Memory Remnants

Part 3: Amnesia

Memory Remnants Part 3

Madeline awoke languidly. Her head hurt like hell and her ears were buzzing. As soon as she opened her eyes, she closed them again from the pain. She heard voices and forced herself to focus on them.

"What do you mean she doesn't remember me?" a male voice persisted. Madeline was sure it was Jonah's.

"She has partial amnesia. She remembers part of her life, but not the rest. Her memories may come back to her if she's around people she cares deeply about and she's back where she belongs. I greatly advise taking her home and reminding her of everything she cannot remember. After all, she had fallen on her head," a woman's voice assured them. She must be her doctor.

"My own wife doesn't remember me. What is Lizzy going to think?" Jonah groaned.

"Being around her own child will probably help her, too."

Madeline whimpered when she felt one her limbs cramp a bit. She opened her eyes and saw Jonah, Alex, and the doctor staring at her.

"How old are you?" Alex asked her.

Without even thinking about it, she answered, "Fifteen."

Alex gave her hand a light squeeze. "You're twenty-two."

She slowly shook her head. "That can't be right. I'm fifteen. I'm a member of the sewing club. I'm a freshman in high school. I have a biology test in three days that I've been stressing about because I can't seem to remember which cell division term is which. I'm not an adult. I'm far from it."

Alex shook his head. "You're twenty-two. You're married to Jonah and have been for the past four years. You're a stay-at home mom and you have a three year old daughter named Elizabeth, but everyone calls her Lizzy. You're four and a half months pregnant with your second child. It's a boy and we all agreed to name him Gavin and already refer to him as that. You fell down the stairs and banged your head on the wall. It was a good thing a plumber was there to call an ambulance."

Tears formed at the sides of her eyes. She was just fifteen. Inside at least. She was just a kid. "Where's mom and dad?" she whined.

Alex's eyes dimmed in sadness. "Dad died four years ago and mom three. Both to lung cancer because of their smoking. I live with you."

Madeline began to bawl. "I want my mommy! And my daddy! I'm just a kid! I need them!" She rubbed her knuckles under her eyes, but the tears kept coming. They couldn't be dead. They just couldn't be.

Alex suddenly pulled her into an embrace. She buried her head into his chest. It was so strange to have her baby brother so much taller. He had been only an inch or two taller than the height of a kindergartener just seven years ago.

"Let's go home, sis," he whispered into her ear.

"But that house isn't the home I want to be in," she cried.