Memories

Chapter 4

The next time I come, she's sitting up in bed, looking lively, but I know it's just a front so that people stop fussing over her.

"Hello, it's me. I've brought you this." I hold up the card I have in my hands so that she can see it. "I picked this up last night, it's from all your classmates. They miss you and want you to get better like I do, except they want you back because the class is really quiet without you, apparently." She holds her hands out and takes the floppy large heart they created and signed. "You'd think a group of people doing university art would do better than this, but it's what I was given when I went to tell your professor about your condition." She opens the heart and looks inside; a confused, blank look appears on her face. "Can you read it?" I ask. Savannah nods, but the look remains. "What's wrong?" I ask again. She points to one of the names and then at me. "Yes. That's my name, Alex, but it's not me." I smile at you for getting it right. I pause in case you want to say anything else. "Shall I tell you about our first date?" She nods. "Alright then. Well, it was cold and cloudy, but dry, a bit like today really," I said, looking out the window. "I decided to walk to your house through the university. Big mistake: I got lost, you see, and was rather late getting to your house."

***

When I finally arrived, the doorbell sounded like a bee had been trapped inside after I pressed it. From the other side of the door, there were the muffled sounds of someone hurtling down the stairs before it peeled open.

"You look amazing," I said. In the dimming light, her face shone brightly and her loose t-shirt hid her skinny torso.

"Thanks," she replied. "Come in, I'm not quite ready yet, and as you can presume. Oh, and we're going to have to wait for my sister to arrive, the sitter isn't here yet."

I took a nervous step into the house and felt a sense of warm friendliness, though it was probably the overworking heaters, before looking at my watch.

"If I'm late, how late are they?"

"I honestly told her to be here at quarter to, and what is it now, quarter past. Let me tell you, I'm not hiring her again." I follow her up the staircase to the first floor. It carried on to the second, but she opened the door to the first floor, and I follow her in. Instantly, I was hit by an onslaught of toys.

"Sorry about the mess, we weren't expecting visitors, other than the sitter of course and she's used to it."

"It's fine, as a child I was the youngest and had to live through my older siblings' messes not to mention the guys across campus." I see Maisie and got to sit next to her on the couch nearly squashing a doll in the process. "Whatcha watching?" I ask though she's too absorbed to reply.

"I'll be back in a moment."

"Okay," I call after Savannah who had disappeared into what looked like a bedroom.

I turn my attention to the TV where little animated sea creatures run around an orange, octopus-like submarine base trying to save an injured whale calf.

The doorbell buzzes like it did when I'd arrived, and Savannah briefly reappeared before rushing downstairs to let someone in. Muffled voices echoed up the stairs as they moved closer; I tried to listen, but I only managed to catch snippets of their conversation.

"Sorry, it's such short notice," Savannah said to the person outside.

"It's fine: isn't that what sisters and aunties are for?"

At the sound of her aunt's voice, Maisie completely forgot about the TV show and ran towards the woman in the doorway. "Aunty Rowan!" she screamed. The weight of the excited two-year-old nearly knocked Rowan to the floor as Maisie leaped up at her.