aneksi stood completely frozen as the two people slowly turned around to gaze back at her. at first, they seemed utterly blank, until the male stood up from his seat and neared them, almost with caution.

"aneksi? is that really you?" the man asked and eyed her with hopeful eyes.

"yeah..." she mumbled and pursed her lips briefly. "i'm sorry i've been–"

but she couldn't even finish her sentence before the man wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, as if she was on the verge of dying just seconds ago. isaac cracked a weak smile at the sight and watched in awe, even if they weren't certain those two truly were her parents.

"where the hell have you been? god, we've been so worried." david stone sighed and closed his eyes.

aneksi smiled too and looked over his shoulder, at her presumed mother. she slowly let go of the man and then shrugged timidly, not knowing what or how to answer that question.

"i don't know. i can't explain."

"what do you mean, you can't–" david began, but the woman shushed him and pulled the younger girl in for a hug too.

"we can talk about that later. right now, we need to settle down and process this." she said and then looked at isaac. "who's that?"

isaac straightened his back automatically and made eye contact with aneksi. he bit on his bottom lip and watched as she did the same. aneksi then turned her attention back to her parents and intertwined her hands against her stomach.

"it's quite a story, but he helped me." she replied quietly and awkwardly fidgeted. "i don't know how else to drop this other than saying that i have amnesia."

"oh boy." isaac mumbled and scratched his jaw.

"you– what?" nailah's face broke, as if she had just heard great news, but then found out that they were lies. david put a hand against his mouth and seemed like he didn't know how to react.

"i can't remember anything at all, and it sucks. and frankly, i have no idea what to do. isaac helped and let me stay at his place." she fiddled with her fingernails and looked at them.

"oh, my sweet tifl." child. it meant child, and aneksi was certain about that. "you don't even remember us?"

"feels like i was reborn."

"maybe we should go inside and talk about this." david suggested and motioned to the house.

"i guess that's my cue to leave then." isaac smiled awkwardly, but both the parents objected.

"no, please stay. we'd like to thank you for being there for aneksi."

and so they went inside, isaac entering last of course. aneksi felt a strange sensation flash through her for only a split second. she blinked frantically while hollow and vague pictures went through her mind, but disappeared just as quickly.

"we should probably take her to the hospital." her dad quietly said to his wife.

"yeah, i mean, i've encountered people with amnesia many times, but never like this." she sighed and looked at him.

"but where has she been these months? take her to the hospital tomorrow, maybe someone–"

"uh, guys." aneksi cut them off and raised one hand. "i'm standing right here, you know."

"sorry." nailah laughed and folded her arms together. "can you come to work with me tomorrow or is it too soon?"

"i thought you'd take me to the hospital?" she frowned and looked between the two.

"i'm a doctor, honey."

"oh."

aneksi and isaac started walking around the house after that. she still couldn't feel any hint of a memory except for whatever she pictured earlier, which disappointed her.

"cute house." he uttered quietly and looked at her.

"yeah. seems cozy." she agreed and traced her fingers along the wall while walking.

"where's your room?" he asked and glanced at some doors.

"oh, you're not entering my room until i've seen it myself." she laughed and shook her head, not at all knowing what her room looked like.

"didn't expect anything else." he smirked and shrugged.

"alright. stay here." she smiled before opening a door.

peeking her head inside, she turned the lights on and instantly recognized it as a bathroom. so she turned the lights off again and wandered over to the next room, repeating the same action. aneksi smiled unconsciously and closed the door, the lingering smell of vanilla perfume filling her senses. she fiddled with her fingernails and scanned the room with her eyes, the white walls lighting it up enough by themselves. she immediately noticed a lace hanging above the bed with some polaroid pictures attached to it. this jerked her feet forward and her hands up the items. there were barely any photos of herself — one with her parents, and one of her on the beach, surprisingly sitting with her back against someone's chest, the persons arms wrapped around her. the person's face was buried against her shoulder, and she was laughing.

"can i come in?" isaac called after a while and slid his hands down his pockets.

"yeah." she responded and stared at the picture.

she felt happiness by watching it. she could almost swear that it was a lovely day, spent with some friends maybe. then three scenes popped up in her head, very brief but vivid ones, which caused her head to ache.

i. it was windy now, her hair pushing all over her face and her hands caressing her own arms to warm her. there was a boy beside her, and another girl in front of her. she carefully seized the hoodie that laid on the blanket and wrapped it around herself, the boy's eyes darting up at her. but he only smiled and ruffled her hair, and then stood up to play volleyball with some other people on the sand.

ii. aneksi doesn't know why, but the same boy was chasing her as she was letting out a ridiculous laugh. he finally caught up with her and lifted her up, only to spin her around and then carrying her in the bridal style. aneksi could almost feel a smile itch on her lips, despite the hurting pain in her head.

iii. she was reading now. the sunset was about to occur any minute, but she had no interest whatsoever to even glimpse at it. she simply read her book in peace, laying on her stomach. the boy joined her with a shoulder nudge and smiled softly, a very special one too. she returned the smile for a second and then continued reading — but he just kept bugging her on a bearable level, until she shut the book and initiated a conversation.

aneksi held her head and groaned quietly. isaac was quick to be by her side and put a hand calmly on her back. he didn't know where this protective instinct really came from, but he thought that if you do find someone in the middle of the night in the woods, you'll create a small bond.

"you okay?" he asked with a worried look. she just nodded once the pain vanished and met his eyes with hers.

"yeah. although, i think i just had a memory flash." she exhaled and pointed at the picture. "that day... feels like it was a great day."

"wait, you remembered something?"

"i don't know if it's an actual memory, but i hope so." she weakly smiled and left the polaroids for now.

instead, she walked over to her closet and opened it, studying all the garmets in it with raised eyebrows. it consisted of many black short shorts — as far as she could see yet — and a mixture between white, grey and military green tops.

"wow. you seem like you're very comfortable with your body." isaac uttered when he stood beside her again and grabbed a crop top.

"apparently." she laughed confused and eyed it. "it's very cute though."

"true." he smiled and put the top back.

"why don't i have more personal stuff?" she mumbled and opened the boxes by her desk, rummaging through them. "all i see is books and drawings, no more pictures, no... diaries or such."

"maybe you're a drawn-back person who doesn't like to have it like that?" he suggested with a sloppy shrug. "and besides, anyone over ten stopped writing a diarie. that's so lame."

"love?" nailah entered the room slowly with a smile before aneksi could even reply to thah. "how are you feeling?"

"disoriented." she answered and pursed her lips. "why is my room so... plain?"

"you like it simple. although, you do have a box under the bed with your previous belongings, but it's a code lock– which you probably don't remember." her mother sighed, and aneksi quickly crouched down and searched under her bed for that box.

after a while, she dragged it towards her and glanced at isaac. there definitely was a four numbered code, and she couldn't remember it at all.

"well, this sucks. and you don't have any idea what it could be?" she asked and looked up.

"maybe the year you were born?"

"which is...?" only now, it occurred to her that she didn't even know her own age.

"1999. you're seventeen."

aneksi tried that combination, but it was wrong. she sighed and pulled both hands through her hair in frustration.

"doesn't work." she mumbled and stood up again.

"i should probably go back to erica." isaac said and folded his arms together. "i would ask for your number, but you probably don't have a phone."

"actually, you left your phone on your bed before you– well... before you disappeared. but apparently you deleted everything, and it was uncharged. which is extremely strange now that i think about it."

the younger girl moved over to her bed and clicked on the home button, but the screen remained black. she searched for the charger with her eyes before plugging the phone in. isaac took in all the similarities between aneksi and her mother with a smile. they were so alike, he had no doubt whatsoever that they were mother and daughter. but she had also inherited a few sharp features from her dad.

once the phone finally lit up, aneksi unlocked it — she had no password — and handed it to isaac. he put his number in it and took a quick, silly selfie to put as the avatar. rolling her eyes, she put it back on the bed and hugged her elbows with her own hands. isaac took a step closer and unexpectedly hugged her, in which she raised her eyebrows to.

"call if there's anything, okay?" he said, and then rested his lips against her ear carefully, whispering. "and check your marks. you haven't scratched them in a while."

"mhm." aneksi mumbled and pulled back after a while. "i'll probably call, like, tomorrow anyway. say hi to erica from me."

"will do." he smiled and nodded once, then turned his eyes to her mom. "it was nice meeting you, mrs. stone."

"it was nice meeting you too." nailah smiled and then frowned. "wait, how do you know my last name?"

"we went to the library, and amy told us a bit about you guys, and me." aneksi informed her and crossed her arms together.

"amy's a lovely woman, and she loves you so much." nailah smiled and seemed to think before speaking again. "anyway, isaac, you're welcome to stop by anytime."

"thank you, mrs. stone." he said and gave aneksi a soft look. "see ya."

aneksi could easily read his face, knowing without doubt how uncertain he felt about just leaving her there. she couldn't blame him, considering she felt very foreign in the house herself. isaac left with reluctance, and soon later, david joined them and folded his arms together against his chest. aneksi didn't know what to do, so she remained standing still and glancing down at the box.

"you know, when you left–"

"please don't say that i left. i don't remember anything, what if something happened?" she cut him off and gazed up at him.

"when you disappeared," he re-phrased it and sent her an apologetical expression. "we had no idea what to do. it was so strange, you know, because it was so unlike you. when days passed, your mom was quite devastated and i was out of ideas. we searched, of course, but you were nowhere to be found, no traces whatsoever. now that you're back, you look different. i barely recognized you first."

"what do you mean, i look different? and what kind of person am i?" she asked quietly and sat down on the edge of the bed. david mirrored the action, and nailah left the room.

"you look... i don't know, odd. your expression, skin, even your hair looks different, the glistening in your eyes, the whole posture... just different. especially your eyes." he frowned and studied them quickly. "you have to understand that you'd never just leave like that. something must'vehappened."

aneksi thought of the marks and raised her hand to scratch them, but stopped once she realized it'd cause the make up to fade.

"maybe i'll get my memory back sooner or later." she shrugged and sniffed briefly. "smells like chocolate."

"yeah, your mom made brownies earlier." he mumbled and then sighed. "anyway, i've never met someone with amnesia who's lost every memory. i don't think anyone has."

"hopefully i'll start remembering soon." she repeated and locked her hands together against her lap. "what's our family like? i mean, do i have any relatives and such?"

"no, it's just us." he replied sadly. "your mom's family still live in egypt. i was the only child, and my parents are dead."

"i'm sorry."

"don't be."

"i hate this."

aneksi put a hand against half her face and checked the time on her phone. david followed her movements with his eyes and fiddled with his wedding ring.

"how about you get into something more comfortable and we'll show you the house, and where everything is?" he suggested, and she nodded almost instantly.

"sounds nice. what do you work as?" she asked with a smile and took her bottom lip inside her mouth.

"i'm a cop."

"you're kidding." she deadpanned, and he just frowned. "you're telling me that my mom is a doctor, and you're a cop?"

"and you wanted to be a lawyer before." he laughed and shrugged.

"oh god." she snorted and shook her head weakly. "okay, well, i'll just change then."

"right." he nodded and left the room.

aneksi closed the door and opened her closet again. when she found the box with pajamas, she pursed her lips and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a big t-shirt. she put her hair up in a ponytail and walked into the bathroom next door, making sure to lock it. in there, she thankfully found some make up and then washed her face, the marks being even more prominent than earlier.

mentally wincing, she carefully touched them with her fingertips and sighed. she was too confused and somehow tired to panic or react slightly like any other person would. and so aneksi covered them up once again and joined her parents in the living room. they looked up at her with a smile, and nailah put away her book.

"hey." the younger one greeted them almost timidly and chewed on her bottom lip. "so, who'll give me a tour in my own house?"

david couldn't help but to laugh through his nose and look down. nailah shoved him weakly and widened her eyes, but that only caused aneksi to smile herself.

"i'll do that." he chuckled and stood up from his seat. he sauntered over to the kitchen and pursed his lips. "so, you usually emptied the dishwasher, therefore the cabinet above the washer consists of plates and bowls." he started, opening that cabinet.

"okay..." she mumbled and folded her arms together.

"the boxes beside the washer is full of cutlery and the cutting boards. then the cabinet beside the one with the plates, is full off glass, cups, and such. everything's pretty close to the washer, so it'd be easier."

david continued; the last cabinet was apparently for medicine and spices — such as pepper and salt — and tea bags. the two boxes/drawers underneath were full of the rest; sugar, flour, rice, et cetera. and of course ships and candy.

"i'll most likely mess it up and open everything wrongly at first, so bear with me." she smiled and looked at the fridge.

"don't worry about that. we won't exactly force you back to your shores when you have amnesia." he said, his voice faltering by the end. it obviously downed them just by thinking of it.

"what do we do? if i don't get my memory back, i mean. i can't remember a thing about my childhood or life, and you're my parents. you haven't even processed this yet." she said quietly and turned to look at him.

"i guess i'm in denial right now. but i think your mom's going to break tonight after you've gone to bed; she's very sensitive. i suppose we start over if you can't remember anything." he shrugged and looked at her with a pained expression, seeming like he was forcing himself not to melt it all.

"david?" she mumbled and dragged her thumb against her bottom lip. in a strange way, she felt a strong connection to him — as if she was daddy's favorite. but the thought only made her feel bad, because how could someone favorite a parent?

"yeah?" he whispered and slid his hands down his pockets.

"yesterday, i had a dream. it was weird, but i think it's a distant memory. and when i walked inside my room, i pictured a few moments of myself and some other people on the beach. i want to believe that's a memory too."

"really?" his eyes lit up. "that should be great, shouldn't it? if you do remember something, how weak it may be, hopefully more will come back. right?"

"don't know, i'm not a specialist on memory loss." she laughed shortly and averted her eyes to her mom.

"i think i'm gonna go to bed, i had a long shift." nailah proclaimed and smiled weakly.

"yeah, me too. i'm pretty tired actually, even though it's... really early." aneksi chimed in and crossed her arms together. "when do you start working tomorrow?"

"early. i'll wake you up." nailah pointed a finger at her before disappearing out of there.

aneksi gave david a quick look before entering her room, closing the door at the same time. with a sigh, she changed to proper pj's — even though it was a pair of soft shorts and a puffy t-shirt — and then sat down on the bed. she couldn't quite feel comfortable in those clothes yet. it didn't feel like her clothes, it felt like she had borrowed them from someone and was supposed to return them ages ago.

despite the uneasy feeling, she pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and closed her eyes, hoping to sleep without a haunting dream possessing her mind.