Snowdrop

lll

I led Dan back to my estate, clinging to him as I grew weak. I hadn't left the confines of the wheelchair in 3 years, so I wasn't quite used to walking anymore. Dan was very helpful with me, kindly and gently caressing me to allow me to move without falling flat on my face.

"Hello Mr. Lester. I've prepares tea in the East Drawing Room. Who's this?" My personal assistant, Scott, said, eyeing Dan wearily. "This is Dan. I met him at the park and invited him back here to warm up; he was positively frozen!" I said, staggering inside with the aid of Dan. I dumped my weight into one of the chairs near the door, taking off my hat and putting it on the nearby table. I bent and slowly managed to work my shoelaces undone with my shaking, frigid fingers. I stood and waved over one of the servants who had my wheelchair. I removed my coat and hung it on the peg, sitting in the wheelchair with a blanket over my legs.

Dan was standing awkwardly by the door, shifting his weight from his heels to the balls of his feet. "Dan, come on. Don't just stand there. Feel free to a cup of tea with me to warm yourself up." Dan smiled at me and walked over to me, grabbing the handles behind my wheelchair to steer me along. He followed my directions to the East Drawing Room, chatting lightly on the way there. We stopped in the room, the dull light illuminating the grey paint on the walls. I wheeled myself over to the side of the coffee table seated in front of the beige couches, which Dan seated himself upon. 

"How do you like your tea? Don't worry, I'll make it." Dan said lightly, stopping my hand before I could grab the tea kettle. I smiled and rested my hands in my lap. "Black, two sugars please." I said, watching Dan as he carefully made my cup before making his own. He handed mine to me, a delicate spoon rested against the saucer the cup was perched on. My hands shaking, I held the saucer in one hand and grabbed the spoon in the other, stirring the tea gently with the frigid metal.

It clinked slightly against the side of the teacup, almost-but-not-quite in time with Dan stirring his. He seemed to be mulling something over as he sipped at his tea, his brown eyes unfocused and clouded. "Phil? Can I ask you a question?  About your accident? " He finally asked, looking at me with apprehension in his eyes. I placed my teacup and saucer on the table and nodded.

He wet his lips and took a deep breath. "What happened? Why are you in a wheelchair? And, this may sound weird,  but do you suffer from memory loss? " I blinked. "Well, I was around 24. I don't remember exactly what the accident was, but I do remember the pain and the screaming. My mum and dad died. I almost lost my right leg, which ended up with me in a wheelchair. I do suffer from memory loss and am currently missing the two years before the accident. I sometimes lose my short term memory, though not often." I explained, straining to remember the details.

Dan nodded. He looked out at the snow blanketed lawn, the crystal flakes fluttering through the air and joining each other on the ground. "I love snowdrops." He said with a smile, his brown eyes reflecting the snow. Snowdrop.

That's the word.

Snowdrop.

I simply stared at Dan, not being able to understand why I felt so...off. I knew that word, so tantalizingly familiar, so achingly close to the edge of my memory... The word brought back, well, not quite memories, but hints of them. Flashes of light. Fragments of sound. Brown eyes. Soft hair. His hand in mine. A small ring upon his left hand.

The ring that I was currently wearing.