His eyes open. When the haze clears, he sees an oak ceiling, a vase of white tulips. Warm light seeps through a white linen curtain and helps to warm the thick quilt covering him. Family pictures and childhood drawings are set in thick wooden frames across the room. He sees a woman. She’s got soft wrinkles and thin blond hair that falls gently on her shoulders. She’s sleeping, hunched over in a chair with her shoulders on his bed and her head held in her hands. He doesn’t know the woman. He doesn’t know himself. Who is he? Panic sets in as words try to tumble out of cracked lips. A painful whisper rises from his throat, desperate to wake the woman next to him. She wakes with a start and quickly hands him a glass of water from the nightstand. Thankful, he gulps down the water that seems to give him some clarity. 651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgbgWRToB7
“Excuse me miss, who are you?” he asks politely.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahwrOya2j5
“Well honey, I’m your mother. Do you not remember?” she asks with a look of surprise.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp90IOwYSt1
“Who am I? What’s my name? Where am I? I don’t know what's happening-”651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rVG7x8LPP
She interrupts him with a smile, “Don’t worry honey, you’re at home in your bedroom, your name’s Zak, you are my son, as I've already told you.”651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWP9V22sEB
“How don’t you remember?!?”651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48Qzv1P89E
651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2Qv4Z6tI5
Zak. Zak. It feels familiar. He says it, wanting to feel his mouth form the word. Yes, that’s right; I know that's right, He thinks to himself. It comforts him to remember some part of himself through the fog in his mind.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9Ki3rfChI
“How old am I, mother?” He asks.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbdPVRGuFz
“You’re thirteen.” She says. “Oh my, the doctors said that there might be some memory loss, but I didn’t think it would affect you to this extent. It’s early, but I’m going to go wake up your father.” She gets out of her chair and yawns as she walks out of the room and closes the door. 651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlo0b0nfXnz
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For some reason, he begins to panic again as the door closes. His brow furrows as he squeezes his eyes shut and hurriedly sucks in breaths. He doesn’t want to be left alone. He doesn’t want to be left alone where he’s lonely and afraid, and it’s so dark, so, so dark! He begins to shiver as goosebumps trail his skin. The blankets don’t feel warm anymore. All he wants is something to warm him up. It’s so cold he can’t stand it. Then it stops.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpJjylrrmj
651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeLzeaoUlC
The warmth flows back into the room as mother and a scary looking man step quietly through the door and to his bed. Zak’s cheeks blush, his ears turn red. What just happened to me? He thinks but quickly regains his composure for the man next to him. He sits stiffly on his stool, his stance disciplined, important. The man has broad shoulders and a thick neck, leading to a sharp jawline as well as had eyes like coal. He was hard to read. The boy wonders how he could ever reach past those eyes. The man stares at Zak with eyes that could kill if they wanted to. Instead, the man’s gaze softens as a small smile that puts crow’s feet on the corners of his eyes. 651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VVcTwwxwl
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“Dad!” Zak exclaims as he jumps up to hug the man. His father brings his arms up to meet him and yawns loudly. 651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUY4oV4bKy
“Couldn’t you wake up a little earlier?” He yawns.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsIkEQDcnN
“I remember you!” Zak says.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfC6MaAUdZ
“What’s that supposed to mean?”651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneqt1nECg3
“How come I can remember you but not mother?”651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTZuXzx8Vu
Momentarily, the smile drops from his father’s face. A new one forms, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFHNnoddAh
“It’ll come to you eventually, I’m sure” he concludes. “How about some breakfast? Does an omelette work for you, son?”651Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmDK392jCY
Zak smiles, “Perfect. Just what I wanted.”
