Chapter 11: Remember Me?

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"Promise me you'll come back, okay?"

"I promise," he said. And then he walked away. I watched him go, tears in my eyes.

My best friend, a little boy... visiting his grandfather.

Will I really see you again? I wondered.

Other voices started to flood in now. A light was shining up ahead. I stirred, attempting to open my eyes.

In a moment I could see. I was in a room, and there were many people looking over me. Who were these people? Where was I?

I opened my mouth as if to speak. Nothing came out.

"Karen?" one of them said. "Karen, dear, can you hear me?"

Karen?

"Give her some space," a deeper voice said. "She's been out for quite a while. She's still dazed."

Me? Were they talking about me? I look around, gazing at the faces before me.

"Where... where am I?" I managed.

One rushed forward to answer me. A woman, tiny around the waist and red around the eyes, her brown hair tied back into a tight bun, started speaking.

"Karen, honey, you're in your room. Remember? You went too far out in the sea. You almost drowned. Kai saved you, honey."

I did not understand her. Almost drowned?

"Hmmm," I heard the deeper voice sound again. Then he inched forward, a darker man in a white suit, and lifted my head into his hands, turning it from side to side. What was he doing? "I'm sorry to say this..." I heard him say. "But your daughter had received a blow to her head after being unconscious underwater. Most likely a rock. I'm afraid that's caused her to, well, forget everything."

I heard the woman gasp.

"You mean she doesn't know who we are?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"It seems so. Usually this only results in severe head trauma, which I don't think she suffered... but perhaps the combination of the ice cold water caused even more damage than she normally would have taken. She'll be okay, though. Just a little amnesia."

"Amnesia?" the woman yelled, her red eyes wide. "How am I supposed to communicate with her? What can I do? Will she ever get her memory back?"

I gazed blankly at the man's face. Was this man bad? Why was he making her upset?

"Yes, she'll probably come to remember things in time. There might be a few foggy areas, and it is possible she will never remember the last few weeks, ranging as far back as a couple seasons, without some strong emotional or mental cue."

"A couple seasons, you say?" I heard another deep voice say. I looked over to another man, not as dark as the man in the white suit, but much more young and handsome.

"Possibly," the man in the white suit replied. "She'll start remembering distant memories first," he continued. "Some from her early childhood. She may even act like she did then. Then she'll slowly progress to remembering more recent memories. Kind of like a chain reaction. Though it will take some time, she'll eventually remember who she is and what's going on."

The woman with the bun was crying. I felt bad for her.

"Now, let's let her have some more rest. Give her some space, and encourage her in trying to remember who she is and how you're related to her. Though don't pour it on her all at once. She'll eventually come round."

"Thank you, doctor," the woman sniffled.

He nodded then left the room, followed by others who had not spoken. The woman and the handsome dark-skinned boy stayed in the room a little longer, looking at me.

"Oh, Karen..." the woman said, and then she left. I could see the boy give me a slight smile, and then he followed her.

So many thoughts whirled through my head. Who am I? Where am I? I must be "Karen" according to these people, but what does that mean? Can I escape? What's wrong with me? Why did they all stare at me like that? Why did the woman cry? Will I ever get out of here?

Eventually I could think of no more questions and I drifted back off to sleep.

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Sometime later, I found myself back in the room again. It was quieter than before. I pushed back the covers and stared at my feet. They were pale, as were my hands, and I was wearing some light colored clothes. Were these mine?

I got up timidly, searching around the room. I knew I must be in a house, I knew what houses were... but I did not know whose this was. Was it mine?

I found the door and opened it. Slowly, I looked out and down across the room below. I was up high, and there were stairs leading down into the next room. I carefully went down them, holding tightly onto the rail, until I came to the hardwood floor below.

I looked around, hoping to find someone who would help me. Could they tell me where I was?

I stood for a long while, looking across the room, at the ceiling, the walls, the floor... it all seemed very familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I saw a picture on a nearby wall and went to examine it. It was of some people. There was a man, who was very tall and had dark brown hair as well as dark brown eyes. Right beside him there was a woman... the woman I had seen earlier in the room. Then, on her lap, there was a little girl. She had long, brown hair, with some lighter hair in the front. She smiled happily from the woman's lap. Who was she?

Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me and turned quickly from the picture. It was the boy from earlier. I didn't want him to get mad at me for looking at it, so I opened my mouth to explain. "I'm sorry, I was just-"

He interrupted me. "Oh, it's okay." He looked a bit confused, as well as a bit wary. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

Hungry? I thought about this. "Uhhh..." I said. I felt my stomach growl. Oh yes, of course! My eyes lit up.

"Yes!" I shouted, rather unexpectedly. He laughed, then took me by the hand. I looked down, eyes wide, as he did so.

"It's okay," he said, noticing my behaviour, "I'll take you to the kitchen, and then you can eat." I nodded.

He led me into another room, and I noticed more pictures on the wall as I entered. It was a larger room, unlike the two I had previously been in, and there was a table with four chairs around it in the center. I saw flowers on the table, and glasses on some shelves. How could I remember what these objects were, and not who or where I was?

The boy let go of my hand and went to some nearby cabinets. He opened them and started taking out some boxes, putting them on a counter. I suddenly remembered I was supposed to ask him some questions.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Where?" he replied, turning to look at me. He was smirking. "This is where you live, Miss Karen."

"Miss Karen?" I repeated, then. "Is that my name?"

"Yes," he said, now pouring something from one of the boxes into a large bowl. "Well, just the 'Karen' part. 'Miss' is a prefix."

"Prefix?"

"Oh, never mind. Your name is Karen."

"Okay," I replied, still confused. "My name is Karen and this is my house."

"Right." He handed me the bowl along with the spoon. I began eating it savagely. "Err..." I heard him say, and I looked up from the bowl of food. "You should probably eat that sitting down. You might hurt yourself at the rate you're going."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes." I said. I went over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Wow, I'm surprised you remembered you eat there," he said after I had starting eating rapidly again.

I nodded. I remembered basically what objects were, just not anything specific.

"What is this stuff?" I asked, after handing him the empty bowl. He took it to the counter and poured more in.

"Cap'n Crunch," he replied, laughing. "It's your favorite breakfast food."

"Is it?" I asked. It made sense. "Yeah, I guess it is."

He came back and gave me the bowl, along with a glass of something steaming. Then he sat down in the chair next to me.

"Here is some hot tea," he said. "Another one of your favorites. I'd give you wine, which you like best, but the doctor said alcohol would probably not be wise."

"Okay." I said, not really understanding him. I took a sip from the cup and put it back down quickly. "Ouch!" I exclaimed, feeling my tongue burn.

"Oh... yeah, it's still hot. You have to wait," said the boy, pushing the cup back from me.

"Oh," I said. "What is your name?" I now remembered I didn't yet know it.

"Kai," he said, smiling.

"Okay, Kai," I repeated. "Thanks for the Cap'n Crunch and tea."

"Of course," Kai said, still smiling.

Just then the door opened and I saw the woman I had seen before come in. She was carrying some bags in her arms. Kai got up and went to help her. When she saw me, her eyes widened.

"Oh, I see you've finally gotten up, Karen," she told me. I nodded, because I remembered Karen was my name.

"Kai gave me some Cap'n Crunch and tea," I said.

"Oh, he did?" she was speaking slowly, as if I couldn't understand her words. "That's nice. What have you been doing today?"

"I just got up. I saw a picture over there." I pointed toward the portrait I had seen. "I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to look," I added quickly.

The woman laughed goodheartedly. "Ohh, it does not matter. Do you know who the people in the picture are?"

"Well, one of them is you, right?" I asked.

"Yes, one of them is me. Do you know who the other two people are?"

I shrugged. Her eyes lit up. "Come here, I'll show you..." she said, smiling warmly.

I got up from the table and took my empty bowl to the sink. Then I followed the woman into the room with the picture. I stood behind her while she pointed at each person in the picture.

"This is your father. He's away on a business trip right now, but he'll be back home soon," she said, pointing to the dark-haired man.

"My... father?" I repeated, confused. I couldn't remember him. "So is this..." I pointed to the little girl, "... me?" The woman nodded. "And you're my...?"

"I am your mother," she smiled, though it wasn't the same warm smile she'd had on before.

"Oh, I see..." I said. "Where is Kai? In the picture, I mean."

"Oh, well... Kai wasn't with us then," she replied.

"Is he younger than me?"

"No, he's a little older, in fact. He came from a different place to help us here, a few years ago."

I was confused. "So he's not my brother, then?" I asked.

"No, not your brother," she answered.

I turned to go back upstairs.

"Where are you going?" my mother asked, concerned.

"To think," I replied.

I entered my room and sat upon the bed. My bed. I was frustrated. Why couldn't I remember these people? Why couldn't I remember who I was? My name was Karen, I knew that much, and only that much. How old was I? I didn't know... I couldn't think. I searched my mind for anything... but it was blank.

All except for one memory. The memory of the departing little boy. Was he still a little boy? Where did he go? I didn't even know what I liked and didn't like without someone telling me. How long would this last? Should I just pretend that I've known these people for years, as they said I have?

Everything was so confusing. I was lost. When would I remember?

Would I ever remember?