Have you ever felt that your life was a depthless pool that you were slowly
drowning in? The stress of everyday life can sometimes get to people, but
are your problems intolerable torture? Did you have the only woman you ever
cared about in your life forget about you, completely unaware of the times
you had together? Were you forced to see her everyday, live in the same
place as her, listen to her talk about the uselessness of love as if you
were never a part of her life?
Was she in love with another man?
Yeah, it's possible for something this bad to happen to someone. It's kind of inconceivable. Hell, I still can't believe it happened to me. I bet you wouldn't believe it, either. My story's a sad one, and quite...unforgettable.
Her name was Ann, and she was the light of my life. I met her in a harbor side bar as she attempted to brawl with a few of the drunkards there. Apparently, one of the brawny guys asked why a wimpy little broad like her was trying to hold her liquor in a man's bar, and that got her started. If she had punched him, he probably would've laughed it off and pretended it didn't hurt, having his cronies give her the boot.
But Ann knew better than to let that happen to her. She scored him a knee in the groin, and an elbow on the back of his head when he doubled over in anguish. The elbow knocked him out, and Ann would have left the bar, victorious, if it weren't for the man's henchmen. When I entered the bar, spectators were grouped into a circle, watching a tomboy fight with three overgrown, brainless masses of flesh.
What else could I do but jump into the fray? With the combination of Ann's wrath and sense of self-preservation, my natural inclination to play the hero, and the cronies' stupidity and large alcohol intake, we won the fight pretty easily. I came out of it with a black eye, and Ann with a torn shirtsleeve, but aside for that, we were just about untouched. The spectators cheered, and brought us a couple of beers on the house, as well as an icepack for my eye.
She turned and smiled at me. "Thanks, stranger," she said. "What's your name and where're you from?"
I returned her grin. "The name's Cliff," I replied. "I'm not from anywhere in particular. I guess I'm kind of a vagabond. What about you?"
"I'm Ann," she said. "I'm from a little island off the coast of here. It's called Mineral Town, and it's kind of a farming community. Great place, though. My dad runs an inn there, and I work all day."
I laughed, but cut it short when my eye reminded me of its condition with a flood of pain. "I guess your ability to hold your booze comes from being an innkeeper's daughter, huh?"
Ann grabbed her mug of beer and gulped a portion of it down. "Damn straight!"
Ann and I talked until late in the night. At about 4 am, we decided that we should each be on our separate ways. Ann's father would kill her for staying out so late, and she didn't want to further his anger by staying out for a whole day. Sadly, we parted - but not before I got her phone number and address. She couldn't write to me because of my travels, but I told her I would write to her whenever I got the chance.
She gave me an incredulous laugh. "I'm sure you say that to all the girls you meet on your travels."
"Of course not!" I exclaimed, offended. "I don't meet too many girls that appeal to me." I laughed for a moment, and then continued. "I definitely have yet to find another girl that can hold her own in a bar fight."
She smiled sweetly and hugged me. "I don't think there are any other guys in the world that are quite like you, Cliff," she said. Her head rested against my neck, and I felt her warm breath as she whispered in my ear.
"What do you say to a night you'll never forget?"
Now, I was no virgin, but to this day I've never had an experience quite like that. Those exquisite bursts of feelings that ran through me that night...back then, I thought it was just the liquor, but today I know now what it really was: love. Love! Can you imagine? Me, Cliff, in love? How odd! It could never happen!
But it did.
My travels continued on. I wrote to Ann every once in a while, and talked to her on the phone when I could. Our conversations tended to evolve from innocent "how's life?" conversations to some very...interesting subjects. I couldn't talk to her on quiet restaurant payphones anymore because of them; I had to venture out to noisy bars so that no one would hear us talking, or pay attention to any...reactions I had to the phone calls. They say that when a girl's sexuality is restricted, it floods outwards in leaps and bounds when it's finally unleashed.
Ann must've lived a very sheltered life.
Though it had been over a year since I left Ann on the ferry back to her little island, I remained pure. Sure, some cheap sluts on the streets had mad me some offers, but I refused, not even tempted. By this point in time, I had realized that there was something special about Ann, something I could never find in another woman and wouldn't be content without. I made up my mind: I had to go visit her, for my sanity's sake.
I made my way back to the shady seaside town I met her in a year ago. The bar was full of the same type of characters as it had been back then, though I didn't see those four punks that we beat the crap out of back then. The bartender tipped his hat to me as I walked by, obviously recognizing me. The laws of human nature say that a person hates to be forgotten, which is why they try so hard to make it into the history books. It seemed that I had made a name for myself in this little village. Those thugs would be telling their children about how a seven-foot-tall man with muscles bigger than their heads rushed in and beat them up just because they were trying to pick up a sleazily-dressed prostitute that the man had slept with before.
Oh, I had to tell Ann that one. She'd get a kick out of that. I walked toward the rusty payphone in the back of the room, ready to tell Ann my new little fictional story, and dug a couple of quarters out of my pocket. I put them in the coin slot and shifted comfortably against the wall, ready for a long conversation. I was feeling very upbeat in anticipation of the next day. I was going to see Ann again!
"Hello?" said a voice on the other line. Ann's voice. So sweet and cheerful...that voice had brought me out of the pits more than once over the past year.
"Hey, doll face." I grinned to myself. That term had to be the least romantic term in the world, and I knew she agreed with me.
"Excuse me?" she said, sounding aggravated. "Can I help you?"
I laughed. When had she come up with this new game? "I can think of a bunch of ways you can help me, baby..." With that, I started to list of a number of dirty things, imagining the blush spreading on her cheeks on the other end. How I longed to kiss those cheeks!
My little speech was interrupted by a click on the other end of the line. I stared at the mouthpiece, dumbfounded, until I heard a steady beeping. Ann hung up on me! I hastily pulled out some more quarters and called her back.
"Hel-"
"Ann, I'm so sorry!" I cried. "I didn't know you weren't in the mood to talk like that! Please forgive me!"
"What?" exclaimed the voice. In my haste to apologize to Ann, I hadn't realized that a man had picked up the phone. His voice was gruff, and he sounded like he was in his early 50's. I'd never had him pick up the phone before, but I figured that he was her father, Doug.
I decided to make sure. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is this Doug?"
"Yeah," said the voice. Judging by his tone of voice, he didn't want to put up with any shit just now. "What d'ya want with Ann?"
"I'm her friend, Cliff. I met Ann a year ago at a bar off the coast of Mineral Town, and have been talking with her through letters and over the phone regularly since then. I guess she didn't recognize my voice just now, and my choice of words might have been a little too...intimate."
"Oh," said Doug. It seemed like I managed to placate him. "Ann told me about you." He hesitated, swallowed. "I have some bad news to tell you, Cliff. You may want to sit down for a minute."
I grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it, worried. Has something bad happened to Ann?
"Two weeks ago, Ann was swimming with some of her friends down at the beach. She accidentally dove into shallow water and hit her head on a rock. Her friends managed to get her to the doctor in time, so she's alive and well. There's only one problem." He swallowed. "As an effect of hitting her head so hard, Ann got amnesia. We've reintroduced her to the entire village, and she's been getting to know everyone all over again. I hate to tell you this, Cliff," he said. I could tell he was trying hard to hold back tears, as was I.
"Ann doesn't remember a thing about you."
The room spun about me in dizzying circles, a blur of nonsensical colors in front of my face. Ha. Great prank. Of course Ann remembered me. She loved me! I loved her! There was nothing that could change that. Nothing! Nothing!!!
I felt a hand slap my face, hard, and realized I had been laughing hysterically. The bartender caught my eyes and shook his head, holding out a mug of some frothy stuff. "It's on the house, bud," he said. "Didn't mean to slap ya so hard." He walked back behind the counter.
I looked over at the payphone. The phone was hanging down, with a faint voice calling from it. I put the receiver up to my ear.
"Cliff? Hello?" Doug's voice came from the other end, sounding worried. I breathed heavily into the phone, letting him know that I was still there. "Oh, Cliff, I thought I lost you," he said.
"Listen, Cliff, I know how hard this is for you. And those aren't just words, believe me. You've only known her for a year. I raised this girl with my bare hands, loved her from the day she was born, but she still had no idea who I was. I'm still trying to get my baby to love me again, and I know it will never be the same as it was before...unless I can get her to remember." He sighed painfully.
"I know you two were in love," he said. "I've seen some of the letters you've written to her. Maybe, if you come to the village, she'll recognize you. Maybe she'll remember you. Can you come down?"
I felt a ray of warm hope fill me, air-drying my tearstained cheeks. "I'm at that seaside port right now, Doug," I said. "I was planning on coming down tomorrow; that's why I called in the first place. Do you really think she'll remember?"
Doug laughed lightly. "I hope so," he said. "I just want my little girl back."
I smiled. "I'll be there tomorrow."
***
I boarded the small ferry at dawn the next day. Some storm clouds overhead sent a light drizzle cascading downwards, but the conditions were fine for a little sea travel. I was the only person on board beside the crew of three. The captain smiled at me as I walked on, but the sailors didn't even acknowledge my presence. The captain was an aging man with dark skin and fluffy white hair, who looked like he was made for the sea. The crewmembers appeared to be his relatives. They both seemed a little upset about something, but I honestly didn't care enough to ask.
"Welcome aboard," said the captain. "I'm Greg, and I'll be sailing this little ship today. Have a seat over there by my crew, young man, and we'll be off. The trip's only a half hour, so just sit back and enjoy the ride."
I sat down a where he indicated, dropping my bag at my feet. There didn't seem to be too much to do on the ferry, and the two men near me just sat there the whole time. They were talking in low tones about something they obviously didn't want Greg to hear, gesticulating at a blueprint of what seemed to be the ferry. I decided to ignore them.
Ann. I was so glad that she was alive! What would I have done if Doug had told me she was dead? I probably wouldn't be overhearing a conversation at the moment. Most likely, I'd be fish food.
A small island loomed ahead of us. A deserted beach lay beyond the dock we landed at. Of course it was deserted; who would be at the beach when it's raining, even during the summer? Greg got off the ferry, and motioned for me to do so as well. "The boys are going to clean the decks before we set off again, so I'm free for now. What's your business here, young man?"
"I'm going to the Inn," I replied.
"All right," said Greg. "Just follow me."
As we started to walk away, I heard an odd noise coming from the area of the ship. I turned around to see the two men that had stayed aboard leaving the dock.
"Look!" I cried. Greg turned around as well. A look of fury crossed his face. He ran toward the dock, shaking his fist.
"No! You boys come back here this instant! I mean it!" In return, the two men on the deck turned and flipped him the bird, laughing. Greg shook his head hopelessly. "Looks like we're gonna be here for a long while, young man."
"Where will you stay?" I asked. I wanted to get to Ann as quickly as possible, but I didn't want to leave an old man all by himself.
"Don't worry about me," Greg said. "I've got a place to stay. The Inn's over that way, so you can head on over there, if you like."
I nodded. "Thanks for the lift."
The Inn was a two story building in the center of Mineral Town. When I walked in, my heart skipped a beat. There she was, serving a table. She turned to me, smiling.
But it wasn't a loving, happy smile. She smiled at me politely, as if greeting a stranger. "Hello," she said. "Welcome to the Inn. I'm Ann. Can I help you?"
This was going to take a while.
Over the summer season and half of autumn, I got to know Ann again. Doug had warned me not to mention her amnesia. She might think that I was trying to take advantage of her, and I knew that she would defend herself if she thought of me that way. I valued my ability to produce children, and steered clear of that topic. It wasn't easy, though. All I wanted to do was shake her shoulders and tell her how much I loved her, how much I wanted things to be like they used to be. The good thing was that she was starting to get a sort of crush on me. Our relationship was going somewhere again! Once she trusted me, I could tell her the truth of the situation!
But nothing in life is that simple.
Around mid-autumn, a newcomer came to the village. Apparently, he was filling in for an old farmer who had recently died. His name was Jack, and he took an immediate liking to Ann. He came to the Inn every day, giving her things her found and thought she'd like.
Now, you'd think that I would hate a guy that was going after the woman I loved. The thing was, though, that Jack was a really nice guy. When I started to get low on cash at the end of the season, he turned me on to a job at the local vineyard. That winter, when I worked a little too hard in the snow, he dragged me off to the doctor's office when I passed out. Jack was one of my best friends. And the best part? Ann didn't even like him back!
The following spring was wonderful. I had a secure job, a roof over my head, a best friend, and I was on the way to having the love of my life trust me enough for me to tell her the truth! Every day at noon, Ann would come to bring me a little food at the vineyard. We'd talk for a little while, and then she'd go back to the Inn. Everything just seemed too good to be true.
You know, I really hate that saying.
One day, as Ann and I were chatting together in the vineyard, Jack walked by. I waved and started to call him over, but Ann shook her head, paling.
"No!" she said softly. But Jack had seen me, and sat with us under the tree. "What's up?" he asked.
"Just having my daily snack with Ann," I replied. "Care to join us?" Jack looked at Ann, a little sharply. I saw her shrink back with fear, and wondered what was going on.
"Do you have these picnics...every day?" said Jack. He was still facing Ann, but I figured that he was talking to me.
"Yeah," I said. I laughed in an attempt to break the tension that had suddenly sprung up between us. "It's great to have some food after working so hard!"
Jack nodded slowly. "I guess I'll be going, then," he said, and got up. Just as he was walking away, Ann jumped up and hurried after him.
"Jack, wait!" she spun him around and held him close to her. "It's not what you think!"
"I think it is," he said, and tried to turn around again.
"Jack!" Ann spun him around and pressed her lips against his. "You know I love you! Why doubt it?"
Jack shook his head, trying to pull away. "Cliff's a vagabond with a story to tell, and I'm just the average Joe. There's nothing special about me."
Ann looked him straight in the eye. "I don't think there are any other guys in the world that are quite like you, Jack." Jack smiled and put his arm around her, and they walked off together.
I felt hollow. I remembered the day that those exact same words were spoken to me, whispered lovingly into my ear. Were they meaningless? Did I mean nothing to her anymore?
I found myself back at the Inn, sitting on Ann's bed in the back room. It was now or never. I had to blow it, to tell her the real reason I came to the village. I heard the door creak open, and saw her step inside. Her hair was messy; she had obviously been doing something with Jack that should have been reserved for me. She turned around, gasping when she saw me in her room.
"Cliff!" she said. "I-"
I stood and walked over to her. "Ann," I said, "you have to remember. I know it's hard, but you have to try. Don't you remember me, Ann? Can't you remember those times we had together, before the accident at the beach?"
She looked at me, more than a little frightened. "How did you know about that?" she asked. "I never told you anything about that!"
I held her steady, telling her the story. Our story. She shook her head. "Cliff, even if that's true, you have to understand: I don't remember any of this. Whatever might have happened between us just isn't real to me. I love Jack. We can still be friends, though." She smiled, that horribly impersonal, polite smile. "Now go on up to your room. I'm tired!"
I walked away, a numb feeling spreading within me. Could it get any worse than this? I was nothing to her, nothing at all. I was the invisible man, unknown, unwanted.
Forgotten.
Was she in love with another man?
Yeah, it's possible for something this bad to happen to someone. It's kind of inconceivable. Hell, I still can't believe it happened to me. I bet you wouldn't believe it, either. My story's a sad one, and quite...unforgettable.
Her name was Ann, and she was the light of my life. I met her in a harbor side bar as she attempted to brawl with a few of the drunkards there. Apparently, one of the brawny guys asked why a wimpy little broad like her was trying to hold her liquor in a man's bar, and that got her started. If she had punched him, he probably would've laughed it off and pretended it didn't hurt, having his cronies give her the boot.
But Ann knew better than to let that happen to her. She scored him a knee in the groin, and an elbow on the back of his head when he doubled over in anguish. The elbow knocked him out, and Ann would have left the bar, victorious, if it weren't for the man's henchmen. When I entered the bar, spectators were grouped into a circle, watching a tomboy fight with three overgrown, brainless masses of flesh.
What else could I do but jump into the fray? With the combination of Ann's wrath and sense of self-preservation, my natural inclination to play the hero, and the cronies' stupidity and large alcohol intake, we won the fight pretty easily. I came out of it with a black eye, and Ann with a torn shirtsleeve, but aside for that, we were just about untouched. The spectators cheered, and brought us a couple of beers on the house, as well as an icepack for my eye.
She turned and smiled at me. "Thanks, stranger," she said. "What's your name and where're you from?"
I returned her grin. "The name's Cliff," I replied. "I'm not from anywhere in particular. I guess I'm kind of a vagabond. What about you?"
"I'm Ann," she said. "I'm from a little island off the coast of here. It's called Mineral Town, and it's kind of a farming community. Great place, though. My dad runs an inn there, and I work all day."
I laughed, but cut it short when my eye reminded me of its condition with a flood of pain. "I guess your ability to hold your booze comes from being an innkeeper's daughter, huh?"
Ann grabbed her mug of beer and gulped a portion of it down. "Damn straight!"
Ann and I talked until late in the night. At about 4 am, we decided that we should each be on our separate ways. Ann's father would kill her for staying out so late, and she didn't want to further his anger by staying out for a whole day. Sadly, we parted - but not before I got her phone number and address. She couldn't write to me because of my travels, but I told her I would write to her whenever I got the chance.
She gave me an incredulous laugh. "I'm sure you say that to all the girls you meet on your travels."
"Of course not!" I exclaimed, offended. "I don't meet too many girls that appeal to me." I laughed for a moment, and then continued. "I definitely have yet to find another girl that can hold her own in a bar fight."
She smiled sweetly and hugged me. "I don't think there are any other guys in the world that are quite like you, Cliff," she said. Her head rested against my neck, and I felt her warm breath as she whispered in my ear.
"What do you say to a night you'll never forget?"
Now, I was no virgin, but to this day I've never had an experience quite like that. Those exquisite bursts of feelings that ran through me that night...back then, I thought it was just the liquor, but today I know now what it really was: love. Love! Can you imagine? Me, Cliff, in love? How odd! It could never happen!
But it did.
My travels continued on. I wrote to Ann every once in a while, and talked to her on the phone when I could. Our conversations tended to evolve from innocent "how's life?" conversations to some very...interesting subjects. I couldn't talk to her on quiet restaurant payphones anymore because of them; I had to venture out to noisy bars so that no one would hear us talking, or pay attention to any...reactions I had to the phone calls. They say that when a girl's sexuality is restricted, it floods outwards in leaps and bounds when it's finally unleashed.
Ann must've lived a very sheltered life.
Though it had been over a year since I left Ann on the ferry back to her little island, I remained pure. Sure, some cheap sluts on the streets had mad me some offers, but I refused, not even tempted. By this point in time, I had realized that there was something special about Ann, something I could never find in another woman and wouldn't be content without. I made up my mind: I had to go visit her, for my sanity's sake.
I made my way back to the shady seaside town I met her in a year ago. The bar was full of the same type of characters as it had been back then, though I didn't see those four punks that we beat the crap out of back then. The bartender tipped his hat to me as I walked by, obviously recognizing me. The laws of human nature say that a person hates to be forgotten, which is why they try so hard to make it into the history books. It seemed that I had made a name for myself in this little village. Those thugs would be telling their children about how a seven-foot-tall man with muscles bigger than their heads rushed in and beat them up just because they were trying to pick up a sleazily-dressed prostitute that the man had slept with before.
Oh, I had to tell Ann that one. She'd get a kick out of that. I walked toward the rusty payphone in the back of the room, ready to tell Ann my new little fictional story, and dug a couple of quarters out of my pocket. I put them in the coin slot and shifted comfortably against the wall, ready for a long conversation. I was feeling very upbeat in anticipation of the next day. I was going to see Ann again!
"Hello?" said a voice on the other line. Ann's voice. So sweet and cheerful...that voice had brought me out of the pits more than once over the past year.
"Hey, doll face." I grinned to myself. That term had to be the least romantic term in the world, and I knew she agreed with me.
"Excuse me?" she said, sounding aggravated. "Can I help you?"
I laughed. When had she come up with this new game? "I can think of a bunch of ways you can help me, baby..." With that, I started to list of a number of dirty things, imagining the blush spreading on her cheeks on the other end. How I longed to kiss those cheeks!
My little speech was interrupted by a click on the other end of the line. I stared at the mouthpiece, dumbfounded, until I heard a steady beeping. Ann hung up on me! I hastily pulled out some more quarters and called her back.
"Hel-"
"Ann, I'm so sorry!" I cried. "I didn't know you weren't in the mood to talk like that! Please forgive me!"
"What?" exclaimed the voice. In my haste to apologize to Ann, I hadn't realized that a man had picked up the phone. His voice was gruff, and he sounded like he was in his early 50's. I'd never had him pick up the phone before, but I figured that he was her father, Doug.
I decided to make sure. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is this Doug?"
"Yeah," said the voice. Judging by his tone of voice, he didn't want to put up with any shit just now. "What d'ya want with Ann?"
"I'm her friend, Cliff. I met Ann a year ago at a bar off the coast of Mineral Town, and have been talking with her through letters and over the phone regularly since then. I guess she didn't recognize my voice just now, and my choice of words might have been a little too...intimate."
"Oh," said Doug. It seemed like I managed to placate him. "Ann told me about you." He hesitated, swallowed. "I have some bad news to tell you, Cliff. You may want to sit down for a minute."
I grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it, worried. Has something bad happened to Ann?
"Two weeks ago, Ann was swimming with some of her friends down at the beach. She accidentally dove into shallow water and hit her head on a rock. Her friends managed to get her to the doctor in time, so she's alive and well. There's only one problem." He swallowed. "As an effect of hitting her head so hard, Ann got amnesia. We've reintroduced her to the entire village, and she's been getting to know everyone all over again. I hate to tell you this, Cliff," he said. I could tell he was trying hard to hold back tears, as was I.
"Ann doesn't remember a thing about you."
The room spun about me in dizzying circles, a blur of nonsensical colors in front of my face. Ha. Great prank. Of course Ann remembered me. She loved me! I loved her! There was nothing that could change that. Nothing! Nothing!!!
I felt a hand slap my face, hard, and realized I had been laughing hysterically. The bartender caught my eyes and shook his head, holding out a mug of some frothy stuff. "It's on the house, bud," he said. "Didn't mean to slap ya so hard." He walked back behind the counter.
I looked over at the payphone. The phone was hanging down, with a faint voice calling from it. I put the receiver up to my ear.
"Cliff? Hello?" Doug's voice came from the other end, sounding worried. I breathed heavily into the phone, letting him know that I was still there. "Oh, Cliff, I thought I lost you," he said.
"Listen, Cliff, I know how hard this is for you. And those aren't just words, believe me. You've only known her for a year. I raised this girl with my bare hands, loved her from the day she was born, but she still had no idea who I was. I'm still trying to get my baby to love me again, and I know it will never be the same as it was before...unless I can get her to remember." He sighed painfully.
"I know you two were in love," he said. "I've seen some of the letters you've written to her. Maybe, if you come to the village, she'll recognize you. Maybe she'll remember you. Can you come down?"
I felt a ray of warm hope fill me, air-drying my tearstained cheeks. "I'm at that seaside port right now, Doug," I said. "I was planning on coming down tomorrow; that's why I called in the first place. Do you really think she'll remember?"
Doug laughed lightly. "I hope so," he said. "I just want my little girl back."
I smiled. "I'll be there tomorrow."
***
I boarded the small ferry at dawn the next day. Some storm clouds overhead sent a light drizzle cascading downwards, but the conditions were fine for a little sea travel. I was the only person on board beside the crew of three. The captain smiled at me as I walked on, but the sailors didn't even acknowledge my presence. The captain was an aging man with dark skin and fluffy white hair, who looked like he was made for the sea. The crewmembers appeared to be his relatives. They both seemed a little upset about something, but I honestly didn't care enough to ask.
"Welcome aboard," said the captain. "I'm Greg, and I'll be sailing this little ship today. Have a seat over there by my crew, young man, and we'll be off. The trip's only a half hour, so just sit back and enjoy the ride."
I sat down a where he indicated, dropping my bag at my feet. There didn't seem to be too much to do on the ferry, and the two men near me just sat there the whole time. They were talking in low tones about something they obviously didn't want Greg to hear, gesticulating at a blueprint of what seemed to be the ferry. I decided to ignore them.
Ann. I was so glad that she was alive! What would I have done if Doug had told me she was dead? I probably wouldn't be overhearing a conversation at the moment. Most likely, I'd be fish food.
A small island loomed ahead of us. A deserted beach lay beyond the dock we landed at. Of course it was deserted; who would be at the beach when it's raining, even during the summer? Greg got off the ferry, and motioned for me to do so as well. "The boys are going to clean the decks before we set off again, so I'm free for now. What's your business here, young man?"
"I'm going to the Inn," I replied.
"All right," said Greg. "Just follow me."
As we started to walk away, I heard an odd noise coming from the area of the ship. I turned around to see the two men that had stayed aboard leaving the dock.
"Look!" I cried. Greg turned around as well. A look of fury crossed his face. He ran toward the dock, shaking his fist.
"No! You boys come back here this instant! I mean it!" In return, the two men on the deck turned and flipped him the bird, laughing. Greg shook his head hopelessly. "Looks like we're gonna be here for a long while, young man."
"Where will you stay?" I asked. I wanted to get to Ann as quickly as possible, but I didn't want to leave an old man all by himself.
"Don't worry about me," Greg said. "I've got a place to stay. The Inn's over that way, so you can head on over there, if you like."
I nodded. "Thanks for the lift."
The Inn was a two story building in the center of Mineral Town. When I walked in, my heart skipped a beat. There she was, serving a table. She turned to me, smiling.
But it wasn't a loving, happy smile. She smiled at me politely, as if greeting a stranger. "Hello," she said. "Welcome to the Inn. I'm Ann. Can I help you?"
This was going to take a while.
Over the summer season and half of autumn, I got to know Ann again. Doug had warned me not to mention her amnesia. She might think that I was trying to take advantage of her, and I knew that she would defend herself if she thought of me that way. I valued my ability to produce children, and steered clear of that topic. It wasn't easy, though. All I wanted to do was shake her shoulders and tell her how much I loved her, how much I wanted things to be like they used to be. The good thing was that she was starting to get a sort of crush on me. Our relationship was going somewhere again! Once she trusted me, I could tell her the truth of the situation!
But nothing in life is that simple.
Around mid-autumn, a newcomer came to the village. Apparently, he was filling in for an old farmer who had recently died. His name was Jack, and he took an immediate liking to Ann. He came to the Inn every day, giving her things her found and thought she'd like.
Now, you'd think that I would hate a guy that was going after the woman I loved. The thing was, though, that Jack was a really nice guy. When I started to get low on cash at the end of the season, he turned me on to a job at the local vineyard. That winter, when I worked a little too hard in the snow, he dragged me off to the doctor's office when I passed out. Jack was one of my best friends. And the best part? Ann didn't even like him back!
The following spring was wonderful. I had a secure job, a roof over my head, a best friend, and I was on the way to having the love of my life trust me enough for me to tell her the truth! Every day at noon, Ann would come to bring me a little food at the vineyard. We'd talk for a little while, and then she'd go back to the Inn. Everything just seemed too good to be true.
You know, I really hate that saying.
One day, as Ann and I were chatting together in the vineyard, Jack walked by. I waved and started to call him over, but Ann shook her head, paling.
"No!" she said softly. But Jack had seen me, and sat with us under the tree. "What's up?" he asked.
"Just having my daily snack with Ann," I replied. "Care to join us?" Jack looked at Ann, a little sharply. I saw her shrink back with fear, and wondered what was going on.
"Do you have these picnics...every day?" said Jack. He was still facing Ann, but I figured that he was talking to me.
"Yeah," I said. I laughed in an attempt to break the tension that had suddenly sprung up between us. "It's great to have some food after working so hard!"
Jack nodded slowly. "I guess I'll be going, then," he said, and got up. Just as he was walking away, Ann jumped up and hurried after him.
"Jack, wait!" she spun him around and held him close to her. "It's not what you think!"
"I think it is," he said, and tried to turn around again.
"Jack!" Ann spun him around and pressed her lips against his. "You know I love you! Why doubt it?"
Jack shook his head, trying to pull away. "Cliff's a vagabond with a story to tell, and I'm just the average Joe. There's nothing special about me."
Ann looked him straight in the eye. "I don't think there are any other guys in the world that are quite like you, Jack." Jack smiled and put his arm around her, and they walked off together.
I felt hollow. I remembered the day that those exact same words were spoken to me, whispered lovingly into my ear. Were they meaningless? Did I mean nothing to her anymore?
I found myself back at the Inn, sitting on Ann's bed in the back room. It was now or never. I had to blow it, to tell her the real reason I came to the village. I heard the door creak open, and saw her step inside. Her hair was messy; she had obviously been doing something with Jack that should have been reserved for me. She turned around, gasping when she saw me in her room.
"Cliff!" she said. "I-"
I stood and walked over to her. "Ann," I said, "you have to remember. I know it's hard, but you have to try. Don't you remember me, Ann? Can't you remember those times we had together, before the accident at the beach?"
She looked at me, more than a little frightened. "How did you know about that?" she asked. "I never told you anything about that!"
I held her steady, telling her the story. Our story. She shook her head. "Cliff, even if that's true, you have to understand: I don't remember any of this. Whatever might have happened between us just isn't real to me. I love Jack. We can still be friends, though." She smiled, that horribly impersonal, polite smile. "Now go on up to your room. I'm tired!"
I walked away, a numb feeling spreading within me. Could it get any worse than this? I was nothing to her, nothing at all. I was the invisible man, unknown, unwanted.
Forgotten.