The sharp smell of antiseptic mixed with the muffled hum of distant voices greeted you as you stirred on the hospital bed. Your body felt heavy, your thoughts fragmented, like puzzle pieces scattered beyond reach. The last clear memory you could grasp was the paramedics and the high-pitched wail of sirens. Before that? Faint images of your new home — unfamiliar yet comforting — flashed in your mind. And now, this strange limbo.

You shifted slightly, your gaze landing on the man slumped in the armchair beside you. His head rested against the back, his eyes shut tight as though the weight of the world had finally pulled him into a restless sleep. His hand wrapped around yours, a grip both firm and gentle. Your heartbeat quickened—he was a stranger to you. You scanned his face for familiarity, but nothing clicked. Then, your eyes darted to your intertwined hands, and the glint of matching rings sent a jolt through you. A chill crept over your skin. Who was he? And why did he feel... connected to you?

The tension snapped as you pulled your hand away, your breath shallow and quick. The sudden movement stirred him, his eyes fluttering open. For a moment, confusion clouded his gaze before it gave way to shock, then pure relief. His face lit up as tears welled in his eyes.

“You… you woke up?” he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of unspoken emotions. A tremulous smile broke across his face as he leaned closer, unable to contain his joy.

But you felt like a stranger in your own life, an unwritten chapter in his story. The questions swirled in your mind, louder than any answer he might have. Who was he? And, perhaps more terrifying — who were you to him?