Once Upon A December

Dancing bears, painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December

The young woman sat in the chair next to the fire, staring at it with blank eyes, almost in a trance.
Alfred wasn't sure who she was, only that she had collapsed on his doorstep an hour earlier. Given the freezing weather and her inability to respond to him , he'd thought she was homeless at first. But she had a wallet with a driver's license, and when he checked the address, it showed her as the current resident.
"Natalia?" He spoke quietly.
She suddenly looked at him in shock. "Who are you?" Her eyes were wild, and she looked around for something to hit him with.
He held up his hands in surrender. "My name's Alfred, Alfred F. Jones. I found you on my doorstep. You'd collapsed, and I brought you inside to keep you from dying." He pulled out a card. "I work as a paramedic."
She took it from him and examined it carefully before handing it back to him. "Well, I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for saving me."
She started to stand up, but he shook his head. "You aren't leaving until I check your vitals and see where you're going. You seem healthy enough, and you have a house. Why are you here, three states away from it?"
She froze, confused. "Three states away? I'm still in Oregon, bastard."
Alfred shook his head. "No, you aren't. This is Helena, Montana."
She stared at him in shock for a while, and he sat down.
"Okay, you don't appear to remember getting here, so let's start with what you do remember. What's the last thing you can remember?"
Natalia didn't speak at first, and then she sighed. "I'd rather start from the beginning of my memories, if you don't mind..."
Alfred paused for a moment and then shook his head. "No, not at all."

Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory

"The first thing I ever remembered was an amusement park. I was traveling with two people. A boy and a girl, I think. There was a ride... a carousel with lots of silver horses. When I got off the ride, I left with someone."
"It was only when I was sixteen and tried to get my driver's license that my parents told me I wasn't actually their daughter. Their real daughter just dropped me off one day and said I was hers. I'd been kidnapped."
Alfred said nothing as she took a deep breath and collected herself.
"When I was eighteen, we went to the police and told them the story. They wanted to arrest my parents, but I told them that it was their real daughter who was to blame. They had always believed I was their actual granddaughter untilI told them my memories of the boy and the girl."
"Since I didn't legally exist, the police helped me make a new identity using what's called 'adult adoption' for people who are found as adults after being kidnapped as children. I took the name I'd always used, including my parents last name, Arlovskaya."
"A few years ago, I moved out. I work in Oregon as a social worker with kids from broken homes. On the side, I try to find my family and my possible real siblings."
Alfred waited for a while longer before asking a question. "What's the very last thing you remember?"
"It was Friday, I had just gotten home from a shift. I was looking at something online and..." She paused, as thought trying to find a word. "That's it."
Alfred nodded, looking at his calendar. "It's Monday, today."
She blinked in terror. "You mean I can't remember an entire weekend?"
"Hey, it's okay. Was there a case at work that brought back memories of your childhood? You could have just been reliving trauma. Or if you have any sleep medications, they sometimes have an effect similar to this."
She shook her head. "No. I just..." Putting her face into her hands, she groaned. "I don't remember anything."
Alfred finally handed her cell phone. "Call your boss and let me talk to them. I'll tell them you're in Montana and under a doctor's care, and that I'll call them as soon as you're released from my care."
She stared at him. "But you're just a paramedic, aren't you?"
"My brother is a doctor. He'll sign it off. Besides, if you don't mind, I might take you to see him tomorrow."
She looked at this man, who had made no attempt to hurt me or take advantage ofher. He seemed genuinely interested in helping her. She nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."