Vicious Memories

Epilogue - Adam

7 Years Later

It hadn't rained in weeks.

Adam's feet slowly ate up several blocks of cobbled sidewalk, his easy pace taking him down a long street lined with stores and restaurants. Shoppers out to enjoy the afternoon passed on either side - families with children, little kids in huge groups - entering and exiting clothing shops on every whim. Seeing the children was a particular delight given all the events of the recent past. Everyone on the sidewalk stopped to smile down at them, their faces brightening with hope.

Once in a while a group of people walking by Adam would pause before passing on.

"Do you mind?" they would ask, pointing at the sidewalk.

"Go for it," Adam would answer.

They knelt on the ground and laughed happily as Adam's dog, a jet black lab-shepherd mix, jumped up and tried to lick their noses. He panted happily as they scratched the top of his head, his tail wagging back and forth so wildly it could have doubled as a weapon. Adam shifted from foot to foot while he waited patiently, looking up at the snowcapped mountain range that loomed over the street far to the west, rising out of the ground like a series of white-tipped fins.

When the strangers were done playing with the dog he continued walking.

"C'mon, Boxer."

He stopped for coffee and sat at a table outside, in no rush at all, nothing for him to do this evening besides grab dinner with friends in a few hours. Boxer settled by his feet, his pink tongue sticking out of his mouth, bubblegum bright. Adam scratched at the series of scars running down his left arm absentmindedly.

He was no longer tested or monitored - that had only gone on for the first three years after the terrible car accident that had stolen his memory. When they had originally given him a timeline after the crash seven years ago, it had stretched a full decade into the future. They'd given him all the support he needed, even encouraged him to take a new name that he could truly call his own since the tests conclusively showed that he'd never get his memory back.

But a couple years later they mentioned that something unfortunate had happened to the founder of their practice, and the new science said that he was free and clear to continue his life normally. He'd decided to keep his new name, and shortly after he was done with the medical testing he'd moved from the coastal city he was living in to this small mountain town, an inexplicable urge to get away from the nearby ocean driving him inland.

Properly caffeinated now, Adam rose and tossed the empty cup in a nearby trashcan by the curb. He was about to head back the way he had come when he caught sight of a silhouette across the street. Alarm bells went off in his head, and he did a quick double-take.

A woman walked down the opposite sidewalk, her long legs carrying her forward gracefully. Brown hair pulled back in a ponytail bounced behind her. He wasn't sure why she had caught his eye, but now that she had, he felt something tug at his chest. An unexpected smile came to his face.

For a wild, insane moment he considered sprinting across the street to say hello. He felt like he must know her from somewhere - a bar, the gym, a friend's party he had been to recently. But he couldn't place it in his mind, and the moment faded. She drew level with him, and looked over at some unheard sound. The sun flashed in her eyes, picking them out beneath heavy eyelashes in smoky brown and fierce gold. She didn't see him, smiling instead at a group of children playing together on the nearest street corner.

After a moment, she continued on.

Adam stood there for a few more seconds, then shook his head to break the spell. He turned and began walking away.

The leash in his hand pulled him up short.

"Boxer," he said, shaking the leash slightly. "Come on."

The dog didn't move, looking first at Adam, then back across the street.

"Let's go already." He pulled on the leash harder. Boxer ducked his head and pulled in the opposite direction, whining furiously.

Adam relented. He looked over and caught sight of the brown ponytail receding in the distance, only a block away. He started walking, paused, hesitated. He looked down at Boxer, nodding in the direction of the woman with the golden eyes.

"What do you think, bud?"