Forgotten (a Steemit Original Story) - Chapter 5

I am an aspiring author for the sci-fi/fantasy genre and decided to post my story here on Steemit. Forgotten is the first book in my first trilogy about a woman who remembers a life she never had and has forgotten everything about her real life. 

Header image is a derivative work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license, and the original can be found here

If you need to get caught up, see here:

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

Forgotten (Rose of Petrichoria Book 1) - Chapter 5

For a moment, I thought I was staring at the light again. I could only see white. 

Am I dead? 

“Ow!” I pinched myself. It definitely hurt, so I was pretty sure I wasn’t dead. Hearing a rhythmic beeping, I looked over to see some kind of monitor. Based on the IV on my wrist and tubes in my nose, my guess was that it was tracking my breathing and heart rate.

I must have passed out or something.

I decided I would just lay there for a moment and stare at the white above me. 

I’m not uncomfortable. 

I shifted a little more and realized I was in a bed; a white bed. I turned onto my side and brought the white blankets closer to my chin so I could cuddle in the softness.

As I looked around the rest of the room, I noticed that everything was white, not that there was much else to the room. There was a stool by the bed, an open wardrobe filled with white dresses, a couch, a plush chair, a small table, and a door that I figured led into a bathroom. 

Everything in there is probably white, too. 

It didn’t escape my notice that there were no windows, books, television, or computer in the room.

I reflected on the strangeness of everything that happened before I was there. Doctor John Smith was some kind of villain and my world literally disappeared before my eyes. Somehow, I was able to spend some time with David, Tom, and Harmony, even though David and Tom had been dead for a year. Next thing I knew, I was flying toward a light and fainted.  

I’m nuts. That’s it. Something happened that finally threw me over the edge of my sanity and I’m in some kind of asylum. That’s why everything is white. 

I was desperately trying to figure out what was going on.

Fairly certain that I was being monitored, I stayed laying that way for some time. I wasn’t quite ready to face my new reality yet. A tear fell from my eye, then another, and I was soon sobbing into my white pillow. I turned onto my side and clasped the pillow against my eyes as I cried loudly, my body shaking in my sadness. My entire life had just been ripped away and replaced with whatever I was facing now.

I remembered being a child and crying into Mother’s lap when I was sad; she would stroke my hair and say motherly things like, “it will be okay” and “Mama’s here.” Even though she had been gone for some time, I missed her at that moment. She had a way of bringing peace to the worst situations. 

Even though the pillow was now thoroughly drenched, I used it to wipe the tears from my eyes before sitting up. When I finally did, I realized the bed was tall enough that my feet dangled over the side.

As I sat up, the door to the room slid open and John walked in. I widened my eyes in fear and the beeping on the monitor increased.

“John,” I whispered.

John smiled. “Good. I am glad you recognize me, though I am a little surprised. You’ve only ever seen me once in – Doctor Watson’s office.” When he hesitated over the name, he frowned a little. “I am sorry for how rude I was then. It was uncalled for.”

I frowned. “Who is Doctor Watson?”

He looked up, surprised. “You recognize me, but not Doctor Watson’s name?”

“Of course, I recognize you. Is this some kind of a sick joke, John?”

“No. No, of course not.”

Forgetting that I was hooked up, I dropped myself to the floor and tried to move. “Get these out of me now!” I yelled.

John quickly came over and carefully removed the IV and breathing tubes, though I wasn’t sure why he obeyed my command so instantaneously. When he was done, I grabbed his wrist. “Where is Harmony? You tell me right now!” As I got more upset, I felt weak and dropped back onto the edge of the bed.

“I am not entirely sure what is going on here, but I will figure it out.”

I wonder how long I’ve been out. It feels like at least a couple days. 

“What are these clothes you put me in?”

I was dressed much differently than the sundress I was wearing before I went out. I was wearing a dress seemingly identical to the other ones in the open wardrobe. Long sleeves became wider as they descended the arms, ending with an oversized bell. An embroidered empire waist stretched out long enough to barely sweep the floor as I walked; the material was light and flowy. 

Well, this is kind of a nice dress for a crazy person. 

The fact that I was insane was something I was starting to accept.

“I did not dress you. Your father insisted –”

When he referenced my father, I slapped him and he stepped back. “How dare you bring up my father? It’s bad enough he and my mother died years ago, but now you have to bring them into this – this – whatever this is?! Tell me right now what is going on, John!”

John was holding out his hands. “Alright. We will figure this out together. May I sit in the stool?”

I pursed my lips. “Fine. I’ll play your game, for now. I don’t know how a gun didn’t work on you, but I assure you, I will get my answers and I won’t let you hurt me anymore.”

I felt my hair, which was up in a loose bun and wondered how they were able to do that while I was unconscious. My hands and feet were well-manicured and pedicured as well. 

That’s odd. I can’t remember the last time I was able to get my hands and feet done.

“How about you tell me who you think I am?” John asked.

I barely heard his question as I continued examining myself. I was thin, much thinner than I had ever been even before I had Tom and Harmony. My face was smooth with no signs of forming wrinkles.

“What have you done to my body? I don’t remember authorizing any surgeries. I certainly can’t afford liposuction or face lifts.”

“I want to help you get answers, Miriam, but you have to help me, too. Who do you think I am?

I sighed. “Fine. You’re Doctor John Smith and have been my doctor now for several years.”

“Who are you?”

“Miriam Dutch.”

“Hmm…” John opened what appeared to be some kind of tablet and began taking notes. “What is the date?”

“April 12, 2016. Obama is president,” I responded, anticipating the next question.

“President,” he murmured as he wrote it on his pad.

“What is your birthdate?”

“August 31, 1985.”

There was silence as he scribbled it onto the strange tablet; it was taking a long time. Being the geek I am, I decided to ask about it.

“What kind of tablet is that? I always love new gadgets.”

He looked up at me like he was trying to remember something for an exam. He had his “Aha” Moment.

“It is only a simple tablet called a Note-Taker. It takes what I write and uploads it to the flow directly.”

“Cool. Can I see it?”

“Sorry, no. Privacy laws dictate that I cannot show anyone the screen.”

“Oh.”

“Who is in your immediate family?”

“Really?”

“Humor me, Miriam.”

“It’s just Harmony and me now.”

“Now?”

I swallowed hard. He was really going to make me relive it. “Yes. My husband, David, and son, Tom, died in a car accident a little over a year ago.”

“Will you tell me about it?”

I looked down at my hands. “I would rather not.”

“It will really help me help you.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed at the cliché. “If you insist.

“It was early in the morning and the rain was pouring on the freeway on our way to the airport; we were going on our family vacation. David was so focused on the road while Tom slept peacefully behind him and Harmony slept behind me. It had been so long since we had done anything all together and we thought this last minute trip was a brilliant idea. 

“We were going to Kona. I was so excited to bring him there because it was my favorite place in the world. It was one of the things that had drawn me to him; his eyes were the color of those blue waters.” I went silent for a moment, then shook and stepped off the rabbit trail.

“Anyway, I was feeling tense because of how bad the weather was. Both of the children were sound asleep and I stared out the windshield at the star storm of rain pelting it.

“David noticed my tension and began to sing our song, Fly Me to the Moon, to calm me down. It was working. He nearly made it to the end of the chorus, when he was interrupted by the sound of a semi honking its horn. As it careened toward us in our lane, he swerved the car to miss, but fishtailed and the giant truck hit the car on the driver’s side. The car was pushed until the truck stopped, then continued down the road in terrifying acrobatics.

“The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed. Looking to my right, I saw Harmony curled up on a little couch. Looking to my left, my mother-in-law sat holding my hand, head on the side of the bed sound asleep.

“I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”

“That it quite alright, Miriam. It sounds like it was a difficult time for you. I think I have enough for now. It is evening. Are you hungry?”

“Not really,” I lied. There was no way John was going to get me to ingest any of the food in the place. My stomach growled.

John laughed. “Miriam, I assure you. You are safe. I will have something sent for you. The bathroom is behind that door,” he pointed to the other side of the room at the door I had already assumed was the bathroom door. “When you are done eating, take a shower and get some sleep. Hopefully, I will have some answers for you in the morning.”

With that, John got up and strode out of the room. I ran after him, but the door slid shut in my face and I couldn’t find any way to open it. Huffing, I turned around and decided to explore my tiny cell – I would not call it a room.

As I made my way across the room, I allowed my toes to linger a little on the very plush carpet. The first thing I examined was the open wardrobe. I ran my hands through the seven dresses hanging in it; they were, indeed, identical. 

I squished my feet over to the couch, which had the coffee table in front of it and the chair next to it. With another huff, I plopped myself on the soft cushion. 

At least everything is soft. Just the way I like it.

I kicked up my pretty little feet onto the coffee table and leaned my head back against the couch. Breathing in and out slowly, I closed my eyes and tried to regain my composure. Again. If I could remain calm and collected, I might be able to convince them I wasn’t crazy. I would be there no longer than a week and then I would have my little Harmony back in my arms. Having me there had to be some kind of a mistake. 

I’m sure Harmony is safe with Emma.

Then, I accidentally nodded off.

I startled myself awake, not knowing how long I had been that way. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I looked at the coffee table to find that, at some point while I was sleeping, someone had brought me food. It was some sort of broth with vegetables in it with a glass of water. Because my stomach growled again, I decided to brave the food. It didn’t taste like it was poisoned or laced with anything, so I ate it with gusto.

Taking a deep breath, I decided I would make my way to check out the bathroom and take a shower. I felt stiff again when I stood up, so I did a few stretches. 

I wonder how long I was out that time.

Shuffling along the plush carpet, I walked over to what I was told was the bathroom door. When I went to turn the knob, I noticed that there wasn’t one. I tried pushing the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Looking all over the frame, I finally saw a button; I pushed it and the door slid open. I glanced behind me at the door to the room to see if I had missed a similar button over there, but there wasn’t one.

I turned around and gaped as I entered into the bathroom. 

I don’t even have a bathroom like this in my home. These are the bathrooms in this asylum?! 

My previous assumption that everything was white in there was true, but there was so much more to it than that. A giant walk-in shower was in one corner of the room with a large jet tub in the corner next to it. The toilet was pristine, as well, with a no-slam lid and auto-flusher. The tile on the floor was so clean, I was sure I could eat off it, though I would never want to do that.

The sink was made from some kind of white marble and the mirror had a beautiful white wooden frame with flowers carved into it. Then, my eyes landed on my reflection. I blinked and rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeing correctly. 

This has to be some kind of trick.

The face I saw in the mirror was not the same one I saw recently, at least, not exactly. It was definitely me; the features were all correct; my eyes were the same, maybe the green was a little deeper. The shock of it all was my age. 

I’m so young! At least, I look like I’m young. 

I knew I had been changed somehow by how my face felt, but knowing it didn’t prepare me for what I saw. Gone were the wrinkles and blemishes from years of acne and sunshine in Texas. Reaching back, I took down my bun, which I figured had roughly a million bobbi pins in it. I dug my fingers into it and shook it down. My hair was stark black with no grays and landed at the small of my back. Seeing my slim waist was even more shocking than feeling it.

What did he do to me? Better question – what is he going to do with me now?

At that point, I was beginning to get terrified of my predicament. Backing away from the mirror, I exited the bathroom. Eyes wide with fright, I made my way back to the bed. Bringing the blankets back up to my chin, I lay on my side. Knowing that I was no safer in the bed than I was anywhere else in the room, I closed my eyes as I began to cry and tried to figure out my situation again. 

I’m not crazy. I can see that now. Something strange is definitely going on here. Did I have plastic surgery done and I just don’t remember it? No. I wouldn’t have plastic surgery. Then why do I look so young? Why is my hair so long? And why am I thin? Is Doctor Smith really some kind of bad guy? Did he really drug me and do this to me? Where is my Harmony? I need my precious Harmony.

In the midst of all these questions and tears, I fell back to sleep.