Memories

Life at the ranch was nice. It was fairly routine: get up in the morning, eat breakfast, do a few mundane tasks, fixing broken fences, chopping wood, shoeing a horse or two. Come in and eat lunch. Drive to Dalewood the nearest town about fifteen miles away from the ranch to get a couple things for the Thompson's. Then come back to the ranch, eat dinner and go to bed.
In the morning it would start up all over again. Same old, same old. Like an ever turning wheel of life. No variations just the same set pattern.
He had come home from the hospital almost four months ago and he still didn't remember a single thing from his life before his car accident. That was all right, the Thompson's said. It'll come back to you in time, they told him.
But it didn't and Zack or Adam as he was known, was starting to get worried even though he didn't show it. His memories weren't coming back at all and he was plagued by strange dreams.
Dreams of little kids about ten with barcodes on the back of their necks, like the one on his. The kids had sad eyes, eyes too old to belong to kids their age. He dreamed of breaking glass, flashing lights, sirens going off, bitter cold, pain and an overwhelming sense of failure. Failure to do what Adam didn't know.
But most of all he dreamed about the girl. The girl with long brown hair and sorrowful brown eyes. The girl who had said no, when he asked if he knew her in the hospital waiting room as he was discharged from the hospital. And the feelings of protectiveness and determination and love, he always felt when he saw her in his dreams.
She was in his dreams very often, almost every night. Dreams of her happy and sad, with blood covering her and with tears falling down her cheeks. With her laugh ringing through the air and a happy light in her eyes. She haunted him, and Adam for the life of him couldn't figure out why.
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Adam moaned in his sleep and turned over on to his side as he slept. The girl's face floated above him. She was crying, her face streaked with tears and an expression of absolute sadness on her face. She kept shaking her head and murmuring over and over again, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me."
Adam felt a pang in his heart. He didn't want her to be sorry for whatever she was sorry for. She shouldn't be sad and be crying. She should be laughing and happy. He felt the feelings of love and protectiveness wash over him. He started to reach for her, to tell her, he forgived her. To make her stop crying and stop feeling sad. He didn't want her to cry. He didn't want her to be sad.
Suddenly a loud ringing noise cut through his dream.
Adam bolted up right. The alarm clock kept ringing. It's glowing red numbers read six a.m. Adam reached over and turned off the alarm clock. Pushing back the covers he got out of bed. He dressed quickly. From downstairs the smell of coffee, eggs, bacon and toast drifted up.
Adam's stomach in response rumbled loudly. Adam walked silently across the bedroom to the door. He paused, his hand on the knob. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He was tall and lean He had blond hair that was slightly mussed up from tossing and turning as he slept. His blue eyes had a slightly haunted look in them.
Suddenly, his reflection blurred, and in it's place, staring at him was the girl. Tears were rolling down her face. Her brown eyes were stricken and begging. She was pleading over and over again for forgiveness.
From somewhere far off someone was screaming. That person was him. There was a sound of shattering glass, a shard cut him in the cheek. Blackness flooded his vision.