Apparently I last updated this story in 2017. I still have ideas, and it's probably going to be a slow-developed piece, but I don't want to give up on it until I hit a dead end I can't reroute or I actually get it done. There is no schedule for this, but I hope you enjoy it as it comes.

She hated this.

It was only her second day out. She'd had brunch with Julia, and that had actually been nice. They were hardly family, but there was something about shared concern that made talking easier - and it certainly seemed that way for Julia, too. They had shared their concerns, laughed over one of her dad's favorite jokes, and it had been... pleasant, almost fun. It was hard to think of anything as fun after those two months, but Kirsty had actually enjoyed herself.

And then Julia dropped the bombshell; Dr. Channard wanted her to come back to the hospital for a follow-up. Kirsty had managed to keep her composure, or at least she'd hoped she did, but as soon as she got back to the car she had cried for the first time in over a month. She couldn't drive there alone again. She couldn't face the memories of feeling alone and doubted by everyone again, not by herself.

So she didn't.

"You'll stay out here?"

"I will," Joey nodded, and Kirsty nodded back. She tried to look like she had it together, but salt stung the corners of her eyes as she took her first steps down that tree-laden path again. She hated this place, hated spending time in this place, but she'd rather have gotten it out of the way than put it off and had its shadow looming over her head. Still, she thought, she hated this miserable hospital. Weren't doctors supposed to make you feel better? Everything about the sterile environment did the opposite, made her feel isolated, on edge.

This was not a human place, she thought, although she wasn't sure what that meant. At least the birds were pretty, she mused as a group of doves in brown and white flew off. She eventually reached the office of Dr. Channard, and took in a breath before opening the door.

It was promising, the reaction Kirsty showed when he pulled out the box. She'd all but frozen in her seat, her eyes on it as he turned it in his hands, her knuckles white and gripping the upholstery of the office chair. That was quite promising.

"And you're positive you forgot about it after the white flash?"

"I must have," Kirsty said, swallowing. "I didn't remember it when I left the hospital... are you sure I told you about it?"

"You did, in a sense," Dr. Channard answered carefully; this was a delicate case, and she reacted poorly to accusations of lying. "You talked about finding a something in the attic, and your father, and had one brief episode after a nightmare where you insisted you saw a figure standing over another, gripping something in its hand. Granted..."

"...Granted?" he'd informed her of this before, but whatever the amnesia was that the box caused, it seemed to tamper with her other memories as well. He'd wanted to play with that, but Kirsty was a little to spirited to do that effectively. He had no choice but to be direct about the matter.

"...It was during the session where we attempted hypnotism." Her shoulder slumped; she clearly remembered agreeing to it, but the session itself was but a haze in her mind even after he'd woken her up. Stranger still, he hadn't been able to put her back into the hypnotized state afterwards, as if the box's power - the power of that white light - was asserting itself over his hold.

"I wish we hadn't tried that," she said, voice quiet. He nodded, looking stern and compassionate and like a proper doctor should. It had been a risky experiment, an attempt to tap into anything she might have suppressed, but aside from the one visual - the figure standing over her father, bathed in such light that she hadn't seen their face - it had produced nothing and further damaged the clarity of her recollections once she was out.

"As do I. I'm sorry for that, Kirsty, I truly did think it would help." She nodded, and finally her grip seemed to loosen on the seat. Good, that was expensive leather. "I assume you do not want it back?"

"No, I-" she paused, brow furrowing, and he was immediately intrigued. This was new. "Actually... maybe. It might help me remember what happened."

"I see." Well, he'd have to calculate this. "I'd like to study it a little further - it's a unique trinket, to be certain. But I will have it back to you by the end of this month, is that alright with you?" She nodded, and he was satisfied. A week and a half was enough time for notes, and Kirsty's sudden curiosity certainly promised new discoveries. "Good. I will see you then."

"We're done?" Kirsty asked, looking surprised. He nodded.

"You've adjusted to the first 24 hours well, and have shown no signs of relapse. I will want updates, but this is a good start." He needed a field mouse, after all. She smiled, a polite smile more than a happy one, and nodded.

'Thank you, doctor," she said. He waited for her to see herself out before turning his attention to the box. His calls had been fruitless, but he'd made a contact who seemed promising - and quite pretty, too.

"Poor girl," Joey muttered to herself, looking at the hospital which had all but swallowed Kirsty whole. This place was lovely, but there was something about mental hospitals that always seemed unfriendly; they were supposed to be places of healing, but Joey could never shake the feeling that they were meant to punish the patients, not help them. Kirsty certainly had not looked happy; indeed, Joey had stopped herself from asking questions when Kirsty came back from brunch with a grim expression, and told her that she, Kirsty, had to go back.

But here was Kirsty now, a different expression on her face, and she walked back to the car with a purposeful stride. She got into the car and buckled up without a word, and started ahead at the dashboard for a moment before taking a breath. She looked at Joey, who shook her head a bit.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Channard has the box."

"So did it go be- wait, what?" Joey blinked, her words sinking in. "How does he have it?"

"Julia found it in the attic," Kirsty said, looking ahead again and brushing her hair back over her shoulders with both hands, "and brought it to him. He wants to study it."

"He can't open it, though, or that's another one missing!" Kirsty sighed.

"I know, but he promised he'd have it back. But we know where it is now. And honestly..." She closed her eyes. "I'd rather it there than in the house." That was fair, Joey thought to herself, even if she wasn't thrilled that it was so close and so far. "So that's... good, I think. That's a good start."

"It is a good start," Joey said, "and I've got a better follow-up. We're meeting with my contact for dinner tonight - your pick." Kirsty looked at Joey and smiled, another bright-eyed smile. She must have been a happy girl before all this, Joey thought. Hopefully that would keep coming back.

"I would love a hamburger and house chips," Kirsty said, grinning from ear to ear.