Whispers Beyond the Forest

Chapter 2

Emily woke up feeling disoriented. For a few moments she couldn't remember where she was. As she pushed the blue-and-white-striped bedsheets off her and noticed her pyjamas, the memories of the previous day came rushing back. How she woke up in a hospital bed. How she didn't recognise the people she'd spent all her life with. How she'd gone to bed so exhausted that she hadn't even had the energy to look around the room. Her room.

Bitter disappointment rose like bile up her throat when she realised that she still didn't know who she was. She'd secretly hoped that her brain would fix some connections on its own overnight. That she'd remember something by the time she woke up. Anything. But her brain had reconnected nothing.

Emily stepped out of bed and had a look around her bedroom. Next to the door stood a tall wardrobe, which Eddy had pointed at the night before, to let her know where her clothes resided. On the other wall sat a desk, scattered with school books, notebooks, pens, markers, and a laptop in the middle of everything. On the walls were a handful of posters and pictures of people she didn't know and on the door hung a large mirror.

As she opened the grass-green curtains, she noticed the potted plant on the windowsill. After getting dressed in a simple blouse and jeans from the wardrobe, she went over to the mirror.

A pale girl with long, sleek tawny hair looked back at her. Her blue eyes stood wide in surprise by what she saw. For some reason, she hadn't expected not even being able to recognise her own reflection. She took a deep breath and watched the girl in the mirror do the same. She saw the clothes she'd just put on, the necklace she wore...

Emily looked down with a frown. She hadn't realised she'd been wearing a necklace. It was so small she hadn't even felt it. It was made of silver, with a lovely little charm in the shape of what seemed to be a fox. She wondered how she'd gotten it. Had someone given it to her, or had she bought it herself?

That's when she heard footsteps outside her door. Emily opened it when she heard knocking.

"Morning, honey," said Eddy. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad," Emily answered. "The headache is gone."

"Great! And did you... Has anything come back?" he asked uncomfortably.

"No, I'm afraid not..."

"Oh... Well, maybe later. Do you want to come downstairs? Breakfast is ready."

With a nod, Emily shut the door of her bedroom behind her.

Two plates were already lying on the kitchen table, along with several kinds of juice and some toast.

"I made croissants. Let me get them out of the oven," said Eddy. It was almost as if he nervous, Emily thought. As if he was trying to make a good impression. She knew how he felt. She herself also wanted to come across well to him. After all, he knew her really well. She had to show him that she was still the same Emily, even though that may not be the case.

As she waited for the croissants, she glanced around the living room. On a cabinet not far from her stood three photo frames. One held a picture of a baby, the second one a little girl with what Emily guessed was a very young version of Eddy. The third showed that same girl, a little older now, with the same young Eddy and a woman, a forest in the background.

Her curiosity peaked, Emily stepped closer to the picture. She'd not seen that woman yet. Could that be her mother? Why wasn't she here, in the house?

Eddy came back from the kitchen and placed a bowl of hot croissants in the middle of the table. He saw her looking at the picture and came over to stand next to her.