Amnesiac swimmer

Chapter 36: Marie Miller

-My love mine all mine-

01:43 ━━━━●───── 03:50

When I woke up, everyone was asleep. It's 3 a.m who wouldn't be asleep? I fell asleep next to James and he didn't move...I did. Urf, I am sweating. Stupid memory and stupid- the woman! I need to draw her face before I forget! I silently get up, trying to not wake James up, and walked to my bedroom. Once I was in it, I opened the curtain hiding my bord. One year of memory. After one year of seeing people without seeing their faces, it happened. For the first time...I see one face and it's in this place: the pool. I sit at my desk to draw what I saw in my dreams. As I listen to some calm music, a face appears on the paper for the first time.

Once it's finished, I stare at it and then get up. I walk to her wall full of paper and pin it in the center. She was in most of my memory so she must be important....but how?

"Who are you, miss? I whisper. Why are you the first face I see after all this time..."

"Maybe she's your mother," says a voice.

I jump out of fear and turn to see Silver and Carl. Those idiots! I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

"What? It might be true."

"They don't even look alike, Carl," says Silver.

"What are you two doing here?"

"James woke up and saw that you left but he can't move because his body is all sore. So he threw a book at me to send me look for you but unfortunately it hit Carl. So who's that?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Child."

"Too bad, you didn't draw her in color."

"She doesn't dream in color," whispers Silver.

He laughs.

"Wait, for real?"

I nod even though it's not entirely true because I can see the color blue. Not the blue sky but the blue of the water. I look at the board. The only color on my drawing is the blue of the pool. Carl yawns: right it's 4 a.m.

"I'm sorry you had to wake up for me."

"No problem, Demonia."

He leans for a kiss and presses his lips against mine.

"Hey, that's my high school...," says Carl.

We look at him, both surprised. He looks at us, sorry to interrupt. I tell him that's it's fine and he look at the drawing again. Silver takes a look. 

"This building is your High school? Wow, it's so classy."

"Even if I'm here now, I come from Henri IV, it's a prestigious high school in Paris. Why did you draw that, Marie?"

"Carl, this wall is full of things I remember. I draw them so I can link the things between them. If I draw your High school there must be a reason why."

"Maybe you were a student there."

"Well, I don't remember someone's went missing but it's a possibility. When did you 'disappear', Marie?"

" July, James found me during July."

Carl takes a moment to think.

"If we admit that you are our age... there's no way to verify because it would have been your first year and unless we ask the principal if someone never joined school...when they were supposed to..."

"It doesn't hurt to try, right?" says Silver.

"But how will they know? I don't know my name ... nor my age..."

The room fills with silence. Ugh, it took me a year to get one face ... not even a name just a face ... I hate my brain. If marie was here, she would make fun of me! Maybe she could have told me who this was. I sigh a walk back to my desk. I stop my phone music and pack away my stuff.

"Marie," says Silver. " It's okay, you have all your time to remember those people."

"It's just so frustrating...I feel so close yet so far..."

Even though marie isn't here anymore I want my memory for her...It's weird since she tormented me since the day I woke up. I don't know if it's guilt - after all the time she spent recalling me that it was my fault- but i feel like I owe her something. 

"Marie, do you mind if I take a closer look at the board? Silver told me you never told James about this so maybe you don't want me to..."

I look at him. Yeah, I never told James...I never told my older brother. Shit. I have to tell him. Carl? Yes, he probably knows some places. I nod and take a pen out of my drawer. Carl looks at my drawing and points to one.

"So this place is my high school... and this is a bubble tea shop near it, my friend Annie often goes there-wait I probably have a picture of it."

He takes out his phone and go through his gallery -mumbling about how 'Annie' went here earlier in the week and sent him a picture-. He shows us a picture of the place with a blond girl on it. She has a bubble tea in her hand. The place looks colorful. And the name 'BoBoQ Bubble Tea'.

"I don't believe it, Marie: you'd never go to a place like this on your own!" says Silver.

"Well, in my memory I was accompanying a friend... a girl with long curly hair. But, I did get this drink..."

I write the name of the place down and turn to Carl. He nods and looks at the board again. He then proceeded to name lots of places some are near Paris some are far away. When he stopped I noticed he didn't say anything about the two drawings of the house I made. I ask about it just to be sure:

"Do you know something about those two buildings?"

"No, sorry Marie. But I have something to say about this woman...I feel like I know her... but from where?"

If he could remember it would be nice but I can't ask him to remember for me. I've made my decision.

"Don't torture yourself, Carl: I made my decision. I'll show this to James."

"About time," laughs Silver.

Carl smiles as I push Silver's arm which makes him laugh even more. I close my curtain to hide the board just in case someone comes in without me knowing.

"We should go back downstairs or James is going to send more people to find us," I laugh.

They agreed and we went back downstairs. James is still awake, looking at the stairs. I take the book he threw on Carl earlier and hand it to him.

"Are you okay?"He asks.

"Yes," I respond. "You should sleep on your bunk, next to Lucie."

He laughs silently.

"I will when I will be able to move. Go sleep, don't wait for me"

I nod and walk back to my bunk. Carl was already asleep and Silver was waiting for me. I lay down and immediately fell asleep. Please I need more memory of her...