Wires

Moving On

"What are you talking about?" I asked, thoroughly puzzled. "Who are you? Who's A-5643? And most importantly, who am I?!" Many more questions swam in my mind like a fish in a bowl. Around and around. But I had to have these ones answered first. 

"Oh great. You must have deleted your memories! S**t! Marco and Dad are gonna flip!" Dad? My dad, maybe? I looked at the man in front of me. We both had very similar features. A brother, perhaps? He looked my age...a twin? Or maybe a year younger? I didn't have time to ask before another voice called out of the darkness. 

"Asher! Is it her?! Come on, we have to go!" The voice was older, from a man probably about 46 or 47 years of age. I wasn't sure why I thought of that so specifically. The man...Asher, turned back toward me.   

"Please, you have to come with me! We can explain it all, but you have to come with us!" I was only thinking about my past. I needed to know! My mind was only muddled with the possibility of having all my questions answered. So, I jumped out the window, and we took off into the dark, cool night. 

We arrived at a car and we jumped in. A man was in the front, driving the black truck. He looked at me in the mirror. 

"She just...came willingly? I thought you had more fight in you than that, Hope. Two years of hiding for...what?" Was that my name? 

"Dad, she deleted her memories. All of them." There was an instant tension in the air. What? He said it again.

"What do you mean, 'deleted'?" I asked. "Do you mean, I did this?" There was silence as the engine revved and the car took off. No answer. "Someone answer me!" I finally yelled, tired of the silence. Asher turned around to face me. 

"What name so you go by?" He asked. 

"Brenda." I said nothing more, hoping he would explain. 

"Well, Brenda, it's a long story." 

After two hours in the car and a half hour at Marco's, my life changed. This was me? A robot. A machine? 

"And your point is?" I asked after a very long explanation. "I'm still Brenda. I deleted my memories for a reason. And they're not coming back. This is my identity. I have a feeling that you left out a lot of details. Why else would I run away? Why would I delete my memories? I had a reason, that I know. So, you, Nathan, Jackson, Marco, and everyone who was in my life up to this point, can go to hell." I stood up, turning around, toward the door. 

"Stop." It was a new female voice. I turned. A girl stood there, her eyes locked with mine. "You guys, tell her truth. About the ten years with Jeff. About her hate for the name Dad gave her. About her anxiety. Her disbelief in love. I was here the entire time. She deserves the truth, the whole truth. You treat her like an object to be owned. Mom knows what that feels like, I know what it feels like, hell, even Asher knows what it feels like. It's hard being trapped inside a body where people can just...control you." Her voice was steady. And she was convincing. 

"I'm done. I don't wanna listen to this anymore." I stood up and took for the door. A hand stopped me. Asher. ""Let go of me!" Asher removed his hand

"Ok. It's your choice. I'm glad you're finding your own identity. Just know, if you need it, I'm always here for you. You don't know me anymore, but I'd like you to." Then he turned and walked from the room, leaving me with Jackson. I stared at him, our eyes locked. He stood up, silently crossing the room until he stood in front of me. 

"I'm an idiot. I'm a selfish, stupid, lovesick idiot. You won't remember, but there was a time when I loved you. And you didn't believe me. You didn't believe I could love you. I've moved on, and so have you. But, I'll always have memories. Our memories." He lightly kissed my hair, running a work-worn hand through the short strands. Then he stepped away. "Good luck. I hope you can be happy, and forgive me for everything I did." Then he turned away, and was gone from my life as quickly as he had entered it. Gone as quickly as a whisper in the wind, not even letting me respond. 

So, Hope, A-5643, and Sarah finally died. They finally rested. And Brenda moved on. Brenda got married. Brenda adopted two children. Brenda never saw Jeff Cowry again. Brenda left behind her past and lived as a human for 10 years. Brenda faked her death, and moved on. Then Cara was born. The cycles went on and on. Lots of loves, and lots of heartbreak. I learned to live and love.

I outlived my family members, until I finally dug myself a grave, layed in it, and let my skin eat itself away. My circuits fail and self-destruct. As I reflected, and I wished. And finally, I, along with Hope, A-5643, Sarah, Brenda, Cara, Ashley, Sandra, and Haley, died. And rested. In peace.

~PROLOGUE~

Mom was gone. My mother, Brenda Caine, was dead. I stood outside the church, not willing to see this. She helped me. No one wanted to adopt a 13 year old. But she did. And she gave me hope. And she was gone. As I sat, shivering in the cold, I felt a presence above me. I looked up to see a stranger. A man. He smiled

"She was amazing, wasn't she?" He asked, placing a coat around my shoulders. 

"You knew my mother?" I asked, curious. He smiled. 

"A long, long time ago. She was different then, but still amazing. So, keep the jacket. She told me once, someone helped her, lent her a jacket when she was on the streets alone. It helped her become who she is. And I have to believe that small things make a difference." He turned away, starting to walk toward the gate. 

"Wait! What's your name?" I called after him. He turned, smiling. 

"Asher." Then he walked away, getting in the passenger side of a black pick-up. I put the coat on properly, sticking my cold hands in the pockets. I felt a price of paper inside. I pulled it out. An address and a message. 'If you want to know the truth about your mother, come say hello."