Memoirs and Malady

Chapter 4

                                          No Riley. No Sister.

Mido and I automatically moved away. I stood up with authority and asked her where has she been and that father was worried about her. Riley also treaded towards me, but to my surprise she didn’t do that to face me, rather to grab up Mido’s hair and to slap her face forcefully.

I was stunned for a moment. Mido was down the floor. Her long, brown hair was all messed up.

I rushed to pull Mido away from Riley. “What the hell is your problem Riley?!”

“Stop calling me Riley! I am no Riley and I am not your fucking sister!” she stepped away, back and forth. And then she came to me, growing more frantic.

“I am not Riley! I am Helena! Remember me! Remember me!” she kept tugging my clothes and hitting me all over. When she desisted, she opened her bag and brought out a black notebook. She threw it on me.

“Look at it Aldous! Look at it!”

Though she was crying, I could still see the fire in her eyes. She was furious and angry… and hurting, though the last one wasn’t something I was aware of that time. She left the house in a snap.

I checked on Mido first. Clearly she was hurt. Her creamy left cheek had a mark on it. I led her to sit at the sofa. She was blanched. “Did I hear it right? She called me Aldous? I know this is a terrible situation but Mido, I believe you now have to start talking…”

I picked up the black notebook and started opening it. It was a photo album. It was me and Riley- at the mall, at the school, in various events, everything was normal and happy. The next pages of the album made me drown in confusion- it was me and Riley- wearing couple shirts, holding hands, hugging, kissing on the cheek, and the more I turn the pages, the more my theory was rising.

I remembered Riley’s words before leaving: “Stop calling me Riley! I am no Riley and I am not your fucking sister! I am Helena! Remember me! Remember me!”

My eyes were filled with questions, too many questions that my mind couldn’t even organize my words. Mido just kept staring at me. Her lips started to move but couldn’t find the words to speak what was needed to be spoken.

I flinched. My chest hurt. I knew Mido was frightened by the blood she saw in my chest. I could hear her hysterical but my senses were fading. Everything turned to darkness.

                                     And So My Name is Aldous

Apparently, Riley’s thumps on my chest caused a wound to bleed, but nothing serious. I fainted too because of too much head ache. When I woke up, I was in a hospital. Father, June, Red and Denver were all looking at me.

Mido was the one who called the ambulance and called them all. As soon as they all arrived at the hospital, Mido told them what happened at the house- that I already knew that I had no sister, that Riley was Helena, and that Helena was my girlfriend. To not cause any more complication to the situation, Marnelli said she would stay away for a while.

“Aldous.”

Everyone looked at me.

“My name is Aldous.”

No one was talking.

“What else have you not been saying?”

Still no answer.

“What else have you not been saying?!” I shouted.

Father approached me and asked me to calm down. Red, on the other hand, went out the room to call the doctor.