettle, giving him her back.

"It was okay, Dr. Watson said my blood sugar is leveling out well."

She turned and raised her brow at him.

"You know very well that wasn't what I was asking after Tobias." She said with a slight sternness to her tone. He chuckled heartedly.

She could see right through him.

He shook his head, and lowered his eyes from hers.

"He said that I might not ever remember."

She then shook her own head and stepped over closer to the man who's been like a second son to her, patting his shoulder.

"Doctors and their diagnosis, you can't trust a word they say." She said and returned to the counter, making up a plate of Nice biscuits.

He furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?" He asked, taking a biscuit from the plate as soon as she handed it to him.

She stood for a moment, studying him closely with a flannel in her hands.

"I believe you will remember, it'll just take lots of time, amnesia is mostly short term, Gary had it when he was just a boy after falling from a tree, it took him a bit, but it eventually came back to him." She explained and just as she finished the kettle let out a loud shrill.

She turned to take it off the burner which gave him a small bit of time to think. It did make since.

But what hope did he have, it's been three years since he woke from the hospital, wouldn't he have remembered by now.

She returned to the table with the tea on the platter. After pouring both of them a cup she sat across from him with a sigh.

"You're recovery, as I'm told," She tilted her eyes in his direction, over her half moon glasses, "Was itself miraculous, was it not?"

"Well that's what the doctor told me,"

"Then I don't see why your memory returning can't be miraculous as well."

He gave a lot of thought to her words and his spirits lifted considerably. Maybe one day it will return to him, but when, and how, where his questions.

A/N:
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