Slowly but surely, after what felt like an eternity, you began to regain consciousness. You tried to open your eyes, but it was still hard to do so. The only thing clear to you was the sound around you. You could hear footsteps - or at least you thought you could. With a deep breath, you tried again to open your eyes, and this time, slowly but surely, they opened. Everything was still somewhat blurry, but you could make out a slender white silhouette near where you seemed to be lying.
When the silhouette noticed your eyes move, it suddenly sprinted away, screaming in a somewhat melodic voice, "他醒了!" ("He's awake!"). The blur in your vision gradually faded, and you realized you were in a hospital room.
Suddenly, three men entered the room while you were still trying to process what had just happened. You wanted to grab your head it felt as though something was on it, and at the same time, it felt heavy. Before you could place your hand on your head, one of the men shouted in a somewhat heavy accent, "WAIT!" You froze and looked at him. He stared at you, first bewildered and then relieved, as though he'd just achieved something important.
You tried to speak, but your first two attempts resulted in nothing more than muttering. Everyone in the room focused on you, and one of them said encouragingly, "I know you can do it. Just take it easy, okay?" His voice carried the same heavy accent, but it motivated you. On your third attempt, you finally managed to ask, "Where am I?"
The moment the words left your mouth, the people around you looked as though they wanted to celebrate.
They grabbed what looked like your wallet and asked you, "Do you know who you are and how old you are?" You just nodded and said, "I am Phillip Walker, 18 years old." You tried to remember what happened, but the moment you tried to think about it, your head started to hurt. One man grabbed your shoulders and said, "Don’t worry; we will tell you everything we know." Again, you showed the man with a simple nod that you understood what he was saying.
Some time had passed, and you couldn’t believe that one moment you were strolling happily through the streets, and now you were in a hospital. Thinking about it still gives you a bad headache. From the group of people, only one man stayed and started to say, "You see, Phillip, you were really lucky to still be alive. A lot of factors played into it - from how quickly you were found to how quickly we could get a donor."
"Donor?" you thought. Don't you have a head injury? "You may be wondering how you’re not only alive, but also received a donor part after sustaining an injury that damaged your brain so severely. To make it easier for you to understand, we were working on a new treatment method to replace certain parts of the brain with foreign body parts. It’s not only highly experimental, but also highly risky. We don’t even know if there will be any consequences."
Now it made sense to you why all those people from before were so excited to see you not only awake, but also slowly starting to function 'normally' again.
"What about my parents?" you asked, your voice tinged with panic.
"Don’t worry. We told them you won a special long trip and that you’ll be back before their departure."
For once, this calmed you down, but at the same time, you weren’t sure what to make of it.
"So, you said parts of my brain were severely damaged and I got a donor? Who would give their brain away...?" Before you could finish the question, it hit you. "It’s from a dead person, right?"
The man simply nodded in response.
You felt your stomach turn at the thought that parts of someone else’s brain were now inside you-literally in your head.
"And no, we can’t tell you who it was or any personal information. I hope you understand," he said, bowing slightly to show his sincerity.
The man then walked out to give you some time to gather your thoughts, which, in a way, you were grateful for.
After around 30 minutes, the man returned, this time with a large stack of papers. "Well, you see, now comes the not-so-fun part. This is not only an experimental treatment you received from us, but the fact that you're a foreigner from a different country makes this situation a bit, let's say, intense." Hearing that made you gulp, as he sounded much more serious than before. "That's why we, along with the country of China, need you to sign these documents, which disallow you from telling anyone about anything. And let me tell you, you better not breach this, okay?" The way he said this intimidated you more and more, and all you could do was nod.
He handed you a pen and the papers. Every line where you had to sign was marked with the text. Normally, you would have read what was written before signing anything, but no matter how hard you tried, everything was in Chinese. You took a deep breath and started working your way through it.
You could never have imagined that signing something could be so tiresome, but luckily, after quite some time, you were finished. The man who had sat there, ensuring that you signed every line correctly, took the stack of papers and said before leaving, "For tonight, you will still be staying here. You don't need to worry about any scars or signs of your wound or the operation. Rest well for the day." And with that, he left.
With that task complete, you fell back onto your pillow, exhausted from the whole day. You still couldn’t believe what had happened to you and that you had barely survived. You really wanted to know who the donor was and hoped that the person didn’t have any family members who might be missing her. For the rest of the day, you tried to rest until you finally fell asleep.
The next day.
The next day, when you woke up, you could definitely tell that you felt much better. The headache, although still present, was much softer than yesterday. The only thing that hadn’t improved was the heavy feeling you carried from all the information you had received the day before.
An hour later, after you had gotten yourself a bit more ready, the nurse and the man from yesterday came into your room and both greeted you with a "早上好。" ("Good morning."). You greeted them back, even though you couldn’t understand a single word. He told you that the visit would be pretty quick and that you could then go back to your family and fly home, which made you a bit happy—finally, you’d be back with them.
The man removed the bandage from your head, and you were really surprised to see that there was no visible wound or any other signs of your injury. You thought to yourself, "They really want to keep it a secret. It's so well-hidden that if I told anyone, they’d think I was crazy."
The man then gave you some instructions, telling you to drink plenty of water over the next few days. He reassured you that there shouldn't be any side effects that would interfere with your normal life. Even though you knew this was a lie, you simply accepted it and hoped for the best. Before he left, he arranged for a cab to take you to your hotel. His voice took on a more serious tone as he reminded you not to tell anyone about what had happened. You nodded to show that you understood.
With that, everything was set, and you were placed into the cab, which would drive you directly to your hotel, where your parents and your annoying sister were waiting.
After you reached your hotel and said your goodbyes to the cab driver, you walked straight to your hotel room. At first, you held yourself back from knocking, but after a deep breath, you knocked. You heard your mom say that she was coming, and there she was, standing in front of you. She hugged you and asked how your special trip was, to which you simply replied, "It was nice."
You continued talking with your parents about where you had been, enduring the snarky comments from your sister in the background. You just smiled to yourself, happy to finally be back with them. The rest of the day was pretty hectic, as you had to pack your suitcases for tomorrow's departure home.
The next day, you walked to the airport and gave one last look at China, reflecting on what you had witnessed over the past few days. It was something so crazy that you couldn't tell a soul about it. The headaches had gotten better, but there was still some nagging feeling in the back of your mind. You dismissed it for now, focusing on flying back home and preparing for the monotony of school life. "Who's brain did you got?" was the last question you gave yourself before entering your home finally.
Author's Note: The choices below at the beginning represent the type of person whose brain Phillip received and the transformative path he will follow as a result. Only the reader has the information and not the character itself.
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