Wires

Reunited

"Hey, are you all right?" A man was staring into my eyes. What was going on? Where was I? Who was I? What was going on?

"I-I can't remember anything. Do you know me?" I asked. Confusion swam in my head. 

"No, I just found you here...mumbling about memories. Asking me to be here when you woke up. Told me your name was Brenda and you were 22. To not let you have alcohol or drugs. Then you passed out." Huh? I was scared and confused. Why would I do that? I couldn't remember anything. 

"My...name is Brenda?  Did I tell you anything else?!" I asked. 

"No. My name is Hayden. Come on, you asked if I could give you a place to stay. I can. Come on." He reached out to me. Were we in an alley? Why was I here? I looked down. My clothes were ragged and my shoes worn through. Was I homeless? Had I been on the streets for long? It seemed like it. "Brenda?" I shook my head and reached out.  I had trusted him for some reason. I had to believe that I had a reason to reach out to him and ask him for help. 

"You can stay upstairs. I'll be right downstairs if you need me. You can take a shower and use my sister's clothes." I told Hayden thanks and made my way up. 

I got into the bathroom and began undressing. As I pulled away my shirt I notice something written across my stomach in black ink. It was backwards and I went over to the mirror to read it. 'Just wet your hair in the sink and run the shower for a bit so steam collects on the mirror.' Huh? Had I left this here? I shook my head and turned on the sink, dipping my head under the cold stream. Once I was soaked,  I turned the shower on really hot so steam would fill the room faster. 

As I waited, I looked in the mirror. My hair was short and black. It looked like it had been dyed from red. My face showed no sign of acne or freckles, or any blemish at all, really. I was tan, but it looked like a spray-on. It was funny how I knew all about the world but nothing about myself.

 I took a deep breath...but I didn't feel the air pass in my mouth and then out. My stomach and chest moved right but I didnt feel any air running across my tongue and down my throat, into my lungs. On a hunch, I moved my hand to my wrist to check for a pulse. I placed my fingers how I was supposed to, but felt no pulse. No pulse? Was I fricking zombie?! What was going on!?

I would keep it to myself for now. It was weird but I had a feeling I needed to keep it to myself. 

And I did. For two whole years, I kept it to myself. My memory never returned, and I had a feeling it never would. I was Brenda. I never got sick and found several notes all over my body within the first 48 hours at Hayden's. 'Pretend to eat, don't actually.' On my leg. 'Avoid contact with water' on my arm. 'Spray tan every other day' on the back of my leg. 'Avoid injury at all costs' on my left foot. Hayden and I had a pretty good relationship. I was pretty sure I loved him. Not just because he saved me, he was also a great guy. 

"So, I was thinking that we should seat your parents here," I pointed to a table on the diagram. "And, my co-workers can sit here." I pinted to another table. Hayden nodded. A tinkling sound filled the air. His cell. "No rest for the wicked." I sighed and walked over to the couch, away from the wedding plans. 

"Vanessa, I don't have time...yeah. Sure, but I don't want press at the wedding. It's our day, not theirs....ok. Bye." His agent again. Hayden was a pretty popular musician. Hayden Caine, the music master, at least, I called him that. And soon, I would be Brenda Caine. We had tried for a whole two years to find my family. But, no one ever showed up. I wondered if my name was even Brenda. It didn't matter now. 

"Ok, I have work tomorrow. I think I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." I hugged him, then slapped his hands away from my butt and went into our shared bedroom. I often wondered about my past. Why I didn't need eat, never gained or lost weight, couldn't run a bath without freaking out, or couldn't get an injury. I got into my fluffy pajamas and nestled into the bed. I also couldn't sleep. I just lay awake all night but never got tired. 

It was after two or three hours of this that I heard...a voice in my head. That's the only way to describe it, a voice. A male. 

'You have been really hard to track, you know that? You are so frustrating. Why can't you let us help you?!' What the hell? I looked around. ' Out the window dumba*s.' I looked over at the clear pane. 

A guy was peering in, his eyes piercing the darkness outside. I threw the covers away, running to the window and cracking it open. 

"Who the hell are you?!" I whisper-yelled.

"Don't play dumb with me, you may have changed your appearance but I knew you the minute I heard your voice. Really? You wanted to hide from us by dating a musician? Way to lay low!" His voice was deep, and held a sense of nostalgia. Hide? Did I know him? Was he dangerous? 

"Do you know who I am?!" I realized my voice was too loud. "Do you know who I am?" I asked again, lowering my voice to a whisper. 

"Hope - are you still mad about people calling you that?" Hope? 

"Is that my real name?" I asked, trying to hide the hope in my voice. "You must know me! Oh my gosh! Finally!" I opened the window wider, no longer caring about Hayden walking in. A look of realization hit the guy's face. 

"Oh A-5643...what did you do?"