OUT OF THE STORM
By Towairaito
CHAPTER TWO – In the Mirror
She took a small sip and finding that it was delicious, downed her soup quickly and greedily, welcoming the feeling of hot liquid burning her dry throat. It seemed that this Dr. Yuy knew how to cook…very well at that, too. Absentmindedly, she sipped at her soup, so desperate to remember who she was and how she arrived there, the bowl was empty before she even realized it. Setting down the bowl, she looked outside and saw that the wind, it seemed, could throw her around like a rag doll.
Dr. Yuy returned andtook the bowl without another word and set it on the tray.
"Um, thank you..." She shifted uncomfortably in bed. "I'm sorry about all this. I feel better already, really. I can be on my way home soon…" she said, trailing away after seeing his scornful expression.
"To where?" He turned around to the tray to fill two cups, and handed one cup to her.
"I don't know. I like my tea sweet, thank you." Her eyes lit up as she took the cup from him and the sugar. "If I know that, am I going to remember the rest pretty soon?"
Nodding, Dr. Yuy handed her a plate full of butter toasted bread. "Eat."
She gratefully nibbled on her food, realizing that the conversation wouldn't get anyway as fast as she wanted and settled for knowing that she'll find out what she needed to know in due time.
"You've interrupted my peace and solitude." Dr. Yuy startled the young woman. She stared. "I was getting away from my daily routines." He shifted a little drawing the chair from the window to sit next to the bed. "One of my…colleagues advised 'a couple weeks in the sun, away from it all' as he so well put it."
The girl in the bed glanced towards the windows where the winds were gushing rain harshly against the pane. She got the point. "Being here was not my choice, Dr. Yuy. I mean, this is private property."
It seemed he ignored her answer, and she was annoyed until he got up and took her half empty plate. "You were found at first light this morning." He turned at put the plate on the tray, "Drink the tea."
She obliged, and wondered how such a dismal man came to be as Dr. Yuy handed her two tablets and a glass of water and sat down again. "For your headache."
"How did you find me, exactly?" She decided to make some conversation with the doctor seeing that he was the only company she was going the ever get.
The man eyed her and spoke, "The Island is shaped in a rough figure eight narrowly splitting it into two landmasses; one facing the shores of Japan , the other facing east. The West Island has safe anchorage, unlike the East Island where it is a mass of jagged rocks where the currents are wild most of the time." He leaned back into the chair and gave a look, "And that is where I found you. Your scarf had saved your life, snagged onto one of the rocks. I thought you were dead."
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. "But how did I get there?"
Her host shrugged slightly, and her hopes lessened. "Well, I can't tell you that. It's not like I went out for a swim."
She saw a slight twitch on his eyebrow and her attention was drawn to him. "You were fully dressed complete with a small bag."
She stared. "I came with luggage? Was there any tags of some sort to say who I am?"
"No," was simply stated. The girl was starting to feel uneasy, "Do you think I feel out of a boat?"
Dr. Yuy nodded his head in agreement. Getting up, "I contacted the coastguard and police already by radio. They may be able to help somehow."
He leaned forward, observing her hand. "No rings. You don't look old enough to be married."
She puller her hand away, "How old is that?"
His face hardened, "It depends. Marriage calls for a certain degree of maturity. Some people never achieve it."
Ouch, she thought, a sore subject. "You're a doctor; can't you tell how old I am by my teeth or something?"
He suddenly smirked slightly, and she was in awe as she witnessed the man behind the remote consultant. But the change was sudden; the brooding mask was in place again almost at once. "Don't worry about it."
The Doctor fished something out of his pocket and showed it to her. "This may belong to you. Found pinned to the sweater when I found you."
She examined the silver brooch, eyeing it carefully. She knew, without a doubt, it was hers. It was of a rabbit with emerald red jewels for eyes, sitting in what she thought was the letter U. She muttered, "Strange combination," and shook her head.
Her head throbbed, reminding her that she had a crack on the head, and she reached up and found a dressing near her hair line. "How bad is it?"
"A gash that required a couple of stitches while you were unconscious." He said no more.
Suddenly, she felt awful. She was intruding on this man's privacy, making him take care of her needs. She bowed her head. "I'm deeply indebted to you, Dr. Yuy."
"No." He said. "No need. It's my job."
"Thank you." The woman smiled slightly, feeling a pang of pain shoot to her skull. Still, she felt as though she was obligated to pay him back for his care. She looked down into her hands where the brooch was sitting and stared wondering what the letter U and the rabbit had some king of connection. "'U' for what?"
"It could stand for Usagi or Umaku or Umiko. Ring any bells?" She shook her head.
"Well, you need to have a name to answer to other than 'woman'!" He cleared his throat. "Not that you look like a rabbit – more like a half drowned bunny."
She snapped, "I'll answer to anything but 'Bunny'!"
He looked at her tauntingly, "Fine. Rabbit it is." Dr. Yuy grabbed the tray from the table. "You're suffering from amnesia. Waking up tomorrow may result in a total recall. In the meantime, sleep. If you feel better, you can come down later."
"Can't I come now?" She pouted.
"No." With that, he turned to the doorway. "I saved your life. Be grateful."
She bit her lip. "Sorry."
Dr. Yuy shrugged in indifference and continued to the doorway
"Ah!" She mustered. "Could you point me the way to the bathroom, please?"
He gave a knowing look, turning back to continue out the door. "Right across the hall. Just don't go anywhere else." Walking out the door, and down the stairs, his voice wafted into the room. "I'll be up later, to check up on you, Rabbit."
Rabbit…She watched him go with mixed feelings. But she didn't dwell upon it too long; the bathroom was waiting for her. It took a while to route herself to the small bathroom, but at least she didn't have any incidents on the way. Finished, she forced herself to look in the mirror above the wash bin. Right away, the first thing that she saw was her bright blue eyes; it was like looking into the ocean. Unfortunately, one of her eyes were swollen and half closed with a black and blue bruise below it reaching her cheekbone. Her face was long and narrow, marred and slightly flushed from the weather, but it did nothing to jog her memory.
She had a lot of hair hanging past her shoulders, waist, and knees, but it was so tangled and matted, it was impossible to know the color. The other thing she noticed was that she was skinny. The shirt she wore, hung past her hips, bunching up at her waist. Well, at least I have some curves. She eyed herself, looking past her waist and down to her legs. They were slim, and curvaceous; it seemed to her that other girls would kill for these legs. She wondered if Dr. Yuy was avoiding her in some way. Or maybe it's just me. Looking back to her face, she was glad her nose didn't take any beating. Her lips looked cherry red and curvy, a little narrow for her face. Rabbit shook her head sadly at her reflection, "Well, at least he didn't kick out back out into the sea."
CHAPTER 3 - WELCOME TO DINNER is next.
Author's Notes: This story was inspired by a book I read a couple moths ago. This story is still in progress, but I'll try to update as fast as I can. Please review! Thanks!
Towairaito
