Chapter 29

SPOV

I woke with a start to the sound of someone opening the door, where was I? Had they found me and locked me up in here? When I saw Ines walk into the room carrying clothes I let out a deep breath.

"Did I frighten you? I'm sorry but I thought maybe you could have dinner with me downstairs"
"That would nice, thank you for the clothes"

"Stop thanking me, there is no price for what I do to help you"
No price, I'm sure my eyes went wide open as those words hit a chord in my memory, no price, someone I knew well had said that to me.

"Did you remember something?"
"No price, someone important to me says that"
"Good, then if we keep jogging your memory it will come back to you"

I turned on the water for the shower as I used the toilet then undressed and stepped into the warm spray of water, it felt refreshing as I used the lavender soap and matching shampoo. I didn't stay in long as the water hitting my head started it to ache again and as I lifted my hand to turn off the water it was shaking again, what was that about? Maybe I needed to eat. I dried and then finger combed my hair looking around for something to tie it back in a ponytail with. Nothing so I let it hang down my back to dry, there was the memory of someone pushing a curl from my face and saying he loved my wild curls, maybe the man with the brown eyes? Downstairs I found Ines in the small kitchen using a ladle to pour something that looked like stew into a bowl.

"Beef Bourguignon. You'll love it. It's typically French"
"What makes it so special, it smells wonderful"
"Smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped onion, crushed garlic, red wine, tomato purée"

She carried both of the bowls to a small table where there was already bread set out in a basket. The meal was as good as it smelt, tasty and filling and soon I had a clean plate in front of me, my stomach felt full and the headache was now just a dull reminder in my head. I helped Ines clear the dishes into the dishwasher and then we sat on the couch with a coffee. I wasn't sure what Ines was up to but I steeled myself for what was sure to come.

"Okay lay your head back and close your eyes, I'm going to say a word and you say the first thing that comes into your head"
All right it might work but I wasn't confident about it.

"Mother"
"Father"
"Brother"
"Sister"

"Dog"
"Hamster"
"Why hamster?"
"I can see a hamster"
"What's he called?"
"I don't know"

"Okay let's try again"

We spent the next half hour with Ines calling out words and me giving a word in response, but none of them conjured up any memories. Eventually she gave up, which was all right with me because I was beginning to feel nothing would kick start my brain. The TV came on and we were sat watching the news when there was a report of a military plane crash in Puerto Rico and for some reason my heart started beating faster and I had an overwhelming feeling of dread.

"What is it Anges?"

"I don't know, but seeing that made me feel anxious"
"Do you think you know someone in the military?"
"Maybe"

"Can you picture a uniform?"
"No, nothing"

"Go choose a film from the collection, but I warn you they're old"
I kneeled down in front of a unit that held some DVDs and for some strange reason smiled when I saw Ghostbusters, I knew this film, I was sure of it, so handed it to Ines to put into the player. We sat watching, laughing and crying at the antics in the film and I knew that this was one of my favorite films, I could remember what happened before it came on. So why could I remember a dam film but not who I was? I felt so disappointed and even though Ines tried to cheer me up I know I felt despondent, wondering what to do next, I couldn't stay here living like this but what else could I do?

"How about I show you around tomorrow morning to cheer you up, my manager's taking care of the café for me?"
"I'd like that"
"Good, I'll wake you up at 7 and we'll do the tourist route"