||Forgotten||
@fieryrussianballerina
Otabek had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. At least that’s what is mother told herself as she watched over her son in a hospital bed. He was badly injured with cracked rips, a fractured arm, and several cuts and bruises covering his body. Of all the places she thought she should worry about, Dinara never thought the book store would be one of them. He had been there browsing through the shelves of books after practice one day when a man came crashing into the shelves, knocking Otabek over. She didn’t know why Otabek hadn’t just given the man the book. The police told her that’s what the struggle was over, a book. They had the book in the station, looking through it as evidence but while Otabek was in the hospital it had been brought back to him, being deemed useless to the average onlooker. Otabek must have known something she didn’t but she couldn’t even ask him, he was still unconscious.
She had to do something, something that might wake him up and lift his spirits. He always talked about his best friend, Yuri. Maybe if he came to visit then her son would get better. She had to try. It took a few tries but she got into his phone and found his number, stepping into the hallway to call him, leaving him a voicemail. “Yuri? My name is Dinara Altin, I’m Otabek’s mother. I’m afraid there was an incident…he was hurt pretty badly. The doctors think he’ll be okay, but I think it’ll make him happy to have you here. He’s always talking about you,” she said softly. “You’re welcome to come stay with us if you’d like,” she offered. She left her own cell phone number on the message, not wanting to make a habit of using her son’s phone.
She stepped back into the hospital room quietly, a small gasp escaping her throat when she saw Otabek awake, his eyes seemingly alert. “What happened?,” he croaked weakly. “You were attacked,” the older Kazakh said softly. Otabek was quiet for a moment, taking in his surroundings and his own, hospital gown clad appearance. He nodded gently but inside his emotions were going haywire. He felt like he was forgetting something really important, a piece of the puzzle and a reason that he was sitting in a hospital bed. His heart beat a little faster as he tried to figure it out. Dinara sensed her son’s discomfort and laid her hand gently on his forehead to feel his temperature. He wasn’t warm. “I called your friend, Yuri,” she said softly. “I thought it might make you happy to have a friend here.” He tilted his head, frowning up at his mom, it seemed he had forgotten more than he initially thought. “Who?,” he asked quietly.
