Memories

As Holly woke from her slumber, she stretched and rose. Following her day-to-day routine, she went to bathroom to wash and then dressed into her weekend clothes.

Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she headed downstairs to have breakfast with her family.

“Morning,” she said. “What’s for breakfast? Anything special?”

Holly moved over to the table and pulled out her chair.

“Okay, what’s with the stares?” Holly said a little confused at the blank looks on her families’ faces.

“Who are you?” Her father asked with a scared but stern voice.

“What do you mean? Is this some stupid joke? Ha ha, I get it. You’re all in on it.”

Looking around the table Holly smirked at her family. Her mum looked terrified and her dad was scared for his family.

“Look, you can leave my house or you can keep this stunt up and I call the police. It’s your choice.”

“What do you mean call the police? Why would you call the police?”

“Okay, okay. I won’t call them. Take anything you want, just don’t hurt my family. Please,” he begged the strange woman in his house.

“I don’t want anything. Well, except breakfast.”

She sat down at the table and reached over for the cereal. Holly’s little sister ran round the table to her father and held on for dear life.

“Who is she?” Holly’s sister asked.

“What do you mean who am I? Okay, look, this joke has gone on too long now. I’m your sister. Holly!” She said raising her voice in anger.

“Please will you just leave my house? I don’t know who you are or what you want but leave.”

“Whatever, I’m sick of this joke anyway,” she said grabbing a slice of toast off the plate. She walked out of the kitchen and out of the house slamming the door in her wake.

Holly stormed down the street angry at the joke that her family had played on her.

“Stupid family,” she muttered to herself.

Looking at her watch, she noticed the time and hurried on her way. She was due to be around her friends at eleven and it was now quarter-to.

* * *

Knocking on the door to Catherine’s house, she waited for an answer.

“Hey, I’m here to see Catherine,” she said as the door opened.

“Catherine, someone here to see you.” A minute later Catherine came down the stairs and toward the front door.

“Hi,”

“Hey, you ready for the shops?”

“Excuse me,” Catherine asked confused. “Um, who are you?”

“Oh for Christ sake, not you as well?” Holly said annoyed.

“I’m afraid you have the wrong house. Maybe you need the Catherine a couple of streets down.” Catherine said quickly closing the door to the house.

“Catherine, this isn’t funny. Why does everyone think this is funny?”

* * *

Aimlessly walking around the streets everyone Holly knew didn’t know her and looked at her with a look that said who’s this weirdo?

With every person she saw, Holly got a little more scared. No one knew who she was.

She didn’t know where to go. She thought about going to the police but they would just laugh at her face and tell her to stop wasting time.

What about a doctor? Maybe I’ve got amnesia? No, I can’t, I remember who I am. Maybe it’s something else.

Deciding that was her best option, she started heading to the hospital.

* * *

“Hi, I need to see a doctor. I don’t seem to be remembering things.”

“Okay, what’s your name?”

“Holly.”

“And your surname?”

“Oh, um, Watts.”

“Ok,” the receptionist said. “If you’d like to take a seat the doctor will be with you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

After waiting a couple of hours a nurse finally called her through to the examination rooms.

“Okay, so you seem to be having some memory loss.”

“Yes, sort of, I think I know people when I don’t.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, when I woke up this morning, the people I thought who were my family don’t seem to know me. Or my friends.”

“Okay, the doctor won’t be long and he can see what might be causing it.”

“Thanks.”

When she was leaving the room, the nurse rolled her eyes. Holly knew what she was thinking. She was either thinking that Holly was crazy or that she was a druggy.

After five minutes, the doctor came through and started looking at her.

“Okay, I’d like to run some tests and keep you in for observation tonight.”

“What do you think it is?”

“That’s why I want to run the tests. To find out what’s wrong,” he said. “Some routine questions to ask you. Have you taken any drugs in the last 24 hours?”

“No.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No, nothing.”

“Okay, the nurse will be back in shortly and will take you up to the ward you’ll be on.”

* * *

As Holly woke from her slumber, she stretched and went to rise. Remembering where she was Holly sank back down and waited for the nurse to do her rounds.

Five minutes later the nurse came round and gave her a peculiar look.

“Um, who are you?

“My name is Holly Watts the doctor in the ER sent me up here yesterday for observations.”

“Not according to our records.”

“Did they bring me up to the wrong ward?”

“Let me check.”

Holly started getting a queasy feeling about what was happening, she worried about what the nurse was going to come back and say.

“Okay, Holly was it; the ER doesn’t have any records of you. And I’ve taken a look at the records on the computer and there were no referrals to this ward from ER yesterday.”

“But, the nurse she brought me up here.”

“I don’t know what game you’re playing or how you got in here but I would ask you to leave before I call the police.”

“No, the doctor, he said I was staying in for observations.”

“Young lady. Get dressed and get out. This is a hospital; you are wasting everyone’s time.”

Holly grabbed her clothes from the cupboard by the side of her bed and ran from the room.

She found a closet just up from the room and dressed into her clothes. She opened the door and ran as fast as she could from the hospital.

Wrapping her coat around her as tight as possible, she headed off towards town.

Where am I going to go?