Remind Me

Chapter One

"I'm afraid she's lost her memory," the doctor says, looking around at the people huddled inside my little room.   

A woman with dark curly hair, probably in her early forties, starts crying. She stares at me, and I feel incredibly uncomfortable in this room I don't recognize and these people I don't know. There's a girl with clear skin and straight, bright blonde hair whose brown eyes are watering. She's looking at me, though. I don't know whether to hold the gaze or look away. I feel so out of place here.

"She has post-traumatic memory loss. It occurs when an accident, such as the recent car crash, occurs. She's perfectly fine, physically. She can come home, but let's just wait until tomorrow," he says with a slight nod.

"Will her memory ever come back?" The girl that is now wiping tears away asks.

"If memories don't start flooding back, if she doesn't start remembering things in the next two or three weeks, no. Like I said, I'm sorry," the doctor gives one last glance around the room before stepping outside.

"Brinley?" The girl asks, looking in my direction. It becomes apparent that she's talking to me.

I turn to the others in the room, feeling so confused. How do they know me? Why can't I even recall my own name? There isn't one event with any of these people I can remember.

"Clarin, honey, let's not overwhelm her," the older woman says to the young girl, now known as Clarin.

"I know. Can I just... Have a few minutes alone?" Clarin asks, looking over at the woman I assume to be her mom.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Her mom asks, frowning in concern.

"I think it is," Clarin nods, looking determined.

Her mom hesitates, looking at me carefully. I open my mouth, as if trying to explain my presence here. But I can't. I don't know how I got here. I don't remember the accident the doctor was talking about. I most certainly don't recognize these people crowding me.

"Alright," her mom says quietly, standing up from the bench. "Lets give her some time."

Everyone leaves the room except for me and Clarin. She looks at me curiously, tears still visible in her eyes. She's a beautiful girl. It seems so out of place for someone like her to cry.

"Hey," she says quietly.

I don't reply, I only stare at her expectantly.

"Um, I'm Clarin. Your sister... Twin sister, actually," Clarin smiles.

My eyes widen and I look around the room in search of a mirror. That can't be true, can it?

"Yeah, it's true," she laughs a little. "And, your name is Brinley. In case you didn't know."

I blink a few times, finding everything hard to process. I lost my memory? Who was I?

"I bet you're wondering why you're in here," she says with a sigh.

"Yeah," I say. I can't help my curiosity. I try to sit up. My side aches as I do so, and I wince, holding onto it.

"You were in an... accident two nights ago," Clarin says, looking away sadly.

"That explains the pain," I let out a dry laugh.

"Mmhm," Clarin looks down at her feet. "And as you heard you lost all your memory and stuff..."

"Really?" I ask, looking at the door. No memory of my past life. No memory of my own family. "Who're they?"

"Well, there was our mom. You could probably guess who she was," Clarin says. She's right. I can guess who that was. The woman crying uncontrollably. "And, Cheryse, our aunt was here, and Jackie your best friend. Well, besides me of course."