Foretold Memories

Chapter Two

His mid-length brown tousled hair shimmers in the sun's rays. He holds out his hand to me. "Hey, do you want to come out from under the bed?" His voice reverberates kindness and gentleness. He enraptures my entire being with a feeling of safety, identical to what a child feels of a parent. I automatically reach out to his hand. Hold up, remember why you are under this god forsaken bed in the first place. I jerk back, recalling that this seemingly beautiful man is my supposed kidnapper. I hit my head again on the bed frame in my rush of paranoia. "Ughh!" He makes an amused sound from deep inside his throat, sounding suspiciously similar to a laugh. He even has an attractive laugh.

"I know you're scared, you're in a place that you have never seen before, with a strange man," He points to himself. Hah. You don't say? "Trying to coax you out from under your bed. I promise I won't hurt you, and neither will Dauson." Oh really? I scoff to myself. Time to activate mission innocent. I create, what I hope is a confused expression and peer at him harmlessly. Since I don't really know what my face looks like, I guestimate how to move my eyebrows, mouth and eyes just the right way to go from malicious kidnapee to clueless girl. I eagerly wait for him to explain who Dauson is. He continues on his spiel, apparently knowing my thoughts, "Dauson was just in here with me."

Oh, so the tanned guy's name is Dauson, I wonder what this exotic creature's name is? Exotic creature? Really? I'm in even deeper shit than I originally thought. "Uhm ah..." My throat muscles constrict and refuse to move. It feels as if I've swallowed a sand storm. I try to cough but that idea backfires as I now feel as if I have swallowed an entire desert. I point to my throat and make a motion that I hope looks like drinking a glass of water.

"Yes! Of course! Sorry, I'll get you something to eat and drink." He begins to move quickly but falters. He peers at me with an expression of melancholy as his eyes start to seep a deep sense of misery. "You can come out from under the bed you know." By the time I blink in confusion at his sudden change in demeanor, he has departed. Just speculating, but I've never actually been kidnapped before, and well my head isn't all that trustworthy with all these strange emotions rolling about; but aren't they supposed to wave guns and tie me up?

I decide to move out from under the bed, because I really don't want to increase this damning headache. I rub my cranium where a soft spot has started to appear. I glance over the where I heard the creak earlier when Dauson was in here, to find a large wardrobe. I must have skimmed over it between the strange pull of the window and the panic to hide. My eyes swivel to the left of the wardrobe as if my body instinctively knows what I am thinking and am once again drawn to the window seat. I wander over and curl up into the foetal position, cradling my knees as I let the sun wash over me. I stare at one of the pillows in front of me and inspect it. It's quite unusual compared to the other generic fluffy pillows; this one has feathers sewn into the fabric, all black, glossy and elegant. I instantly fall in love with it and hug it to my chest like it's a lifeline. I sit up to peer out the window and find a landscape that goes on as far as the eye can see. The ground is a barren desert in its own striking and scenic way. The dirty earth is blanketed in brown grass and sterile trees. The sun blazes along the length of the ground, creating the illusion that the earth here has been scorched by fire. The sun warms my skin and I shiver in a paradise of bliss. A fence with cream-colored aluminum sheets surrounds the building; it encloses the only green vegetation visible for miles. Lounge chairs are scattered around the edge of a sparkling blue and ivory tiled pool. I start to wonder about my own home; I begin to ponder of my room and what it may look like, but nothing comes. I try to contemplate of who my mother and my father might be, but also again, no memory of them existing subsists. Morally I should be sad, as any good child would, but for some reason I know I'm not bothered by it. It's as if I'm at peace with it all. About being in this house, surrounded by strangers with no memories of my family existing. I scowl at my reflection in the window but it's too bright to see myself. I wonder for a second what I do in fact look like. This is so weird; I don't even know my own face. I search the room and to find no mirror, so I decide to go to the wardrobe hopeful to find one there. Creaking the door open, I find it bursting with clothes of every category, colour and fabric. I smirk to myself in silent approval as if some past life agrees with it. I spy my reflection in the full-length mirror on the inside of the right door and gasp. The girl that appears in the mirror was undeniably not what I thought. She, well me, looks more like a gorgeous young woman. She was a fairly standard height, not too short nor too tall. A soft tan plays along her skin accompanied with long, wavy chocolate brown hair that cascades down her back in a silky waterfall, finishing mid waist. Her heart shaped face is adorned with full juicy lips, a button nose and a pair of almond shaped, shimmering deep blue eyes. Looking down at my own body I notice I have a fairly decent sized chest. I touch my face and run my fingers through my bed wrangled hair and try to smooth it out. I then notice what I'm wearing. Sky blue flannelette pajamas conveniently accompanied with images of white fluffy clouds. I almost cringe in embarrassment. A knock comes from the door; I shut the wardrobe door quietly and peer around to the hallway. I find a tray sitting on the ground with a glass of, I don't know what it was but it looks like someone threw up in a blender. I spot a plate of bacon and eggs accompanied with a bowl of fruit and two pills. I make a bee line to the tray as the intoxicating smell of the food wafts into my nose and my stomach starts gaining my attention quickly. I instantly pick up the tray and set myself down in the middle of the bed and start to stuff my face unceremoniously. Once all the food disappears into my now sated stomach, my throat still feels dry. I cautiously grab the glass to examine the contents. The vile smell of citric acid that comes from it stings my nose. I went to put the glass down again disgusted, when I spy a note lying next to my bowl; I put the glass down and read the note.

Sorry I didn't come in, I thought you might want to eat alone and get changed. Come down stairs when you are ready, I can introduce you to everyone properly. I hope you enjoy the meal. The two pills are Panadol; they'll help with that headache.

The drink may smell disgusting but it will help your throat, it's only hot water, Lemon juice and Honey.

We are not kidnappers, I promise.

The Panadol isn't any sort of memory loss drug or sedative.

Loren

So Loren is the guy with the angelic voice, Dauson with the glowing tan. Staring at the pills and the idea of leaving this room fills me with dread. I'll play it safe. The fact that he knows I have a headache enforces the idea of stashing the pills. I open the bottom drawer of the desk I noticed earlier and place them at the back behind a stack of blank paper. I need to get out of these pajamas too, I feel ridiculous and childish. I place the tray next to me and go to the wardrobe. I shimmy into a pair of black jeans having to do a little dance into them I than slip a loose faded blue knitted sweater over my head. The sun had disappeared behind some clouds presumably and my body tingled coldly with the loss. I notice the sweaters sleeves are slightly too long so I ball my fists up into the jumper and cross my arms in an effort to comfort myself. Despite my doubt in the back of my mind my throat began to loudly protest. I went to the tray to drink the Honey and Lemon juice. I hold my nose, tilt my head up and scull. The warm liquid trickles down my throat, it's bitter from the lemon but balanced by the sweetness of the honey. An odd taste, but my throat immediately starts to react, I can feel the sand grains peeling off from my throat and disintegrating into oblivion.

I find myself at the threshold of my door looking to the left at the staircase leading down to my captors; and to my right, 5 doors were evenly placed down the hall. I wonder where they lead. Torture chambers. My mind shoots back. I look back at the stairs, and walk out of the door. Just as quickly as I walked out, I hurriedly jump back in and stoond inside the comfort of my room. Come on this will be good. I can scope out the place, see if I can find a way to escape. I sum up enough courage to force myself out the door and down the winding staircase. At the bottom I reach an open living area that connects to a kitchen and a dining area. The whole room ruptured with vivacity. Pictures of anything and everything garnish the walls, the furniture looks new but the feeling of life in the room says that it is well lived in. In front of creamy leather couches, there was a large flat screen TV placed on the wall. Positioned beside both sides of the TV is a bookcase occupied by novels and trinkets intermittently. As I walk through to the kitchen, I notice it too is new, with glass and stainless steel appliances, cupboards and benches. The dining area is in an open, small off-room that has a rounded wall with 3 windows. The table was a brown mahogany 6-seated table. Walking back to the pictures, curious as to what kidnappers would take photographs of, I felt the same, familiar pull from the window seat, towards the photographs. One in particularly caught my attention; it was a black and white photo of a field. The field went on forever, with rolling hills in the background, bounteous with knee high grass that swayed in the winds breath. An occasional daffodil sat higher than the rest, reaching up to the sky for the embrace of the sun. Like me, they thrive from the heat of the sun. Something was off in the picture, it gave off a feeling of resistance, as if something wasn't quite right about it. I studied the picture further, in the hills I find a dark figure standing tall and mighty. Although it's a sunny day with clear crystal blue skies, without a cloud in sight, in the picture, the figures face is hidden by shadows cast from an unknown source.

"Hey! I found you."