Forgotten Lyrics

7. Six Weeks Later

Lydia parked her car on Main Street across from the Capri Public Library. As soon as she got out, the warm summer air blew over her, and she breathed in deeply, loving the scent of fresh-cut grass mixed with the salty aroma of Anthemusa Bay.

While she enjoyed being at Sundham University, it was a bit farther from the sea than Capri, and she missed the smell of the ocean.

She was about to cross the street when she just happened to glance back at Pearl’s Diner. It was a somewhat run-down restaurant but it served delicious food, although Lydia was in no mood to eat. It appeared to be Delia’s goal to fatten her up over summer break, and Lydia had already eaten more for breakfast than she normally did in a day.

But it wasn’t the food that caught her eye—it was a patron. Pearl’s had booths in front of the large windows that faced the library, and sitting in the first booth was Daniel, eating a bowl of soup by himself.

He looked different from how he had when she’d last seen him. His hair was shorter, growing out from where they’d shaved it in the hospital. He appeared thinner too, and his face especially seemed gaunt. Snaking out from under the sleeve of his T-shirt she could see a dark pink tendril of his fresh scars. But he was up moving and eating, so he had to be okay.

Lydia hadn’t seen him since the hospital, and she couldn’t resist going in to talk to him. She was almost beaming when she walked over to the booth, and he looked rather startled when she sat down across from.

“Daniel, hi. How are you?” Lydia asked cheerily.

“Hi . . .” Daniel trailed off and gave her a confused smile, and up close she saw the dark circles under his eyes. There was a hollow look to his eyes, almost like he wasn’t completely there.

She rested her hand on her chin. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

“Sorry. No,” he said sheepishly. “Should I?”

“Probably not,” Lydia admitted. “The only time we met, you weren’t awake that much.”

“Okay. Now I’m really confused, and a little scared,” he said, but he was still smiling.

“The night of your accident. I took you to the hospital. Well, me and my grandma did.”

“That was you?” Daniel asked, and his confusion fell away to awe and gratitude. “Sorry, I never got a chance to thank you. I wanted to, but I never got your names, and then everything was just such a mess afterwards.”

“I would imagine,” Lydia said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You saved my life. Thank you.”

She smiled at him and was taken aback by his sincerity. “You’re very welcome. You look good. So everything must be going okay?”

“It’s pretty good, I guess. Everyone seems really impressed about how well I’m doing.” That was what Daniel said, but there was a flatness in his words, like he wasn’t really doing all that well.