text: It was a beautiful morning and the smell of fresh coffee and and bagels wafted through the air. She could also smell daffodils but couldn’t see it anywhere. Mia wondered, why don’t I see the daffodils? Where is this beautiful smell coming from? At first, when Mia woke up she had no clue where she was but it all started coming back to her. She vaguely remembered being in paradise retreat which is probably a fancy name for rehab. How did she get herself here? She always thought she was going to be one of those people who is going to be ultra-successful and here she was in a rehab a.k.a. Paradise retreat. Why can’t they just call things as is why do they have to give a politically correct name for everything? She saw piece of paper next to her which was presumably the program for the coming few days. This feels more like a jail then a retreat! 07:00 am - wake up to the smell of coffee 08:00 am - yoga 09:30 am - shower and get ready for group discussions 10:30 am - Group discussion Oh man! They also have group discussions she sighed aloud. She only knew these from whatever she saw in the movies where people sit in a circle and talk about things. Did she really have to do it? Mia was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost forgot the strange things that she experienced the previous night. Shaking herself of the feeling she got ready to grab her breakfast and got into her yoga pants. She really enjoyed the yoga session. A lot more than she would ever want to ever acknowledge. Endorphins thanks to a good session made her glow and she was glad she made it to the session. Unfortunately her happy feeling did not last long, her room looked weirdly out of place. She constantly felt like someone was there but did not want it to be known that they are there. She decided to ignore the feeling and get to the shower. The hot water falling on the skin made her feel very relaxed. She couldn’t stop feeling excited about how great the shower felt. She did not want to spend too much time in the shower because she had to get ready for the group discussion soon. As soon as she got out of the shower and start dressing up in front of the mirror she noticed that her reflection was lagging behind her. She couldn’t stop herself from screaming really loudly. It was then she started screaming, she noticed that her reflection was blankly staring at her. This must have been the moment when she passed out. She opened eyes to see the kind lady in charge of the retreat. Mia started to explain what happened. “Let’s get to that a later time, you need to rest now, my girl” - said the lady with the softest and kindest voice Mia had ever heard. Mia thought, does this mean I get to skip that group discussion! Yay! It almost felt like the lady read her thoughts. She said, “Oh don’t you worry about your group discussion, we moved you to the evening batch. You perfectly all right now and you can go back and continue to rest in your room.” This was when Mia realised that she was in a different part of the retreat. Mia wasn’t sure whether she want to go back to the room. She really did not like the feeling she got there. Not she wasn’t sure if she could ask to move to another room. She thought she would do that the next day if things don’t feel better. Mia was back in the room and she decided to rest for a while - she tried to feel calm and focus on feeling better. As she walked to get a glass of water, she felt like someone was right next to her. She could almost feel the breath of someone very close to her shoulders. She could also hear some weird sounds like someone was crying softly. She was very confused. And then again the smell of daffodils. Mia loved daffodils, why was she smelling them everywhere And could not see them anywhere? Mia decided to take it easy and get a nap before she could go back to attend the group discussion that she really did not want to. Surprisingly, she slipped into a deep, sound and refreshing sleep. Mia woke up to a strong smell of coffee in the afternoon. She noticed that the staff had refilled her coffee. She wasn’t sure about having coffee in the afternoon but decided to make an exception. She wanted to be fresh for the group discussion and give it a real chance. How bad could it be? Mia quickly showered, And wore her favourite white dress. She tried hard to remember why was this her favourite. It was super weird that she could not remember many details about herself. She kept thinking, “oh man! I hope people don’t think that I’m not sharing enough in the group discussion. I just can’t remember much...!” She sprayed her favourite perfume and and set out for the group discussion. As she opened her door to go out, the smell of daffodils completely overpowered her. She expected to see 8-10 people seated in a circle just as you would see in the movies. She never thought that she would ever be in this place. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised to see around 20-30 people engaged in easy conversations with each other. They seemed to share a camaraderie that she almost envied. She was embarrassed how easily she was getting envious of people in a “group discussion” that she did not even want to join a few moments ago. Unlike groups that were difficult for a newcomer to break in, everyone made a genuine effort to include her. They had all posted stickers with their first names. When Mia wanted to get a sticker for herself, she was told, everyone knows her. It was the same kind lady she met earlier (her sticker read Anna). She said, “Mia, so glad to have you here. We were not sure if you would make it, but we want to be here for you in any case.” Mia did not get it. “Be here for me?” She thought, this was a group discussion where everyone would pour their heart - but she obviously got it wrong. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself. That’s when she heard the champagne glass clinking. It was tall, good looking guy call Bryan. Bryan said, “As you all know, we are all here today for a special occasion.” Everyone started cheering and whistling. Mia tried to smile and cheer too - but she had no clue what the occasion was. Clearly, she did not read the memo. Bryan continued, “Mia, we would gratefully like to celebrate your life. Let’s play the video.” Mia was dumbfounded but also very curious - what this video could be about. It started with her childhood memories. She shook her inhibitions and pragmatism to figure out how they managed to put this together and started enjoying the video. Her first steps. The first time on a slide. Her parents doting on their single child. Her first-time bringing home her trophy from school. Her finish line memories from the triathlon. Her first boyfriend. Her interview at Harvard. Her first day at Harvard Law School. Passing the bar. Making it to one of the best law firms. Her prepping for her parents 25th anniversary. “Oh my god! I remember now.” Mia thought, tearing up. “I ordered for thousands of daffodils for the ceremony. Dad proposed to Mom after reading the poem - Daffodils. So, I thought it would be funny. Why can’t I remember the party?” That is when she realized that she was thinking aloud, and the video had stopped. Everyone formed a weird circle around Mia and held each other close to each other. Anna said, “Mia, I am sorry, you could not attend your parents 25th anniversary. You checked all the arrangements at the party venue and took the train to get home for a quick nap before the party. In the train, you saw a guy leaving his bag behind and rushing out. When you called out to him, he rushed out. You had the presence of mind to realize it could be a bomb. Without second thoughts, you picked the bag and rushed out of the station. You ran all the way to an empty field and threw the bag away as hard as you could. You saved 1000s of lives that day but unfortunately you lost a part of your memory. You needed a lot of therapy to have your brain be able to process all this. The mirror was not a mirror. It was a program that monitored your motor functions. We are glad you are ok and can finally get back to your family. We are all the people in that train compartment. You saved us all. We wanted to be a part of your recovery.” Mia was too shocked to hear all this and was crying inconsolably. She could only say, “what about my parents?” Almost as if that was their cue, her parents came in and gave her a big hug. They had missed her miserably too. They stayed in the same rehab centre and would regularly sneak in to check in on her when she was sleeping. The doctor had given them strict instructions to let Mia recover first - instead of giving her too many mental stimulations. They were just excited and happy that their selfless daughter was alive and on a path to recovery. It was too much for Mia to process, but she was finally in peace too. Mia and her parents agreed, the smell of daffodils was a catalyst for her recovery. Her father couldn’t stop reciting his favourite part from the poem “Daffodils” For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.