CHAPTER 1

She woke up to a man with chestnut hair and blue eyes pounding his hands on her heart. It was a frantic environment with many people in a small space. There was an obnoxious siren in the background. She realized she was in an ambulance. The staff had stopped CPR and were rushing frantically within the cramped environment.

"Where am I?"

"That's a miracle your talking little girl!" A young, rosy-cheeked nurse sounded very concerned for her safety. She wore black pants, an eggshell colored shirt, and a metal stethoscope that shined off the lights flashing in the claustrophobic car. Her voice sounded like heaven to the girl right now. She had a sweet southern accent. "What's your name sweetheart?"

The girl thought about it for such a long time it felt like hours had elapsed. I don't know. How can I not know my own name. What's wrong with me?

"Darling, are you okay?" Her voice still sounded calm and comforting in the crazed ambulance. Listening to her surroundings, the girl figured out that they were arriving at the hospital soon. She was considered an emergency case. "Hello? Can you hear me little girl?"

"Yeah. I'm just a little distracted." She tried to reach her last minute thoughts on what her name could possibly be. She couldn't think of anything. "I don't know."

"Okay, darling. Don't worry! We're going to get you some help." She left to the other side of the ambulance. The girl felt empty without her there. Things started to become hazy for her eyesight. Her head felt light. She heard a machine next to her making an alarming sound. Her vision was pitch black. She couldn't see anything anymore.

She couldn't see, but she could hear as clear as day. She heard the southern lady talking to a man with a low but sweet voice. She heard the lady talking about her.

"The girl is in critical condition, doctor! I've never seen a case so bad. I believe she has head trauma, since she couldn't remember her name. Please take care of her! She's special to me!"

"It's okay Lily. Everything will be fine. We will do the best we can to help her."

A loud buzzer went off. There were muffled voices in the background. "I have to get back in the ambulance. Please do the best you can!" The obnoxious siren sounded again. The girl would have closed her ears if she could.

While the ambulance rushed to save another person in need, the girl was strapped to a mobile stretcher and pushed into the emergency room department. The white-tiled floors were tainted with dirt and sweat. The blue-green walls dim from the horrible lighting. The girl could hear more than five voices from the room. She could hear the doctor Lily was talking to earlier and plenty others. She could hear a heart monitor making a constant noise to her right. Her vision started to come back in tunnel vision. As it grew bigger she saw two strangers talk about her to the doctor. They were her neighbors.

The skinny, tall woman was in a state of pure panic. She had short blonde hair which swayed as she kept telling the doctor her side of what happened to the girl. The man on the other hand was a bit chubbier but had more muscle. It looked like he went to a gym on a weekly basis. He had midnight black hair that seemed dingy to the girl.

"We heard screams from her house the previous night. We figured that her family was watching a scary movie. They scare each other all the time, but they love each other with all their hearts!" The lady's voice was quiet but confident. "When we didn't see any of her siblings go off for school, we assumed something was wrong and went inside the house. We called 911 when we saw Alicia on the floor with blood everywhere."

So my name is Alicia. I had family that I loved. Apparently I had siblings, but why can I not remember this for myself. What happened that night? Was I close to my neighbors enough that they were generally worried about me? I need to ask them. I need to find out! Alicia tried to speak up, but her voice must have been shot from the previous night.

"Will she be okay doctor?" The man had a rugged tone of sincere concern for Alicia. The couple looked scared that they might lose a dear friend.

"She will be okay for now. We have to administer some tests yet. After that, it will just be observation. Can we get your names to put on record? Unless you know of her parent's whereabouts."

The man spoke with a deeper sound quality this time. "I can check Alicia's house for her parents after this visit. For now honey, I believe we should give the hospital our name and number. My name is Theo. This is my wife Violet." The man said his phone number in such a soft tone that it was inaudible to Alicia. She strained to hear but fell asleep after being exhausted from her experience today.

Alicia woke up to the doctor's voice talking on a phone. "Are you sure sir? There is no trace of Alicia's parents? Well, thanks for the information. We will stay in contact with you. Bye."

What? No parents in the blink of an eye? What happened to them? Did I do something so bad that they would disappear on me like that? But the blood in the house my neighbors described. Was it mine?

Or someone else's?