SandBoxed Paradise...or is it a Prison

CHAPTER SEVEN

I'm not sure how long I sat there brooding over the daisy seed packets and various objects now strewn across the sand, but the moon was now bright in the sky. Its silver beams illuminated the blissful beach I considered my haven, but for the first time, I wasn't drawn to enjoy the beauty. Instead, I stared into the blank space where my memories must have once lived.

How could I know what all these things are, how to walk, how to eat, how to do all that I do, and have absolutely no memory of anything personal? Almost like I was spawned right here in the sand as a grown adult.

Hmm, that's a new one. Spawned. Maybe I was a science experiment, a blank slate.

Torn between laughter at my ridiculous thoughts and frustration over the lack of answers, I stood and filled my arms with the items like they were litter on the beach. I would put them in the cave and revisit them tomorrow.

A few steps later, however, I startled and nearly threw all the items into the air. The little earphones attached to the music player were blaring a song. The words were catchy and easy to grasp, but more importantly, I was again filled with emotions I didn't understand.

At a loss, I continued towards my destination. By the time I set the items down on the little ledge where I would no longer sleep, due to the discovered hazards, I was singing along.

"I always feel like, somebody's watching me. I always feel like, somebody's watching me."

As I leaned over to neatly arrange the items, the charm necklace fell forward against my arms, catching my attention. What I saw confused me further. I must really be losing it.

I could have sworn I counted fifteen charms, maybe more, hanging from the necklace earlier. Now, there was only one: a wheelchair with a daisy etched into the seat. A heart surrounded three letters on the backrest: "SOS."

Dumbfounded, I replayed the day's events in my head. My eyes bounced from the daisy seeds to the keychain fob that also bore the letters "SOS." My gut told me that there was a relation, it was too neat to be a coincidence; but unfortunately, further pondering left me exactly where I had begun.

A blank slate.

Blinking my eyes rapidly and shaking my head with chagrin, I touched the lump on my forehead.

Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought?

More exhausted than I had been since my wash up onto this little island, I returned to the far end of my cozy beach and lay flat on the sand. I stared at the stars for a long time, contemplating how the last many hours had shifted from mind-numbing repetitive routine to absolute strangeness.

I braced myself as I drifted, but this was truly to be a day of firsts. While I still experienced the same illusion of walls closing in on me and not being able to move, this time I had no actual pain. I didn't even feel the fear that always accompanied my drift to dreamland. As I squinted at the blinding light, a figure appeared. I found myself calmed and mesmerized by my savior with the kind eyes, eyes that smiled into mine until the darkness engulfed me.