And then I was awake again. I was in Juno's kitchen, and it was cold. a crack passed down the length of my brain, all the way down to my heart as I felt my entire perspective shift. I had forgotten everything for 6 years of my life. Then, as if out of the blue, it was coming back. Not entirely coherent, not entirely fragmented, but it was there. Happening, now.
So why had it stopped?
I grasped at my other hand, feeling to ensure I was here and it wasn't some feeble attempt at a dream, but I was met with nothing less than skin, nerves and a pulse.
I was back in the present.
All of my limbs shook. I attempted to reach out to the flowers once again, to try to trigger the memories, but nothing happened. I was grounded in the here and now, and a sinking feeling plagued my body that I had returned before the most pivotal part of the story.
The story? It was my life, wasn't it? Why didn't I remember? Why had I forgotten for so long? I glanced around the room. the scent of pie still lingering, the warm and cosy interior interrupted by the chill racking every nerve of my body, and I stepped forward. Mrs Golde had to know something, right? Why did she keep saying that today was an important day? I tried to re-coordinate my body, taking one shaky step after another until I reached the door frame that led out into the hallway. Where had she gone? I placed my fingertips against my forehead and tried to remember, but my entire being felt fragmented, pulled between two separate time periods. I took a deep breath, and did my best to ground myself in the present, counting four beats per inhale, hold, and exhale, just like I had been taught. Focus, Tobi. Where has Mrs Golde gone? She had a mug of tea, and she had walked out of the kitchen, but I had been too caught up in my own thoughts to notice which way she had turned. Okay. First destination - garden. Beginning to get back into the rhythm of walking again, I worked my way to the door, picking up my shoes on the way. They were still wet. So time hadn't passed. Armed with soggy shoes and increasingly soggy socks, I unlocked the door and began to walk down the cobbled garden path.
I still found it weird how the entire path up was surrounded by nothing but the same flower - that alcea flower. I wondered what that meant.
After a thorough scouting, I concluded she wasn't anywhere there, leading the only conclusions left to be either she left the property, or she was just somewhere in the house.
"God... where are you?" I muttered to myself, focusing on the task at hand to keep my mind from drifting in the slightest. "Okay, so... house, I guess?"
I made it back to the door - significantly wetter and more fed up than ten minutes before - and quickly pried off the drenched canvas on my feet, putting them back under the radiator. I headed right first, checking the living room only to find nothing, then made my way up the stairs. I doubted she would be in .̸̝̖͊̓̅͊̊̾͆̃͝.̶̨͍̺̯̎̚.̷̞̪̱͉̜̥͓̾͌̑̀͐̄͛̽.̸̻͔͓͔͇̪̋̃̔-̴̩̥͍̥̇̈́̑́̅̉́͂̚͝.̸͈̪̬͔͔͙̣̰̀͋.̴͇̩̝̞͔̃̒͒͑̿̔-̷̙̺̪̍.̴̗̩͍̯͙̋͐̾̇͋͊́.̶̡̢̡͎̳͓̗͍̽̈́̉'s room, so I turned right instead to a door I'd never been through before - presumably Mrs Golde's room.
I doubted she would be in..
Whose room?
I-
Shit.
What was their name?
I can't... remember?
They liked... space. And music. And space. I said that already, didn't I?
I paused, a shiver working its way down my spine, slowly and tentatively, as though waiting to be given permission.
It's... it's okay.
