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. 701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwRz5rsDnn
“Excuse me miss, who are you?” he asks politely.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SxF6Xigrk
“Well honey, I’m your mother. Do you not remember?” she asks with a look of surprise.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXp2S9R9ec
“Who am I? What’s my name? Where am I? I don’t know what's happening-”701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53j2SslzSa
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.”701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTftmNhW2b
“How don’t you remember?!?”701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKmAldpWTH
701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLeVTvUhXd
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.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDviuAmF4vP
“How old am I, mother?” He asks.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk1Uq9SaFC
“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. 701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvV60HyE3T
701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADd2uprTzI
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.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWY2gNpbnq
701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jN4zog3jZ
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. 701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxerBJsDPw
701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnaOAJxthe
“Dad!” Zak exclaims as he jumps up to hug the man. His father brings his arms up to meet him and yawns loudly. 701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFSiM9JhYY
“Couldn’t you wake up a little earlier?” He yawns.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ON5BWE1tP
“I remember you!” Zak says.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHkQ8pEw1I
“What’s that supposed to mean?”701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxEKP6PPKF
“How come I can remember you but not mother?”701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4GIJpV4jF
Momentarily, the smile drops from his father’s face. A new one forms, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuKxFdiICI
“It’ll come to you eventually, I’m sure” he concludes. “How about some breakfast? Does an omelette work for you, son?”701Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxw2UX9b6F
Zak smiles, “Perfect. Just what I wanted.”
