As requested by ImmortalSpuffy202, here is my first ever fanfiction! I do not own Professor Layton or the characters. Spoilers for Miracle Mask ahead.
"Ugh..." I groaned, opening my eyes to find myself on a bed in a bright room. Everything was blurry and my head hurt terribly. All I could think about was the awful pain. Putting my hand to my head, I tried to stop the dizziness. Everything was clearing up slowly, but my head still ached. I looked around the simple room that was filled with an orange sunset glow. As the beautiful light streamed in through the windows, I tried to figure out what had happened and how I got here, but I couldn't. My head was pounding, I didn't even want to think. Why was I here? Why did my head hurt so badly? What day was it? The questions kept coming, but my empty head had no answered. As more questions filled my head, the quicker my heart pounded in nervousness.
Trying to observe my surroundings, I lowered my hand from my head and put it by my side. I attempted to sit up, but my entire body ached with a stiffness which caused me to collapse back into the bed. As I lay in pain, I heard footsteps approaching my bedside. I looked up to see a teenage girl glowing in the sunlight.
"Be careful," She said, her hazel eyes filled with concern. The top of her long, light brown hair was pulled back out of her delicate face. She was beautiful. Although I was panicked and not understanding anything at all, looking at her gave me a certain peace inside. For a moment, I wondered if I was dead. Maybe I had forgotten everything from a painful life on earth and this was a new start in the afterlife... but that couldn't be. I still was in pain. The girl continued to speak. "One of the villagers found you unconscious next to the river. He brought you here for my father to take care of you. He is the village doctor, so you have nothing to worry about," The girl finished. As my vision cleared up further, I realised that she was wearing a rather plain patterned dress with an apron. "How are you feeling?"
I gave the captivating girl a blank stare, and then a puzzled look as I tried to think. "Not good... my head hurts," I admitted.
"Do you know how you ended up in the river?"
I thought another moment. "I- I don't think I was in a river... I don't know... I can't remember," I put a hand back on my head. Thinking only made my head hurt worse.
"What's the last thing you can remember?" She said, her deep eyes growing wider.
My breathing became quicker as my panic grew. "I- I don't know. I don't..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Then just tell me anything you can remember. Anything at all. What's your name?"
"I don't know!" My voice shook, wondering what was wrong with me. I groaned, clutching my pounding head in both of my hands. My head couldn't take any more questions. This was too overwhelming.
The girl walked over to a silver basin, took a wet cloth out of it, and rung it out. She came back over to the bed and pressed it onto my forehead. I closed my eyes and sighed of relief as the cool rag calmed my pounding headache. She dabbed the wet cloth against the temples of my aching head as she spoke. "Don't think anymore. It's okay if you can't remember anything right now. Just take it easy."
"Thank you..." I sighed with my eyes still closed.
"You're welcome. I'm Eden. I work here with my father as a nurse, you could say. He will be happy to see that you're awake when he arrives home. You were unconscious for a little over a day."
Just then, the door opened. A tall man walked in, who was a bit more professionally dressed than Eden. "I'm home, Eden!"
"Oh, Father, the boy is awake," Eden said.
"I see. How do you feel, Son," Eden's father asked.
Knowing I was too exhausted for questions, Eden spoke for me. "He can't remember anything. His head is hurting him terribly."
"Hmm... I'm afraid we can't do much about missing memories," He turned and looked at me. "But we can help you recover and get back on your feet, and perhaps you'll start to remember things over time. If not, everyone is welcome here in Craggy Dale. It's too early to tell anything yet. The best thing to do right now is rest and regain your strength."
During the rest of the evening, Eden kept me company as I rested. I was very confused and disoriented, but she helped keep me at ease. She offered me food, but I wasn't hungry. I wasn't quiet sure what I was going to do with myself, but I tried to keep thinking to a minimum, since it caused my head to pulsate in pain. I fell into a deep sleep that night, with many questions still flooding my mind, one question standing out the most: Who am I?