Anamnesis

six

1,344

I turned down my street, vision flickering past every single house. They all looked the same to my drugged up conscious, each pale grey roof and white exterior blending into the next.

The varying mix of greys and whites beginning to make me feel nauseous. Bile rose in the back of my throat, my hands shaky. Where am I?

I spotted the lights, barely visible from the street. I parked my car next to the curb, paranoid to pull into the driveway. Another car sat there, nothing more than a black mass in the darkness.

The windows were lit on the bottom floor; one on the second layer corresponding to my little sister's bedroom. Four heads bobbed in the front window, two nearly recognizable as my parents, the other two unknown.

I glanced down at my cell, swearing under my breath at the current time; 11:46. Fourteen minutes till all of today would be forgotten. Fourteen minutes till The Reset.

I crept as close to the kitchen door as possible, positive that my clothing reeked of smoke and alcohol. Yet, the aroma of my late night adventure was lost to the soft, floral scent of perfume, just beginning to fade.

I gripped the door handle, turning slowly as I waited for the tumbler to fall into place. I heard the hollow-sounding click, my hands shaking as the aftereffects of the alcohol began to wear away.
The door opened bit by bit; warm, yellow light flooding between the cracks. From my hiding spot behind the thin, wooden doorframe, I couldn't hear much. A shallow group of voices, none louder than a whisper. The kitchen was clear.

I slipped inside, footsteps quietly padding over the tiled floor. I hadn't thought this far yet, my mental plans still in their infancy. The time read 11:50. I had ten minutes. I took a deep breath, my ragged lungs wheezing with the effort.

My mom entered the kitchen, eyes as wide as saucers when she caught glance of me. Her face paled, and I felt my hands grow cold.

"Adrian. You, you, are. You're home."
Her voice was more breath than sound, barely audible with the pounding in my head. My legs turned weak, my body fighting against the pull of gravity. I struggled, gripping to the countertops to avoid collapsing to the floor.

Just over her shoulder, I could see Madelyn, slowly descending the steps. Her long, dirty blonde hair covering half her face. When she saw me, she stopped, sitting down on the steps leading up to her room. A baby blue quilt was wrapped around her body.
She should've been asleep hours ago.

My mom grabbed my wrist, knuckles white. I was pulled from my daydream.
"Where have you been!" She hissed, "Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?"

"Eloise, who are you talking to?"
Through the entryway, my father took her side, his jaw set into a tight frown.

As a kid, I always thought my dad was the strongest person in my life. He never was one to let anything get to him. But now, with his quickly greying hair visible in the light, I finally understood the weight of his life. His existence was a daily struggle, nearly impossible to care for his family when something as trivial as a name was forgotten.

"Adrian. About time. Go up to your room and pack. You're leaving. Now. Your mother and I have had enough of you running off. This little stunt is one too many. Your entire life you've been running around, doing who knows what. You've worn your mother and I down to the bone with worry. We've had enough!"

My stomach dropped into my feet, the room spinning around me. Voices collided and contrasted in my ears. The back of my throat burned, my body rejecting whatever liquor was left in my system.

"Adrian, sweetheart, there are some people here that want to meet you. You're going to be going away with them." My mom suppressed a sob, wringing her hands.

"We're scared, your father and I. The later and later you come home, we're forgetting more and more about you. And you, you're forgetting us just the same."

My mouth fell open, but I couldn't speak. I felt a soft grip on the inside of my elbow; a large, calloused hand. Skin tone dark. On one finger, there was a ring, the blue stone my only grasp on reality. I tried to focus on it, holding tight to my solitary embrace.

"Adrian Lynnwood, my name is Charles Bonnet, and I'm from the Anamnesis Cognizance division. I have a court order here that claims you've fallen out of our little way of life. I'm going to need you to come with me and my partner here."

I looked up at the man holding onto my arm, his body dwarfing my 6'5" frame. His skin was the color of dark chocolate, a well-tailored suit fit to his muscular arms. His tie was a deep, blood red, the nausea in my stomach beginning to worsen.

Charles began to lead me towards the steps, Maddie running upstairs to avoid being caught. There was another woman in my living room, taking a sip from a full cup of tea. Typical. My forever courteous mother the perfect hostess. As if the woman taking me away was a long lost cousin, instead of a government official.

She couldn't have been taller than five foot, her pointed heels clicking, clicking, clicking as she walked over to me. She wore a knee length black skirt and starch white button-up, the former of which accented her petite frame and long legs.

The pair was a complete contrast, opposites, in the best of terms.
I was shaking as she extended her hand out to me, my eyes meeting hers. They were a thin, almond shape, her irises a smoldering blue, so dark, they might as well have been black.

"My name is Evelyn Hsu, Anamnesis Cognizance Division. Everything is going to be okay Mr.Lynnwood. I just need you to follow me upstairs."
She spoke slowly, rhythmically. Like I was a child who needed to be disciplined.

I was being pushed towards the staircase, Maddie now gone.

"Sir, I need you to follow me. Everything's going to be okay."

Her words were too rehearsed, every single mistake of the system hearing these same sentences.
I didn't think I could make it up each tread, my legs trembling as I lifted my foot. Slowly, but steadily, I ascended, the higher I went the more and more I struggled to breathe.
Reaching my door, I could feel my face grow damp, tears slipping down my cheeks. This was it, my parents wouldn't remember me after tonite. The only difference between my steadily forming plan and theirs was that I would be traveling alone.

"Adri, Why are you crying?"
Evelyn turned, a flicker of anger present in her eyes. Maddie took the hint, taking a step back.

I froze. She was only six, and with an 11-year difference between us, I had to assume she was an unplanned sister, nothing more than a mistake. To my parents, she was a half-assed solution to a failing marriage. But to me, she was my entire world.

I knelt down,
"I don't know Maddie. I guess I'm going to miss you."

"Adri, silly, I'm right here."

"Not for long my little princess."

I glanced at the wall clock, 11:57.
Her delicate arms wound around my neck, my tears dampening her nightgown. I didn't want to leave her. Maddie was the only one I had trusted. The same little girl who used to beg me for bedtime stories, crawling into my room whenever she had a nightmare. The same little girl who used to look at me with strange looks every morning, now needing daily reassurance that I was still there.

Maddie was more than my little sister, she was my best friend.

And I was leaving her.