Fleeing from her uncle had never been something Maria had imagined doing, but now that it happened, she had to think, and quickly. She went to the one place she knew - Cherry Lane. Her parents used to bring her here, and watch the birds. The street, as she remembered, was always sunny and bright. Now, it was pouring rain, thunder roaring through her ears. She kept running, panting for air, and finally found it difficult to go any further. Standing in the middle of the road for a moment, she caught eyes with someone sitting under the porch of the local confectionary shop.

Then, the world around her went black, and she fell to the ground.

"Help! Help! Please, someone, a girl has blacked out! She needs care and medical attention!" a man shouted. He raked his hand through his hair, kneeling at the girl's side. He couldn't imagine what this girl had been through.

When he finally realized there was no one around to help, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to his home, determined on nursing her back to health.

Later on, Maria's eyes fluttered open to the sound of a fire crackling, the feeling of a warm, wet washcloth on her forehead and a soft blanket wrapped around her body. Her wet sundress had been replaced with a new nightgown, which was rather large on her. When the sleep had cleared out of her eyes, she saw a man sitting at her side, stroking her hair and looking at her with deep concern.

"Well, good morning," he whispered in a soft, gentle tone. "You've been through quite a lot. Please, don't try to sit up quickly. I don't want you to slip away again."

She nodded, slowly propping herself up against the mountain of pillows behind her.

"Where am I? Who are you?" she questioned, removing the cloth from her forehead.

"I'm Captain Georg Ritter Von Trapp, but you may call me Georg. You fainted, so I took you here, to my home. You looked like you were running from the Devil himself!"

Absorbing his words, Maria grew confused. She didn't remember any of that. Then, upon further reflection, she realized she didn't remember anything! Not even her name, or where she came from!

"Do you know who I am?" she asked, fear beginning to grow inside her.

"No, I was hoping you could tell me." he smiled lightly at her, not realizing the child's situation.

"I'm afraid I can't, sir...I don't know who I am..."

Georg's eyes grew wide when he realized that this poor child had amnesia.

"Georg? What's going on?" another unfamiliar voice to Maria walked through the door. It was a woman, who looked about the same age as Georg. Holding onto her was a younger girl, probably no older than four or five. "Mama, who's that girl?" she asked, staring at Maria.

"Run along, Liesl. Go get ready for bed." "Agathe, this girl fainted in the middle of the street. Now, she has amnesia. Do you know who she is? Have you seen her before?" Georg asked urgently.

"Yes...yes, I believe I have. I believe her name is Maria. I don't know much else, but my friends have mentioned her before." she said, kneeling next to Georg, watching the girl carefully.

"Maria..." he mused. The name rolled off his tongue with ease.

"Maria, would you like something to eat? I imagine you must be hungry." Agathe said soothingly.

"No, thank you...I am rather tired, though."

"Alright, we'll let you rest. Goodnight, Maria." Georg smiled as he shut the door behind him.

Maria... she thought. She tried to absorb her "new" name, whispering it out loud a few times, hoping it might jog some sort of memory. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, trying to imagine what her life from now on would hold.