CHAPTER ONE: I AM RHEA

Rhea’s POV

I felt something crawling up my hands. It was irritating to tell the least, and I swatted at it. I opened my eyes angrily once I felt that I could not go back to sleep and looked for the culprit. I screamed like a little girl when I saw that it was a rat.

I crawled backwards and after a moment of staring at me with its beady eyes, the little monster scrambled away. I sighed in relief and then paused. Wait, what was that foul smell? I sniffed myself and found that I didn’t smell that bad, well, maybe a little, but nothing like the offensive smell that was assaulting my olfactory senses at the moment.

Wait, where was I again?

It was dark and squinting my eyes; I looked around. I was shocked when I saw that I was in an alley near a dumpster.

What was I doing here? How did I end up sleeping here of all the places? Was I really sleeping or did something happen to me?

Questions began forming in my mind and I couldn’t find any answers.

I checked myself frantically and found that I didn’t even have a scratch on my body.

I sighed and decided to leave those issues for later since I had more pressing problems. First, I desperately needed to use the restroom. Second, I was exhausted and just wanted to go home and sleep.

I started to walk and then paused. Home? Where was that? I tried remembering and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where my home was.

As the feeling of dread solidified, I asked myself the most important questions. ‘Who am I? What is my name?’ My mind seemed to draw a blank and the harder I tried to remember, I felt the beginning of a splitting headache.

I felt like bawling my eyes out as realization dawned on me. I had amnesia.

It was strange that I could remember all these facts but not my identity or whereabouts.

I hoped that the memory loss was a temporary side effect of a head injury or drinking, but I knew it wasn’t because I knew that I was neither drunk nor had a head injury that would warrant a concussion.

I looked behind me and found that the alley was near the back entrance of a building. As I walked near it, I avoided suspicious pools of liquid and covered my nose.

I went around the building and reached the front. It appeared as if it was a nightclub. No wonder it was so smelly back there. I cringed when I thought of how long I had been lying near all that vomit and piss.

Seeing that the door was ajar, I hesitantly opened it. Maybe I was a regular customer and the bartender would recognize me.

As I walked in, I didn’t see anyone and stopped walking. Suddenly, I heard a voice and squeaked in alarm. I was really feeling like the stupid blonde who walked inside the haunted building in the night. Then I picked up a few strands of my hair, just to be sure. Well, I had black hair, not a blonde then.

I turned to see a lady behind the counter observing me with raised brows. I followed her sight and looked down at myself. Red T-shirt with the writing ‘I am a Goddess!’ was splattered with questionable things and my jeans were full of dirt. I paused when I saw the writing on the T-shirt. Something sparked in my mind, but I could not grasp it.

The lady broke me from my musings when she spoke.

"The bar is closed!" she called out.

I looked at her helplessly. There was no sign of recognition on her face.

I shook my head and sighed. What shall I do now?

She relaxed her stance, seeing my lost puppy attitude.

"Well, you look like you could use some help. Would you like to freshen up a little? I am a bartender and I am used to drunken strangers loading their problems on me. So I would be all ears if you want to talk to someone. First, go to the restroom and freshen up a little," she said kindly.

I nodded my head with a little too much enthusiasm.

She showed me the way, and I went to the restroom. After doing my business, I came out and went to wash my hands and face. I looked down at my stained T-shirt and dirty jeans. There wasn’t much I could do to salvage it and left it at that.

After that, I looked up at the mirror and examined my face. Well, the face peering back at me appeared just like a stranger’s to me.

I looked at my eyes. They were a strange golden color and looked as if they were filled with secrets of lifetimes, well; they held the secrets of this lifetime at least. I had a straight nose and pouty red lips. Framing my face was a thick curly halo of black hair which was currently a tangled mess but would have been glossy if it was taken care of.

Even with no makeup and the tired look, I was pretty, if I say so myself. I looked at my reflection once more, hmm, really pretty. There was really something with my face other than the beauty, but I couldn’t pinpoint it.

I touched the mirror. "Who are you?" I asked aloud to myself.

Of course I didn’t get any answers, not that I expected any...

I sighed and went back to the lady who was wiping the counters. She smiled when she saw me.

"Much better. Now tell me, why did you look like something that the cat dragged in? I am not calling you ugly or anything. In fact, you are really gorgeous..." she said.

She had a mesmerized look on her face and I felt awkward. I cleared my throat, and she shook her head as if to wake herself from a trance.

I sighed and decided to just tell the truth.

After hearing that, I woke up in the alley with no memories of my past; she had a thoughtful look on her face.

Finally, she sighed.

"Looks like you came here at the right time. We are short of staff at the moment and the boss is desperate enough to hire staff without even checking their background. You look like a good girl and I am sure, if I vouch for you, I could talk him into hiring you, maybe with lower wages than usual," she offered me.

I smiled hearing the first good news after waking up. A job which didn’t pay much was better than starving on the streets, and I couldn’t find any better jobs without a resume.

I hugged her in my excitement and then remembered the state I was in. Nervously, I stammered out an apology and backed away with hands raised in surrender.

She laughed seeing my actions, and I relaxed. She then extended her hands towards me.

"Hello dear, I am Sara Thomas," she introduced herself.

The proper etiquette would have been to introduce myself back while shaking her hands, but since I didn’t know my name, I just shook her hand silently.

She sighed.

"We really need to find a name for you, even if you don’t need other details to join, you would at least require a name," she said with a thoughtful expression. 

I looked around me to find something to inspire me, but nothing stood out to me. Many names popped into my mind, but nothing felt right.

I looked down in frustration and saw a magazine down. The title caught my attention, 'Rhea Adams spotted with Xander Evans! Is it the start of a forever?'

The girl was a blue-eyed blonde and looked nothing like me. But I really liked the name.

“Rhea...,” I said to myself, testing out the name. I smiled.

"Hello Sara, I am Rhea," I introduced myself with my brand new name.

She nodded at me.

"It suits you. Now, come with me. There is a spare room in the back where you can stay until you find an Apartment. There are a few spare dresses kept in the closet by the other waitresses and I am sure they wouldn’t mind if you take one in your size. We could buy some dresses for you tomorrow. And yeah, you can find a set of uniform there too to start your shift tomorrow. Now let’s feed that growling monster you call your stomach before it wakes up the entire city," she said.

I smiled as I walked with her. Just an hour ago, I woke up with no memories. Now, I had a job, a roof over my head for now, and someone who seemed to care for me. This new life didn’t seem too bad.

Maybe I would remember everything and could go back to my life soon. But until then, I am Rhea.