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"I'm going back home," I said, determined that I had made the right decision.

"You'll pay your toll then," Truth jeered. "You're ready to give up all the memories of your friends?"

"I am," I said, not allowing myself to think anything else. I clenched the note in my pocket tightly.

I marched toward the door, and gulped as it opened itself up to me.

I didn't wait to hear Truth's goodbyes, and I lunged into the doorway.

–––

"She's waking up! She's waking up!"

My eyes fluttered open slowly, throbbing at the sudden intake of light. Something was obnoxiously beeping to my left. I shifted my arm, and winced as something pinched them. I wasn't quite able to see yet.

"Someone call her parents!" A man's voice shouted.

A piercing, bright light flashed through my eyes from a concentrated source. "Eyes are dilating normally!" A voice called out close to me.

"Heart rate normal!"

"Blood pressure good!"

"Hey there." A gentle, female voice was near to me. I tried to open my eyes, but the overwhelming light was still hurting them.

"I know, they'll hurt after being closed for so long," the voice said sweetly. "Just take it easy. We're all here to help you. Can you remember your name, sweetheart?"

"V-Violet..." I was barely able to get the words out. My mouth and tongue was heavy and leaden. And I got my name correct...right?

I heard gasps from all around me. "Amazing..." some mumbled. "Even for a two month coma, basic memory can be rare."

"Very good," the female voice said gently. "Now, just try to open your eyes, nice and slow now..."

I did, peeking my eyes open a tiny bit at a time, to let the light filter in at reasonable measures.

When my eyes finally adjusted, a round faced, kind looking woman was standing at my side, smiling at me. "Good–oh my gosh." Her smile faded. "Doctor, come look at her eyes."

A man in all white came over to me, and stared right into my eyes. What was he doing? What was wrong with my eyes?

"What's wrong?" I asked, worry coming over me in large waves. Was something wrong with me? In fact, what was I doing here? All I remember was walking to the school bus and . . .

And nothing more.

"I'm sure it's nothing," the doctor said, putting on a fakely cheerful tone. "Your eyes just seem to be a slightly different color then they were before. Nothing to worry about. We'll just run some tests later to make sure there weren't any major changes to your body that might have caused it.

I nodded. "Ok," I said absentmindedly. "Can I go home now?"

"Incredible, she's speaking in full sentences and asking real questions," the nurse gasped. Then she seemed to realize that I was expecting an answer. "Of course, darling! We'll just have to run a few physical exams to make sure you're ok and then you're free to go!"

"I think I'm really alright," I disagreed, and swung my legs over the side of the hospital bed. Man, I was sore.

"Ouch!" I squeaked, and noticed that there were needles going into my left arm. That was the cause of the pinching earlier.

"Lay back down, please," the doctor ordered. "We don't know if you're well enough to go yet."

Before he could continue, the door burst open in an explosion of squeals and crying.

"Our baby!" A woman cried, throwing her arms around me. "My baby, my baby..."

She sobbed into my shoulder. I wasn't really sure what she was crying about. After all, waking up was a good thing, right?

"Mom," I stated, memories coming back to me. I saw a tearful man behind her, tall with sharp features and dark hair. "Dad."

"We were so worried," he said, his voice cracking. "Oh, Violet..."

He, also, dissolved into tears.

Meanwhile, I was having the strangest feeling. I felt like I had a super long dream, and the memory of it was at the borders of my mind, just out of my reach. But the more I tried to remember it, the more it rapidly slipped away.

Alchemy...Edward...magic...a boy...nothing...

"Wish I could remember it," I huffed.

"What was that, honey?" My mom asked between sniffles.

"Oh, nothing," I said.

I met her eyes. Hers were a deep green, like a forest. She looked like a writer. I faintly remembered that she was a journalist.

"Violet, your eyes!" She gasped. "They're purple with a white ring around the pupils! Doctor, is she alright?"

"All of her vitals are completely normal and healthy," the doctor said, baffled. "The only reasonable conclusion is that a chemical imbalance occurred in her body while she was in the coma, and caused her eye color to change to such a fantastic color. It's most likely temporary."

"I like it," I said. "It matches my name."

–––

After being fussed over for what seemed like an eternity, I finally got to go home. The doctors, to their great disbelief, could find absolutely nothing wrong with me, so sent me home with dropped jaws. My parents hadn't brought any clothes with them, so I went home in the hospital gown I was in.

I sat down on my bed, and untied the ugly thing from my body. When I did so, folded paper fell out of the pocket.

"Huh?" I murmured, picking up the wad. I unfolded it, and the front said, "To Myself. Contains unforgettable memories. I know this will be hard to understand, but this is what happened. Please believe me.

I opened the second page, and started to cry.

I couldn't really remember, not all of it, but I knew it was real.

"I found my parents," I said to myself. "This paper will be my memories."

I opened it, and read the first line.

"I gasped, and wanted to shriek in pain as spasms of needles shot through my every vein."