7

Rachel’s POV

My eyes slowly fluttered open, the light blinding them as I slowly adjusted to the room around me. My head felt heavy like it was hung to a weight, making me breathe heavily with extra Where... where was I?

The room wasn’t so grand but a bit comfortable, it had plain walls, a few not-so-new wooden chairs, and a bed that creaked as I tried moving due to my weight. The air felt cool but a bit dry, and there was a faint scent of lavender.

Before I could move, the door creaked open. A girl, not more than 13, peeked her head in. Her eyes widened when she saw me awake. “Mom! Mom! Come quick! She’s finally awake!”

Her voice echoed down the hall, and a few minutes later, a woman’s voice responded, though softer. “Rayna, what have I told you about yelling?”

The girl gave me a quick smile before darting back out of the room. I was still struggling to process what was happening when a woman, who should be in her early forties, entered. Her black hair was tied into a ponytail, and there was an expression around her eyes that spoke of worry or exhaustion. She looked surprised to see me already up.

“You’re finally awake,” the woman said, her voice warm and soothing.

I blinked, trying to make sense of everything. “Why… what am I doing here? Who are you, please?”

The confusion in my voice was clear. I raised my hands, and my fingers brushed against a bandage on my head. I suddenly felt a faint throb pulsating underneath. What happened to me? Who were these people?

The woman looked at me, cautiously, for a moment, her eyes softening with understanding. “You can't remember anything, can you?”

I stared at her blankly. No, I was unable to, everything just seemed to blur like a thick fog.

“I’m Sophia,” she said gently,  the bed sank, creaking as she took her seat beside the bed. “And that was my daughter, Rayna.” As if being called, the young girl appeared again, this time carrying a tray of food. She shot me another beautiful smile before placing the tray on a small table beside the bed.

“We found you, not more than a week ago, sprawled on the side of the road. You were in a terrible state. Rayna and I were on our way to get some things from the store when we saw you. We had to move you, as we couldn’t just leave you there.”

“A week ago?” I replied, shocked, my voice sounding distant like it didn’t belong to me.

Sophia nodded, her gaze filled with concern. “You’ve been out for days now, hoping you'd open your eyes someday, and now we're finally here..”

I tried to process it all, but nothing came to mind, my mind was just blank and my memories were slipping through my head, overlapping as I couldn't even pick the pieces together. I pressed my hand to my head again, hoping to force a memory to at least resurface, but all I felt was nothingness.

Sophia must have seen the confusion in my eyes, the desperation to remember. “Don’t push yourself too hard,” she said softly. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s normal not to have found yourself yet.”

Rayna, who had been sitting quietly, watching from the corner, spoke up. "The doctor had said there's a possibility that you might not remember some stuff for a while".

Sophia smiled at her daughter but didn’t give a reply to what she said. Instead, I could see her eyes, full of pity, like she knew something that I didn't, like it was a memory I shouldn't try to remember making them stay buried forever.

“But… why didn’t you take me to a hospital?” I asked, my voice a little bolder now, eager to understand what was happening. I hate remaining in the dark.

Sophia’s expression shifted slightly, something unreadable flashed across her face. “This is the safest place for you right now.”

“Safe?” I repeated, and I became more curious. “Safe from what?”

She didn’t answer right away, and her silence made me feel a lot was not right, Why did I need to be kept safe? What were they hiding me from?

A sickening thought crossed my mind. 'Was I a criminal?' Had I done something terrible, and now these people were hiding me from being found out? My throat tightened at the possibility.

“What do you mean by safe?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper now.

Before Sophia could respond, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my head. I winced in agony clutching my temples as a flood of blurry images flashed through my mind. Voices echoed in my ears, it was all jumbled up and chaotic.

“How dare you, Rachel… how dare you do this to your sister!”

The words were sharp, filled with hatred, and then… a slap. I could feel it stinging my cheek, even though it was only in my memory.

I gasped, opening my eyes. Who had said that? Who had slapped me?

Sophia leaned forward, rubbing my back, with concern etched in her expression. “Are you alright?”

I shook my head, trying to place the pieces of fragments together. “I'm not sure” I muttered, my hands trembling. The memory was just too unclear, like trying to see through the fog. But there was something hidden behind it, something that piqued my curiosity, and I needed to know.

Was I a bad person? Had I done something unforgivable?

“Rachel,” Sophia said, her voice pulling me back to the present. “You don’t have to force yourself to remember right now. The memories will come flowing back naturally, just when you're ready.”

I looked up at her, my heart racing. “What if I don’t want them to?”

Sophia paused, her face softening again. “Sometimes… forgetting can be a blessing.”

A blessing? My mind conflicts with the thought. I needed to know what had happened. I needed to understand why that voice in my head was filled with so much anger, and why the slap had felt so real.

But the more I tried forcing myself, the more pain surged through my skull. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold in the pain but it was all futile. Whatever had happened, whatever had led me to this house, was just out of reach, one mind telling me not to try to remember.

“I think you should rest,” Sophia said quietly, rising from the bed. “You’ve been through a lot for now.”

Rayna, who had been watching me with wide, curious eyes, finally spoke again. “It’s going to be okay, Auntie, You’re safe here.”

Safe. That word again. But it didn’t make me feel comforted at all. It made me feel like I was trapped in some kind of nightmare I couldn’t escape from.

I wanted to remember. But yet a part of me was terrified of what I might find.