The Girl With Lost Memories - Parts 1 & 2 (An OUAT Fanfiction)

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 15: 𝒯𝑜 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒪𝓌𝓃 𝒮𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝐵𝑒 𝒯𝓇𝓊𝑒

I fume to town, my fists and jaw clenched. Emma's supposed to have my back. She's a foster kid. And she has the nerve to arrest me? She betrayed her kind. I knew she wasn't being sincere at the docks. She hates me being here. She hates me. Well, I hate her, too. You don't stab me in the back.

I pick up a rock stabilizing a mailbox and stand in front of a storefront window. I clutch the sharp, rough stone in my hand. It's gritty. Hard. Its edges cut into my skin as I grip it tighter.

Emma Swan. Regina Mills. You have no idea who I can be.

I throw the rock.

The glass shatters.

Oh, my God. What did I do?

I dash from the center of town and go to a park. Safe in the dark, I catch my breath and walk across the wet grass. There's a pond with reflections of the moon distorted on the water's surface.

I smell beneath my arm. I haven't bathed in two days, and that includes today. I've done nothing like this—bathing in a public place. Then again, I've never broken a storefront window, either. Two windows shattered within the week. Talk about anger management issues.

I take off my clothes but keep on my bra and underwear. Even though I'm alone, I'm not that loose with my morals. I'm not a skinny dipper, nor will I ever be. No one's catching me naked outside a bathroom. What's private stays private. This is like wearing a bikini... in the freezing air of Maine.

I step into the cold water and flinch my foot away. It's ice. The air's frigid, too, prickling my exposed skin. If I catch hypothermia, it's not like anyone would miss me.

I go into the pond up to my ankles, shivering. I ease myself in. I gasp when the water touches my bottom, then get on my knees.

Shit. What if there're parasites in here?

I waddle a little deeper. I lean backward, and my body submerges underwater. I open my eyes and watch the rippling moon. It's not full, but it's still pretty.

My arms cross over my chest, forming an "X." I'm like Ophelia, floating to a new life. Hope fills my heart. Whereas Ophelia met her end, I will meet my start. Like Irene said, I will rise like the phoenix. Emma and Mayor Mills do not define me. I do.

I'm here to find my parents, not have strangers judge and manipulate me. Once I find my family, I'll never see these people again. I'll be happy, and they'll be wishing they were nicer to me. I'm Bella freakin' Palmer. I'm a dreamer, not a criminal. I dream of things that can never be. I don't destroy things that are... Starting now.

A figure appears over the water. I shoot up and realize it was a shadow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mayor Mills's shadow, that is.

I splash when I turn around to face her. "Bathing."

She stares me down, disgusted.

"I smelled bad."

"That was you? I thought Sheriff Swan forgot to throw out her trash."

I crumple under her scrutiny while shielding myself with my arms.

"Get out of there," she demands, gesturing with her head.

I stand and wade out of the pond, covering my chest to warm myself up.

"At least you didn't go in there naked. I suppose you have part of a brain."

I shiver while she continues to attack me.

"I should report you, regardless. This is a public park, not a community bathtub."

"Please. I'm in enough trouble," I mumble.