He is in Amnesia Learn English through story level 2

that morning

my wife and i said our usual goodbyes

she left her second cup of tea

and she followed me to the front door

she did this every day

she took from my coat her hair which was

not there

and she told me to be careful

she always did this

i closed the door

and she went back to her tea

i am a lawyer and i work very hard

my friend dr volny

told me not to work so hard

you’ll be ill he said

a lot of people who work too hard get

very tired and suddenly they forget who

they are

they can’t remember anything

it’s called amnesia

you need a change and a rest

but i do rest i replied

on thursday nights my wife and i play a

game of cards

and on sundays she reads me her weekly

letter from her mother

that morning

when i was walking to work

i thought about dr volny’s words

i was feeling very well

and pleased with life

when i woke up

i was on a train and feeling

very uncomfortable after a long sleep

i sat back in my seat and i tried to

think

after a long time

i said to myself

i must have a name

i looked in my pockets

no letter

no papers

nothing with my name on

but i found three thousand dollars

i must be someone i thought

the train was crowded with men who were

all very friendly

one of them came and sat next to me

hi

my name’s rp boulder boulder and sun

from missouri

you’re going to the meeting in new york

of course

what’s your name

i had to reply to him

so i said quickly

edward pink hammer

from cornopolis kansas

he was reading a newspaper but every few

minutes he looked up from it to talk to

me

i understood from his conversation that

he was a druggist

and he thought that i was a druggist too

are all these men druggists i asked

yes they are he answered

like us

they’re all going to the yearly meeting

in new york

after a time he held out his newspaper

to me

look at that he said

here’s another of those men who run away

and then say that they have forgotten

who they are

a man gets tired of his business and his

family and he wants to have a good time

he goes away somewhere and when they

find him he says that he doesn’t know

who he is

and that he can’t remember anything

i took the paper

and read this

denver june 12th

elwyn c belford an important lawyer in

the town

left home three days ago and has not

come back

just before he left he took out a lot of

money from his bank

nobody has seen him since that day

he is a quiet man who enjoys his work

and is happily married

but mr belford works very hard

and it is possible that he has amnesia

but sometimes people do forget who they

are mr boulder i said

oh come on mr boulder answered

it’s not true you know

these men just want something more

exciting in their lives

another woman perhaps

something different

we arrived in new york at about 10

o’clock at night

i took a taxi to a hotel

and i wrote the name edward pinkhammer

in the hotel book

suddenly

i felt wild and happy

i was free

a man without a name can do anything

the young man behind the desk at the

hotel looked at me

a little strangely

i had no suitcase

i’m here for the druggists meeting i

said

uh my suitcase is lost

i took out some money and gave it to him

the next day i bought a suitcase and

some clothes

and i began to live the life

of edward pinkhammer

i didn’t try to remember who

or what i was

the next few days in manhattan were

wonderful the theaters the gardens the

music

the restaurants the nightlife

the beautiful girls

and during this time i learned something

very important

if you want to be happy you must be free

sometimes i went to quiet expensive

restaurants with soft music

sometimes i went on the river in boats

full of noisy young men and their

girlfriends

and then there was broadway with its

theaters and bright lights

one afternoon

i was going back into my hotel when a

fat man came and stood in front of me

hello belford he cried loudly

what are you doing in new york

is mrs b with you

i’m sorry

but you’re making a mistake sir i said

coldly

my name is pink hammer

please excuse me

the man moved away in surprise

and i walked over to the desk

behind me the man said something about a

telephone

give me my bill i said to the man behind

the desk

and

bring down my suitcase in half an hour

that afternoon

i moved to a quiet little hotel

on fifth avenue

one afternoon

in one of my favorite restaurants on

broadway

i was going to my table when somebody

pulled my arm

mr belford a sweet voice cried

i turned quickly and saw a woman who was

sitting alone

she was about 30

and she had very beautiful eyes

how can you walk past me like that she

said

didn’t you know me

i sat down at her table

her hair was a beautiful red gold color

are you sure you know me i asked

no she smiled

i never really knew you

well my name is edward pinkhammer i said

and i’m from

kansas so

you haven’t brought mrs belford with you

then she said and she laughed

you haven’t changed much in 15 years

erwin

her wonderful eyes looked carefully at

my face

no she said quietly

you haven’t forgotten

i told you that you could never forget

i’m sorry i answered

but that’s the trouble

i have forgotten i’ve forgotten

everything

she laughed

did you know that i’m married six months

after you did

it was in all the newspapers

she was silent for a minute

then she looked up at me again

tell me one thing elwynn she said softly

since that night 15 years ago

can you touch

smell or look at white roses

and not think of me

i can only say that i

don’t remember any of this i said

carefully

i’m very sorry

i tried to look away from her

she smiled

and stood up to leave

then she held out her hand to me

and i took it for a second

oh yes

you remember

she said

with a sweet unhappy smile

goodbye

elwyn belford

that night i went to the theater

and when i returned to my hotel a quiet

man in dark clothes was waiting for me

mr pink hammer he said

can i speak with you for a minute

there’s a room here

i followed him into a small room

a man and a woman were there

the woman was

still beautiful

but her face was unhappy and tired

i liked everything about her the man who

was about 40 came to meet me

belford he said

i’m happy to see you again

i told you that you were working too

hard

now you can come home with us

you’ll soon be all right

my name i said is edward pinkhammer i’ve

never seen you before in my life

the woman cried out oh

i’m your wife

she put her arms around me

but i pushed them away

oh

doctor folny what is the matter with him

the woman cried

go to your room the doctor said to her

you’ll soon be well again

the woman left

and so did the man in the dark clothes

the man who was a doctor

turned to me and said quietly

listen

your name is not edward pink hammer

i know that i replied

but a man must have a name

why not pink hammer

your name the doctor said is elwyn

belford

you are one of the best lawyers in

denver

and that woman is your wife

she’s a a very fine woman i said after a

minute

i love the color of her hair

she’s a very good wife the doctor

replied

when you left two weeks ago she was very

unhappy

then we had a telephone call from a man

who saw you in a hotel here

i

think i remember him i said

he called me belford

excuse me but

who are you

i’m bobby volney

i’ve been your friend for 20 years and

your doctor for 15 years elwynn try to

remember

you say you’re a doctor i said

how can i get better

does amnesia go slowly or suddenly

sometimes slowly sometimes suddenly

will you help me dr volny i asked

old friend he said i’ll do everything

possible

very well

and if you’re my doctor you can’t tell

anybody what i say

of course not dr vonnie answered

i stood up

there were some white roses on the table

i went over to the table

picked up the roses and threw them far

out of the window

then i sat down again

i

think it will be best bobby i said

to get better suddenly

i’m a little tired of it all now

go and bring my wife marion in now

but

oh doctor i said with a happy smile

oh my good old friend

it was wonderful

you