The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

A Macabre Mystery

Capital of Egypt, Cairo
Cairo University

With her recovery, Carol had started attending one of the summer programs her school offered. And, at the moment, she was enjoying a fun and very bracing game of tennis. She and Maria were playing doubles against Jimmy and Harry.

"It's coming, Carol!" Maria said excitedly.

"Got it! Watch me, Maria," Carol said with a grin, returning the serve. "One more point, ya~!"

"Look! It's Carol!" another student who happened to be passing by said to her friends. "It's rumored that she lost her memory, and was found lying near the Nile River..."

"They say that she was kidnapped. The police were looking all over for her," one of her friends said.

"It's rumored that all of her memories from the incident have disappeared," said another.

"So there's no trace of clues from the kidnapping?" asked yet another.

"Shh! They say it's the royal family's curse!" said the first girl.

"Game over," the referee announced when the last point of the final match was scored.

"Wow! I haven't played tennis so passionately in a while; it feels so good!" Carol exclaimed happily with a smile as she exited the court with her friends.

"The color has returned to Carol's face! I'm so relieved," Maria said.

"This is great... Carol's spirits have finally returned," Ryan remarked with a smile while he watched them, leaning against the school's fence with Bonnie. They had decided to observe the game while they waited for Carol's class with Professor Brown to start. They were going on a field trip to the museum today.

"Yes, I'm glad she's having fun," Bonnie said warmly as they watched Carol laugh with her friends. It was a relief that she seemed to be returning to normal so easily after enduring such an ordeal. But there was something different about her, and Carol had confessed to her that she often felt a strange anxiety about something that she had trouble defining. Bonnie thought it might have something to do with her repressed memories, but didn't want to push her too hard. If just the ghost of them made her this anxious, it might be a good thing that she lost her memories... though Bonnie was still concerned that Isis or whoever else might have been responsible hadn't been caught yet.

"Phew! I'm so happy! That was so fun! Jimmy, teach me some chemistry today, okay?" Carol said with a smile as they walked.

"Ok! I'll hurry home and get my notes for you!" he said.

"Okay! I'll put back the balls and meet you later!" Carol said, heading for the shed the school stored the sports equipment in. Carol opened the door and stepped inside with the bag of tennis balls slung over her shoulder, leaving it open so she could see without having to turn on the light inside. 'Even though my memories of the time I was lost are all gone... at last, I'm glad that I was able to come back to Jimmy and my friends. I'm finally at peace,' she thought as she put the balls away.

SLAM!

"Eh?" Carol said, startled when the door suddenly slammed shut behind her, cutting off her light source. "That's weird. I'm still in here. Who closed the door? It's so dark!" she thought aloud.

"Carol!"

"Eh..." Carol said, uneasy when she thought she heard a voice calling to her in the darkness.

"Carol!"

"Who is calling me? There's nobody here..." she said nervously when it came again.