RETURN OF THE FORGETFUL HEIR

AN UNLIKELY SAVIOUR

But he didn’t die.  A fishing boat that had just been returning from a successful fishing trip had been close to the bridge when it happened. As Cade fell off one side of the bridge, the driver of the car lost control and the car fell off the other side of the bridge. But the fisherman knew that he couldn’t save them all, so he steered his ship towards the direction he saw Cade fall to and yelled for his crew members to call the authorities for help while preparing to dive into the water to try and rescue who they could.

It took several minutes before one of the men in the water found Cade. They were only able to rescue him by the time the police came with an ambulance. The men that had tried to kill him in the car had died due to the impact when the car dropped into the water. The medical personnel tried several methods to resuscitate Cade and they were all relieved when he coughed out the water in his lungs and began to breathe.

When he opened his eyes, they checked his vitals and asked for his name because he had no means of identification on him. He was in a different country so he wasn’t as well known here as he was back home which was why the local police didn’t recognise him. But there was a problem, he couldn’t remember his name, where he was from, or even why he was on the bridge and how the accident happened.

“How is it possible that he remembers nothing?” The chief police officer asked the EMT.

“He suffered severe head trauma. He must have hit his head against the car or against the bridge rail before plunging into the water. And also, the few minutes he spent underwater without oxygen escalated the situation. The more minutes the brain spends without oxygen, the more we lose several brain cells. It’s obvious that he has amnesia, but there’s no telling if it’s temporary or if it will be permanent.” She replied to him as she took off her gloves.

“We’ll finish up here and then escort you back to the hospital. The corpses of the guys that didn’t survive will need to be taken into the morgue. We’ll put up all their faces on the news station later so we can get their families to identify their bodies and claim them, and also get the family of the one that’s still alive to come for him. He looks like a rich guy so it shouldn’t be a problem to get him back to his people. His watch is expensive, though it could be a fake, but I doubt it.” The officer said to her.

They had no idea that while they were talking, Cade was walking away from the scene in a daze, wondering who he was and why he was there. He only knew that he had to get somewhere for something important but he couldn’t remember why that thing was important or where he was supposed to go. He also felt like his life was in danger but he just couldn’t seem to remember why. There was a feeling of betrayal in his chest but his memories were gone so he had no idea why he felt that way. All in all, he felt so lost. He just kept walking and walking, looking around the shops that lined the streets as he crossed the other side of the bridge.

He was still wandering around when he noticed an out of control car swerving around on the road. People were jumping out of the way to avoid being hit but Cade noticed an old man that just came out of a flower shop. He was too distracted with trying to arrange the bouquet, he didn’t realise what was happening. With the direction that the car was driving to, Cade knew that it would hit the distracted old man. He was moving before he even realised it, and he got close enough to the old man just in time to pull him out of the way. The car narrowly missed the old man and crashed into the flower shop instead.

For several seconds, everyone on the street was in shock at what they had just witnessed, but no one was more shocked than the old man because he realised that he would have died if not for the young man that pulled him out of the way. The old man, Bryan Bellwether, had just stepped out of his house to get flowers for his wife because today was their 50th wedding anniversary.

He had planned for a special dinner for just the two of them later in the day, but he had still wanted to hand pick flowers for her. It wasn’t easy to be married for so long after all. He would have died and his wife would have been devastated, especially since the day of his death would also be the day of their anniversary. What a horrible disaster.

“Young man, you saved me.” The old man said in awe as Cade walked him away from the scene to a nearby bench so they could both sit down. 

He was still weak from the accident he survived at the bridge and the old man was clearly shaken from his near death experience as well.

“What is your name? I would like to reward you.” The old man said.

“My name is… My name is…” Cade repeated himself as he tried to recall his name, but the memory eluded him.

“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t remember. I fell off a bridge and now I can’t remember my name. I can’t remember anything about my life, I’m… all alone.” Cade said.

“Oh, you poor thing. Don’t worry, I will call you Dennis from now on. That will be your name. Come with me, I will take you home and introduce you to my family. You won’t be alone anymore, it’s the least I can do for you since you saved my life. Fate must have brought us together so you would save my life and I would take care of you.” The old man said and led Cade towards his own car that was parked on the other side of the road.

The old man was a millionaire, which was clear to see because of the expensive car he led Cade to. As they got into the car, the old man smiled at him.

“You are a very handsome, young man. I have just the perfect reward for you. You will marry my granddaughter and officially be part of my family, Dennis.”