Chapter 2: In Which I've Forgotten Everything
I was walking alone, in a forest. It was sunny out, but the tall trees that surrounded me kept the sunlight at bay. I continued onward through the forest, not knowing what was going on, or where I was going, but not really caring either. I was in a trance, just moving along without a care in the world. Eventually, I came into a clearing, where I saw a very strange sight. I saw flocks of cardinals and blue jays, flying together in wondrous formations, displaying astounding aerial skill in grace. I marveled at the sight, enchanted by the bright reds and deep blues of the birds, until another, smaller group of avian entered the fray. Owls, with feathers as white as freshly fallen snow, came and alighted on a nearby tree. They witnessed the spectacular flying of the birds and applauded them, "Amazing! Spectacular! Indeed, a sight to behold!" they said. One of the owls, however, said to another one, loud enough for all to hear, "These birds are masters of flying, it is plain to see! But tell me brother, do you not find the beautiful red cardinals to be superior in skill?" The other owl replied, "On the contrary, brother, I find those blue jays over there to be quite a deal better than those cardinals." Soon, all of the owls were loudly arguing over which group of birds was best, the red cardinals or the blue jays. These birds heard the arguing of the big, strong white birds, and began to take their views as their own. The cardinals began arguing with the blue jays, until the argument got so heated that one bird attacked another, and then all hell broke loose. Birds, who had once been flying together in such beautiful harmony were now the bitterest of enemies, fighting and attacking without a thought to surrender. As the bodies of birds littered the floor of the clearing, I noticed that the owls had all gone quiet, and instead watched the rest of the birds fighting with fascination. Suddenly, a dove, strangely clad in deep purple plumage, appeared through the leaves of the trees, and began to shout, "Stop! Stop fighting! There is no need for this violence!" The birds merely replied, "We will never surrender, not until we are acknowledged by the others as the true best fliers!" "But don't you see?" said the little dove, "You're tearing each other apart! None of you will survive if you continue fighting!" The dove turned to the owls, and in a pleading voice said, "Please, noble birds! You are wise and strong! Surely you can stop this madness before it goes too far?" "The owls merely replied, "There is no room for both kinds of birds in this forest. If both are allowed to continue on, they will eat all of the food, and then the rest of the animals will starve! We wise owls had to set them against each other, until a victor is crowned. It is the only way." The dove, horrified by what they had said, turned and flew up to me. "You understand why this is wrong, don't you? Please, help me fix this! You're the only one who can bring peace!" I tried to respond, saying I couldn't, I didn't know how, but it was as if no sound could escape from my mouth. All of a sudden, I began sinking into the soft forest floor! As I desperately tried to claw my way out, I could still hear the dove shouting, "Help me! Please! Please! Please...please..." Until I finally sunk through completely.
"GAH!"
I woke up, gasping for air, still thinking I was being suffocated under the ground. After a few minutes I calmed down and caught my breath, then realized that I was indeed not below the surface of a pine forest. I also realized that I didn't actually know where I was, or how I got there, or even why I was there. I looked around the room, noticing that I was sitting in a white bed, in a room with white walls, with a curtain hanging in front of what I assumed was the door, and a number of machines all showing various numbers and measurements I didn't understand. I was in a hospital.
Well, I've sorted out the "where," I thought to myself, and I can probably assume I was taken here by an ambulance, now that just leaves me wondering: why am I in a hospital? I tried to remember the last thing that happened before I woke up, racking my brain for answers but turning up nothing. I put my head in my hands, frustrated that I didn't know what was going on, when I noticed something on my arm. I took a closer look. It was a bracelet. It looked to be made of plastic, with a straight edge to one end and a wavy edge to the other, and a deep, solid purple color to it.
Purple... I thought, getting a sense of deja vu from the color. Then, it hit me. The man from the store! When he grabbed my arm, his hand was glowing purple! It also burned like the sun, I recalled. So, I thought, beginning to piece together what had happened, I must have passed out after he grabbed me. Then, someone found me unconscious and called an ambulance, which brought me here. But, what's with the bracelet? I tried to pull it off to get a better look at it, but the thing wouldn't budge. It was like it shrunk every time I tried to take it off. "C'mon you stupid thing," I muttered.
Eventually I gave up, and decided to turn my attention to other matters. Since I was still sitting up in the hospital bed, I got up, standing shakily on my feet. I walked slowly over to the mirror, taking inventory of my situation. I looked okay, although there was something off about my appearance, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I decided to come back to that later. I was in a hospital gown, but there was a set of gray sweatpants and a t-shirt in the corner of the room, which I helped myself to.I came back to the mirror to look at myself. Something was definitely off. I tried to think back to the last time I looked in the mirror, then tensed up in shock. I couldn't remember.
I could not, for the life of me, remember the last time I looked in the mirror. I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to look like! I looked at myself in the mirror again. Shorter brown hair, blue eyes, pretty tall, lightly muscled, a little pale. Well, I think this is right, I thought, but what else don't I remember? The more I tried, the more nervous I became. I couldn't remember what I looked like, who my parents were, where I was from, or even my own name. What the hell was going on? As I stood in front of the mirror, I didn't hear the door open, and I didn't realize I had a visitor until he spoke.
"Confused, young man?"
I turned my head to the door, feeling my nervousness and confusion melt away into anger. Standing in the doorway was the man from the shop, that fateful night.
I'm back! Remember when I said two weeks? Yeah, no, not gonna happen. I've got an idea of how the story progresses, but fitting together events and making them interesting is proving to be harder than I thought. Still, I'll try to update more often, and feel free to share your opinions with myself and other readers.