Challenged Love

Chapter 12

Nothing could have ever prepared me to behold the sight which presented itself before my own eyes. A truth was waiting to be divulged, a secret burning to be unfolded. I stared at my parents, and they stared back at me in turn. On the other side of the glass barrier were the very people I have grown to loathe with every fiber of my being, a hatred so strong that I just could not shake.  I had many questions, yet no way of gathering my words together. I did not even know why I was here today in front of my mum and dad anyways. Was it to request answers to the several questions I have had for seven years? Was it to just chat? Was it to just stand there with sweaty palms and pretend this was normal? What exactly was this accomplishing? 

"Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Rosewood," the nurse spoke gently. "I brought a lovely visitor."

My mum and dad still glared at me uncomfortably as if I were an alien, as if they did not recognize me. I cannot really say I recognized them either. They appeared nothing like the parents who screwed up my mind and tortured me endlessly. They looked nothing like the pitiful, rugged individuals awaiting trial in the courtroom. Their hair was neatly combed, their faces were clean, and they each wore matching hospital gowns. Their gowns were also long-sleeved, covering up their past. The past which has affected every part of my present. It only proves that one greedy desire can cause much more damage than one can imagine. 

I wish I could say that I remembered what life was like before all of this happened, but my traumatic history has fogged most of those memories from my mind. However, I just so happened to recall the day before everything in my life went wrong. My mum and I were dancing in the living room as if there were no tomorrow. We danced quite often, but that moment was most memorable, probably because it was our last. Some nights I wish we still did that, or that I could go back in time and relive that moment for at least a few more minutes. I have always wished this was all just some nightmare, and that I might wake up only to realize that I am still eight years old, to realize that it was all just a horrifying dream. 

Yet, I did not choose this life, and quite frankly, neither did my parents. In fact, we were torn apart by another's choice. 

"Do you recognize her?" the nurse inquired my parents. 

I waited for an answer, but none came. Instead, they aggressively shook their heads. 

"I'm sure their memory will recollect itself later," the nurse whispered to me. 

But I feared it would be the complete opposite. My parents just stood there with blankness in their expressions. There was utter silence in the room. No one spoke. Nobody moved. Their memory would not return. 

Out of nowhere, a doctor came bursting into the room. 

"Mrs. Goldenburg! Please come quick. It's an emergency!"

Then, he rushed away frantically. 

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Goldenburg, who was the nurse, cried out. "I'll be back, Holly. Maybe try talking to them. That should help."

In just a split second, she had apparated, leaving me and my parents alone in the same room. I could not believe it. 

Seriously? Just going to leave me here?

It felt odd to just be there without words to fill the uncomfortable void of reticence, but I had no idea how to carry on a conversation with either of my parents. I did not even want to. I did not find any of this necessary. 

Cannot harm anything, can it?

"Hi," I spoke softly, the sound of my voice slightly startling me. 

Suddenly, the ceiling appeared far more interesting to my mum and dad. I could gather that each of them seemed rather out of touch with the world around them. For the first time, I began to really understand the effects of the Imperio Curse. It has confused them, wounded their minds, stolen any sense of awareness.