016 The Awakening [ On Hold ]

Chapter 10 | Robert's Womanly Fingers

I felt like Mia wasn't as afraid of me anymore. Like she might actually open up to me. I didn't want to risk losing that by frightening her.

With Mia talking about mermaids I started to wonder if I was even human.
My thoughts drifted elsewhere and I started to wonder more about what my life had been like.
"If you could guess my name, what would it be? What name do I look like?" I ask. A devious smile spreads across my face.

Mia snickers, finding my question humorous. "Hmm..." she ponders my question, stroking her chin. "You look like a Steven."

I laugh, "Steven, really? It's kind of...generic."

"What's wrong with Steven? Would you rather me have said Prince Alfredo the Third or something?"

We both laugh together trying to picture myself with such a title. The laughing dies down and I gaze into Mia's twinkling eyes.

"You're going to get your memories back," Mia says as a statement. "I'm no brain surgeon, but no matter the outcome of this virus I will help you retrieve your memories. I promise."

Mia smiles sweetly. It was nice to be treated like a living human being. I felt like I was a walking lab experiment. I'm not a lab rat, or Frankenstein.
I felt alive around Mia. It was an amazing feeling.

"So," Mia says. "Do you want to make a bet?"

I laugh. "A bet? What on?"

She looks up, thinking about what she wanted to gamble. "I bet that your real name starts with an 'S'."

"Why?" I smile, and Mia starts waving her hands around, trying to describe what she's talking about.

"Well," she says preparing to make her point, "Sub starts with an 'S' and so does Steven. Those were the first names we came up with so I'm going with my gut."

Robert growls ahead of us. "I did think he looked like a piece of 'S' when we first saw him."

Mia marches forwards and slaps him in the arm. Her motherly ways were amusing, yet understanding. "Robert!" She says with a strict tone.

"A piece of Sweet Sunshine. That's what it stands for."

She rolls her eyes, not finding his joke humorous. She starts walking slower and slower until she matches my pace. "What kind of bet do you want to make?" She asks.

"I bet, that I have a pet Walrus named Ferdinand."

Mia starts laughing and her cheeks blush when she starts to snort a little. "No, seriously?"

I shrug, since I was hoping my joke would get me out of having to actually tell her. "I bet," I pause to think. "I bet that I'm going to go home, and my mom is going to be sitting on my bed tugging an old jersey of mine, waiting for my arrival. When I walk inside she'll run to me with tears of joy streaming down her face."

Mia smiles. "In a weird kind of sappy way, that sounds nice."

I wondered where my mom was that very moment. Was she missing me? Did she cry when I was gone?

I think back to the memory I had at the restaurant. Who was that little girl? I could still remember her sweet face, screaming and crying as she was pulled back.
It felt wrong keeping that snippet of my life from Mia but...for some reason I just couldn't tell her.