I knew I must be hallucinating when fire was shot at my head.
"What the heck? Are you trying to kill me?" I yelled in the direction of the flame where someone was standing. It occurred to me that the fire couldn't have been their fault. "I'm sorry for accusing you of throwing fire at me. That's crazy, and I overreacted," I apologized before they could respond.
"Who are you?" the person demanded as they lit a fire in their palm.
"YOUR HAND IS ON FIRE! Pat your hand against the ground to stop the fire, and I'll see if I can find some water!" I panicked.
"You're kidding, right?"
"No, of course I'm not kidding. Aren't you the slightest bit worried that your hand is engulfed in flames?"
"Well, this is the Fire Nation. Now, answer my question before I set you on fire. Who are you?"
"I'm, um, I'm… I'm not sure…"
"Kayla! There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Come one. Let's get home." A man in red came up to me. He had a mustache, huge sidburns, and short hair. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the guy with the fire. He had a vice-grip; I couldn't squirm free. He made a quick bow to the fire guy. "Thank you for keeping an eye on my daughter."
"Of course, sir." He nodded to the scruffy guy (apparently my dad) and walked off.
"Now we're going home, young lady," he said assertively. "I've told you a thousand times not to wander to the outskirts of town!"
I was terribly confused and scared, but I was worried that, if I was to say something, I'd be in more danger than if I stayed silent. He dragged me down streets, becoming more crowded as we ran. By the time we stopped, I was entirely lost from all the twists and turns and people. We stopped in front of a black marble house with red trim. We headed up the walkway,
and he banged upon the dragon-shaped knocker. A man in a fancy tuxedo (you know, like with the tails) answered it.
"Welcome home, Master Enoki. I see you found Miss Enoki." He glowered at me, something that Father-figure Dude missed. The moment passed, and the butler opened the doors wide to allow us entry.
'Dad' dragged me through the open door. I took one last fleeting glance at the outside world, worried I'd be stuck inside for a while. The doors were tightly shut behind us, and I turned around to face the entrance hall. I'll admit that it was an amazing sight to behold. For starters, it was huge. There were banners and curtains draped from the ceiling braces. The braces were made of granite instead of marble. Everything looked extremely regal. Yeah… there was no way I lived here, nor did I want to.
"Close your mouth. It's not very attractive to let more mouth hang open." I hadn't even noticed that my jaw had dropped. I quickly closed it. "Thank you. Now go up to your room. Douglas will let you know when dinner is ready." The butler bowed again.
I looked up the maroon carpeted staircase. There had to be at least a few dozen rooms. "Where is my room?" I said, realizing a moment too late that I'd spoken aloud.
"Are you purposely trying my patience? You know perfectly well where your room is!"
"I'm sorry, Dad, but I really don't know."
Did you hit your head or something while you were off gallivanting, because you're acting really stupid?"
I thought hard and realized I didn't know things that should be common knowledge. This time, I deliberately said, "Maybe I did hit my head." out loud.
"Well, I'll let you get away with your idiocy for now. Come on." He led me up the flight of stairs on the right, down a hallway, and to the third door on the left. "This is your room. Remember it," he demanded as he walked back down the hallway. I took a deep sigh before heading in, afraid of what I'd see.
It was ten times worse than I'd expected. There was pink everywhere; all different shades from light to almost red. My head started to ache and spin. The sight physically hurt. I felt a tug in my gut, and I had a feeling I was going to puke pretty pink glop, and no one would ever be able to find it. I crossed to my bed and sank into it. It was very soft, perhaps down feathers. The covers were a fine silk. So far, it was the only thing I liked about this room, the only reason I might consider staying in this entire house.
I heard a banging, or rather a knocking, and my eyes flew open. I have no memory, and I'm in someone's mansion. They claim to be my father. That's probably just one of the servants, maybe it's Douglas. Yeah, remain calm. You're fine, I thought to myself. I crossed the room and threw my door open. As I'd predicted, Douglas the butler was standing still as a statue.
"Dinner is ready, Miss." I followed him back down the corridor, the staircase, and through a side door I hadn't noticed. We passed through a dining hall that could probably seat 30. "We will not be eating in here tonight. Master would like a chance to speak with you. Well, at least try to speak with you. He's not the best conversationalist." There was a small room at the end of the dining hall that was set for two but could possibly cram four. My dad was seated on the cushion facing the wall opposite the door. He turned when he heard the door close.
"Oh hello, Kayla. Please, take a seat." I sat down on the empty cushion. I noticed Douglas slide out as I tried to find a comfortable position to sit in. "Well… you see, I wanted to talk to you about, um, you know, what happened when your memory left.
"I don't know. I've already said that I don't remember anything. I wish I did, but as hard as I try I can't.
"Yes. Yes, of course. The thing is, I'd, um, we'd had some disagreements about you going to the outskirts of town before, and well, then this happens, and I think you get what I'm saying.
"Kinda," I responded honestly. "It's kind of like 'I told you so'."
"I wasn't going to put it that way, but that's basically the idea."
"The problem is you didn't tell me. You told that to someone that I once was but no longer am. That brings up a question that I have for you. Why did you not want me to go to the edge of town? I mean, we obviously live in town, so why were scared of me to go elsewhere within it?"
"Not every part of the city is equally safe. The edge is the least safe because the guards, admittedly, need to be fired. They were once soldiers and have seen terrible and bloody battles. They're not quite mentally stable and act rashly. It's very dangerous to approach them from behind," he explained. Then, as an afterthought he added, "There are also many rocky foothills just behind the guards. Some people say there's a lot of magic around there. So, of course, you have to go out there."
I thought about what he was saying. That actually would make sense, seeing as the first thing I remembered was almost having my hair singed off. That also would explain why it took so long to get back here, which was evidently near the center of town. I guess I had to believe his story; there wasn't any other story for me to believe. I nodded and poked my rice with the chopsticks.
"Well, what do we do now? I can't just go on, knowing nothing about myself and pretending like everything's perfectly normal."
"I guess I will have to reteach all that I knew about your life. Obviously, I didn't know everything. There was plenty of stuff you kept secret from me, but I'll try to help you get your memory back."
We spent the rest of the meal eating in silence.
I felt very weary on the way back to my room. I don't know if it was because my head was spinning from this overwhelming day or if I'd just eaten too much. Either way, my head hit the pillow, and I fell asleep instantaneously. My dream gave me a worst headache than my day had given me. It looked like I was in a dark space looking out into the entrance hall. I had to be in a side closet because I didn't have a clear view of the room. There were two men in the room, my dad and a man I didn't recognize. They were both dressed in armor, as though this were a battlefield instead of a mansion.
I could tell Dad was yelling and that he was frustrated, but I couldn't tell what he was saying. He screamed "ARGGGGHHHHH!" but in a masculine way. Then fire shot out of his fist, he stormed upstairs, and the other guy walked as calmly as he could out of the house. The door slammed, and I woke up.
So, my dad could do that thing with fire that the guard had done, and he was in the military. No, I was being ridiculous. That was just a dream. It was probably just my thoughts from the previous day mixing themselves in my brain. On the other hand, was that just a memory of the thousands that I'd lost? I didn't really want it to come to this, but after a few minutes of indecision, I decided I'd have to ask him at breakfast. (Knowing nothing sure does suck.)
