Blue City

Two

Shake, shake.

"Hey! C'mon lady, I don't have all day! MOVE!"

Shake, shake.

My eyes crack open.

"I'll call an officer on you, lady!"

There is a little boy. And a gargantuan dog who licks my face wetly. I'm in a some sort of high-tech cottage, with not only a crackling fireplace, but a set of whirring gadets lining the room. A soft blanket is underneath me.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Me? Well first of all, who are you? 'Cause my Mummy told me not to talk to strangers." the little boy rubs his shoulder, which is wrapped in sevral layers of gauze tape. Is he injured? I think. 

Now that I have a better view of him, I notice he has an eyepatch as well. Goodness...Was he in some sort of accident? And he looks eight or nine years old!

"You gonna answer me, Lady?" he stares deep into my face.

"Uh...I'm not quite sure who I am, actually. I last remember being stuck with a needle in a cold room."

The boy jolts upright. 

"Oi! So you're a newcomer, then. No wonder you're so clueless. Lemme explain...

"Someone-maybe a friend or relative-decided you were tired of the daily grind on Earth. And they signed you up to be sent to Blue City! 'The most humble of all the Seven Cities of Clear Society!' Or at least that's what it says on all the TV adverts and such. Don't believe a word of it, it's all rubbish."

Earth. That sounds familiar.

Suddenly I have an uncontrollable urge to go home. Where is home?

"Am I on Earth?"

"No...Well not really. You're in a different...dimension- so to speak. Kinda like a place you can only get to in your dreams, some place far away. But you're still on Earth.

"Oh yeah, I'm Todd by the way. Nine-year-old genius in the making! Inventor of eight prototypes and six real inventions! And this is Gub, the bestest and biggest dog you'll ever meet." Gub licks me again.

 "I gotta get out of here! I gotta get back to Earth! I gotta-"

"You're not goin' anywhere, Lady! You're gonna stay right here in my Mummy's house. If you try and go outside without knowing pretty much anything, an officer'll catch ya right up! Wham!" He claps his hands loudly. "And you're in jail. And nobody's gonna bail ya out, 'cause nobody knows who you are. and don't look at me, 'cause me and my Mummy is real poor!" he pouts and crosses his arms.

Ignoring just about everything he just said, I thrust every ounce of my strength to get up from the floor. But I can feel the pain in my side from that stupid needle egging me back to my earlier position. Then it hits me. I was knocked out. And this boy and his mother must have found me somewhere. This boy's name is Todd, the dog's name is Gub. The boy is annoying and full of himself, the dog is huge. And my memory is totally and absolutely gone. I am instantly filled with worry and questions. 

The boy gets up from where he is sitting and leaves me along with Gub. He is drooling all over my face, but I don' mind it all that much. I used to have a dog who drooled all the time...Another memory!  A dog, a huge dog, at a shelter. A little girl-who looks an awful lot like me-is tugging on a woman's skirt and poiting at this large dog. The woman stares for a few moments, then nods. The girl clasps her hands together and beams. The woman can't help but to smile too.

And then the memory disappears again.

Why is my mind so...slow all of the sudden? How com I keep losing these memories...? It frustrates me. I ball my fists, ready to punch a blank space. 

"Hey, Lady!"

I look up. It's Todd.

"My Mummy made you a bowl o' hot soup! How lovely does that sound? I'll fill you in while you eat, then you can go off on your own. Boy, I sound like I'm talkin' to a child. Say-how old are ya, Lady?"

"I told you, I have no clue. I lost my memory rememb-"

"MIRA HIGGINS: 5 FEET AND ONE INCH(ES), 93 POUNDS, THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE, CITIZEN OF BLUE CITY."

"It's the voice from before! Oh yes...it told me it was giving me a small version of it to keep with me."

"EXACTLY. NOW DRINK THAT SOUP TODD GAVE YOU BEFORE IT GETS COLD!"

"...and now you have an actual personality... Where are you?" 

"IN YOUR LEFT POCKET. NOW EAT YOU SOUP,  MISSY."