Bound

one

A yawn forced its way up her throat as she sat up, a small groan proceeding it. She reached out her arms, a dull ache in her muscles as they stretched. She sighed as she let her muscles relax, her eyes working to focus on the room around her.

The grey walls were dark with the soft light filtering through the clouds and into the two windows. The thin white curtains were moving gently with the warm breeze that came through the screens. She blinked the sleepiness from her eyes, recognizing her room, with everything in its place, exactly how it always was. 

She ran her hands over her face, trying to remove the mist of confusion that made her mind feel fuzzy. It was the same feeling that one gets when waking up from a deep sleep, one close to death. With another yawn, the threw her white down comforter off of her, placing her feet down on the soft, white carpet. She stood up, surprised by her reflection in the mirror that watched her carefully. 

Her face was dirty, her eyes heavy and tired. Her dirty blonde hair was tied back into a french braid, resting on the shoulder of her army green jacket. Curiously, she peeled back the jacket to find that underneath she wore a thin white tee shirt, over black jeans. Her eyes fell to the floor where she stared at the torn combat boots that looked like they had been through hell and back. Eyebrows furrowed she stared at herself, trying to figure out why on earth she had slept in this apparel.

But she couldn't figure it out, because her mind released no information about what she had done last night, or yesterday or the day before that. In fact, she couldn't remember much at all.  She felt panic nip at her chest, her breathing hitching. Shaking her head, she walked out of her room, hoping to find answers with her family. A crisp knock rang through the air as she rapped her knuckles against her brother's door. When there was no response she pushed open the door, revealing an empty room and a freshly made bed. 

Shutting the door, she made her way to her parents room. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, the silence suddenly deafening. "Mom? Dad?" she asked as she pushed open the door, only to fill the silence. Her eyes swept the familiar order of her parents room, but it lacked human presence. "What the hell?" she breathed as she pulled the door shut, walking to the top of the stairs. 

"Mom? Dad?" she called again as her boots hit each step with a loud thud. Her voice echoed off the walls, chills dancing along her skin. She shrugged it off, making it to the bottom of the stairs. Walking into the kitchen, her eyes scoured the counter, searching for some little note or something to explain her family's absence, but she only saw white tile. 

Her mind race, trying to figure out if they had said something about going to work, or perhaps her brother had gone to school. But these questions left her wondering what day of the week it was, and her mind refused to give her answers. She hit her fist down on the counter, swearing under her breath. "Why can't I remember anything?" she muttered to herself, feeling a twinge of panic as she considered the possibility of receiving an injury that gave her amnesia. 

Pacing back and forth across the kitchen, she decided she would wait. Surely her family would have to come back at some point, and when they did, they would finally give her answers. And maybe then the world would seem a little less confusing.

Running through the motions of a regular day seemed to be the only option to help her stay sane, so she walked to her cabinets, pulling out a bowl and a box of cereal. The sound of cereal hitting the bowl helped to break the silence, so when the sound stopped, she hummed a unfamiliar tune to keep the silence away. 

Grabbing her breakfast, she walked to her favorite spot in the house: the rocking chair on the screened in porch that wrapped around the front of her house. The chair creaked as she collapsed into it, the gentle back and forth movement a small comfort to her. A shadow of darkness passed over her as she stared at the gloomy sky, inhaling the crisp air.