Chapter 1

Memories
They are produced every millisecond. How can such a small thing…the “brain” do such an amazing thing? I have thousands of memories in my head, some I might not remember now. But I never knew that something so amazing could bring so much misery if gone wrong. Each step I take, each word I speak, each movement I make, will I remember it tomorrow? What if something goes wrong? What if…I don’t remember?
I met a boy who couldn’t remember.
No matter how much he wanted to, his brain failed him.
His memories where limited, and his pain had no end.

My name is Alison Willner. I am 18 years old and I had just taken a job at a Nursing Home nearby. I have long black hair that covers one eye and both eyes are packed heavy with eyeliner. I will always wear a lot of black but have accessories that are bright colors. It’s strange, I would think that my appearance would offend the older folks, but they seem to love me. I needed a job for the summer before college and the Nursing Home seemed to be a good choice.
It was June 28th, the first day of my job. The air was very humid and the clouds were grey. I grabbed an umbrella just as I was about to leave. It seemed that only a second had passed when the rain began to fall. I opened the umbrella and started to walk down the sidewalk. With each step I took the rain fell down harder. I was barely past my house when it started to pour. The smell of rain had always interested me, so I walked slowly and listened to the sound and took deep breaths. Before I knew it I was on the street that the nursing home was on. I crossed the street and stopped at the sidewalk.
There was an old bench in the front yard of the nursing home. I saw a guy sitting Indian style on the bench holding a small umbrella over his head. I kind of stood there and watched him until he turned his head towards me.
“Hi there.”
“Uh hi!”
“So are you the new employee?”
“Yeah…”
“Interesting.” He stood up and walked towards me. “I’m Eric.” He shook my hand. “And you are?”
“Oh, Sorry. I’m Alison.”
He walked away as though I was already gone. He went inside the nursing home and closed the door behind himself.
When the door closed it opened the following minute. A middle aged woman walked out smiling at me.
“Hello dear, you came just on time.”
I smiled, and noticed it was my boss.
“Well, come on in.” She turned and walked back to the entrance and held the door open for me.
“Oh. Thank you.” I walked through the door then looked back to my boss. “Um…who was that guy?”
“Eric? He is a resident here.”
“He is?” I was surprised because of how young he looked. I wanted to ask what was wrong with him but didn’t have to nerve to do so.
She nodded. “I’m Madeline Ashland. You may call me whatever you want, but no “old hag” or “old lady” ok? I’m your boss, so please try to be somewhat polite.”
“You don’t have to worry about that Ms. Ashland.” I was somewhat confused, because she was the one who interviewed me, so I already knew her name. Why did she repeat it? The confusion must have had shown on my face because she looked at me and apologized.
“I’m sorry dear; I’m so use to introducing myself like that to even people I already know.”
I was even more confused. “Oh?”
“That is why I needed to find someone to come here to work in my place. I’m very glad it’s someone like you.”
“Um, Ms. Ashland…what are you talking about?”
“I will be placing you to one of my old jobs. It gets very busy here with having very few employees, so that makes me have to do a lot of work.”
“I see…”
“The boy you asked about, he is the one you will be taking care of. It’s not too hard of a job.” She smiled.
“I will take care of him?”
“Come with me dear.” We walked into her office and she closed the door. She sat down and took a deep breath inward.
“Eric was in a car accident 5 years ago and lost his memory. Well it’s more complicated than that. He remembers everything before the accident. It seems that his memory will last about 28 hours. Within those 28 hours he is quite normal. He will sometimes get into trouble because he still has the thoughts of a 12 year old, so please look after him well.”
I was completely shocked. I have heard about this kind of thing happing, but I never met a person with that condition let alone take care of one.
“I will do my best.”
“But before you go, I have to go over some very important rules with you.”
“Of course.”
“First: you must never allow mirrors in the room or anywhere in his surroundings. Second: As soon as he wakes up tell him your name and that he is staying here because his parents are away on a trip and will be back soon. Tell him not to worry. Third: Don’t get too close with him, because it will hurt you and not him. You hear?”
“Yes ma’am!”
Ms. Ashland stood up. “I shall show you the way then, but first make sure you don’t have any mirrors ok? And don’t worry about telling him that his parents aren’t here. I told him that this morning.” She was walking while saying this.
“I don’t have any mirrors with me.” I followed her.
“Good.” She stopped walking in front of a door with the number 28 on it. Ironic that it was room 28, because she just got done telling me his memories only lasted 28 hours. She then started to walk away.
“Just go on in and tell him you would like to hang out with him. Have fun!”
Somehow I felt extremely nervous. I didn’t want to say something wrong. I didn’t want to mess anything up. I turned the door knob and stepped in.
He was sitting on his bed reading a book. He looked very interested in the book only, not paying any attention to what was around him. I walked over and took a seat in a chair beside his bed. He said nothing and just continued to read his book. This guy…was very beautiful. Not just his appearance, but his aura as well. He had very blonde hair that dangled in front his eyes. His eyes seemed to glow as his skin was pale, but his eyes were obnoxiously blue. He was awfully cute. I wasn’t able to notice before, because when we met outside it was dark and the umbrella was covering most of his face anyway. And now I just couldn’t look away. He then turned his face suddenly; it freaked me out. We had eye contact now, and his eyes were even more intense.
“Um…hi.”
“Hi.”
“Do you mind if I hang out with you today?”
He turned his head. “I have no choice. That assland woman yelled at me all this morning saying you were going to be with me all day. I don’t even know her, but she told me I am here because my parents are on a trip, so I have to deal. I don’t understand why I am here of all places.”
“Her name is Ms. Ashland. Don’t say rude things about her, understand?”
He had a surprised face. “I do…I guess.”
“Good.” I came here to take care of the older folks, but ended up having to take care of a kid. Things could be worse. I’m lucky that he seems to be more of a mellow kid.
He went right back to reading his book and I just sat there and watched him. I glanced at the cover and it read ‘United Belief’. I never heard of it before. The book seemed old though, and poorly made. Because I was so bored I tried to guess what the book could be about, than stopped because I got bored of doing that. While I was spacing out I heard him ask me “Couldn’t you at least sit up straight?”
“Huh?” I sat up.
“I can tell that you are bored by slouching over and spacing out like that. It’s creepy how you’re spacing out in my direction. I’m trying to read in peace.”
“Do you always read?!”
“Sometimes, but I was told to by my mother the last time I saw her. She wrote this book when she was in college. She found it recently in a box of her old stuff. She really wanted me to read it.” He then stared at the book for a long time.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. It’s written simply and the story is interesting.”
“You seem like a smart kid.”
“I am. I am as smart as a 16 year old.”
“Wow, really?!”
“Yes. I am homeschooled by my mother. She taught me all I know. She tells me I’m very mature for my age as well.”
“I see.”
“I’m interested to see how this ends.”
“Huh?”
“The book.”
“Oh! Well how long do you have to go?”
“This morning I started at chapter 3 and I’m at chapter 6 now. There are 28 chapters total, so I have 22 left.”
“You are only at the beginning.”The number 28 again? This number just loved this kid I guess. “Are you a fast reader?”
“No. I am pretty slow with reading actually.”
“That kinda sucks. I’m glad I’m a fast reader, that way I can get it over with sooner.”
“I see you don’t like to read.”
“I like to write stories, not read them.”
“That’s strange.”
“I’m strange.”
He smiled. Then forced himself to stop.
“Aw, don’t stop smiling. You should try to smile more, ok?”
“Ok.” He smiled again.
“Good,” Just as I said that we heard knocking at the door. I got up. “Hello?” They asked “May I come in? I have brought lunch with me.” I answered. “Yes, come in.” She walked in and left the food on a table then left right away closing the door behind her.
I walked over to the tray of food and brought it over to Eric.
“Here you go.” I handed the tray to him.
He took the tray and set it down. “They are all so distant.”
“Hm?”
“All the employees are so distant. As soon as I woke up Ms. Ashland was here and told me about my parents and you then left. She also told me to not leave this room. I did anyway, but when I was walking in the hall everybody was looking away from me. It’s very suspicious here. Oh!” He got up. “I want to show you something,” He ran over to a door and opened it. “Look in the bathroom.”
I walked over into the bathroom.
He pointed above the sink, but there was nothing there. “See.”
I didn’t understand. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s the point. You can see that there use to be a mirror here.” He pointed at some holes in the wall. “Isn’t that suspicious?
I didn’t say anything, but I had to say something. “That is strange, but just don’t think about it.”
“No! It’s not just that! There are no mirrors or shiny surfaces in this whole room! Nothing at all. You can’t say that’s not suspicious!”
I understood what he meant, but I couldn’t let him know the truth. I didn’t want to know what would happen if he saw himself now when he thinks he’s 12 but he looks 17. That’s why I needed to calm him down. “Eric. Just sit down and eat your food, ok?”
He stood still. “But-“
“Go and eat your food and calm down. You’re over reacting.”
“Ok. I understand.” He went over to his bed, sat down and started to eat.
Thank goodness he was the type of kid to listen to a grown up when they spoke with a firm voice. I don’t know what I would of done if he kept on freaking out. I looked over towards Eric and he was already looking at me.
“Are you hungry?” He held up an apple. “You want it?”
“Uh. Sure.” I took the apple then took a bite. The apple tasted very sour and when I looked up at Eric’s face, he had a sour expression. He must of still be upset about the mirrors. I understand though. It’s hard when you want more answers but can’t get them. He is always going in circles, but he doesn’t even know it. That’s not the type of life I would want at all. But he doesn’t even know this is happening. He thinks that he is still living his normal life, but in reality… it’s far from it. Thinking about that made me want to know about his parents. Where were they? Was this accident too much for them? Did they just leave him because it was too hard for them? I wanted to know, but I knew I had no place to ask such a question.
Eric was done with his food, but I only took one bite of the apple. When I have things on my mind I don’t really eat. I put the apple down and stayed silent. We both did so for what seemed like hours. I think we both had lots of things on our minds, so it kept us busy for awhile.

I had fallen asleep from the silence. I must have been out of it for awhile because it was dark when I woke up. While I was stretching I noticed Eric wasn’t on his bed. I got up and called his name, but there was no answer. I went into the bathroom to see if he was in there, but he wasn’t there either. He must have left the room. I ran out of the room and down the hall calling out his name. There was still no answer. I was starting to get worried. I then ran down to Ms. Ashland’s office to see if she was there. When I got to the door I saw that there was nobody in there. I ran through the building but couldn’t find any nurses. All the doors where shut, so I thought that the elder ones where sleeping, but I should have been able to find someone by now I thought. I was extremely worried.
Since I was running around the building so much I had to sit down and take a breather. Once I sat down and just listened to the silence, I heard a faint sound coming from down the hall. I then heard someone walking in the hall…very slowly. It seemed like they were limping. I got up and ran down the hall to see who was there. I called out to them, asking who they were. They answered with sobs and moans. I didn’t know who this person was, but they seemed to be hurt. When I walked closer to this person, they fell to the ground. That was when I realized who it was.
It was Eric.
He was covered in dirt and he was bruised. I kneeled down to the floor.
“Eric, what happened?”
“I…found a mirror.” He said that while crying.
“Y-you found a mirror? What? Did you…” I paused.
“I…I went to search for a mirror because…it was suspicious, but…when I looked in the mirror…”
“Where is everybody?” I was panicking. “Why are you hurt?”
He sat up slightly. “When I saw myself, I ran. They all must have gone out to search for me when they found out I was gone.”
“But there is nobody else here other than me! Why would they just leave this nursing home like that!?”
“I don’t understand either…but there is something wrong with me! I am supposed to be 12! I don’t look like I am!!! I remember looking at myself in a mirror yesterday, and I looked 12! Am I part of some strange science experiment?”
“No. Calm down!”
“HOW CAN I?”
I stepped back. “I…I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? Did you do something to me???” He stood up franticly. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything! I am telling the truth!”
“Can I really believe you?” He stepped backwards.
The tense atmosphere was broken by many voices coming from outside. When the voices got closer, Eric seemed more and more troubled.
“I need to get out of here!” He walked past me while limping. “Please don’t allow them to find me, ok?”
“But, Eric! You can’t run away. You don’t even know what you’re running away from!”
He was silent.
“Something is wrong with you, but it’s not what you think Eric.”
“What is wrong then???”
“I…I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you.”
“What’s with that? You say something is wrong with me, but you won’t tell me what?”
“Just wait here, and the others will tell you when you calm down.”
“Will they really tell me?”
“Yes. You just have to calm down, and if you continue to run, you will never find out the problem.”
He stood still. “…I…I understand.”
We both waited in the hall until the voices reached the hallway. Eric stood very close to me the whole time. I heard my boss’s voice calling.
“Eric! You need to stay where you are! Don’t run away!” she then stopped in her tracks when she saw Eric standing by me. “Good.” She was relived seeing him.
I stepped forward. “You have to explain to him.”
She replied instantly. “I know.”
I turned to Eric and took his hand. “It’s ok now. She will tell you everything.”
He stepped toward Ms. Ashland gripping my hand tightly.
I was trying to pull my hand away. “What are you doing?”
He had a very serious face. “I want you here with me.” He walked over to Ms. Ashland making me follow. “Now would you please fill me in on what is happening?”
Ms. Ashland nodded. “Yes. Please follow me to my office.” She opened her office door and shut it behind us.
The very second we walked inside someone grabbed Eric and shot something into him. I fell back and screamed from terror. I was completely confused to what was happening.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” I was on the floor with my back against the wall. I looked down on the floor next to me and Eric was passed out. “Why…?” I looked up to Ms. Ashland.
“This is what we have to do. It doesn’t make any sense to explain the situation to him when he wouldn’t even remember the conversation the next day!”
I did understand what she meant, but it sounded cruel. I felt so much compassion for this kid, and I just met him this morning! Was this event really happening? Was I dreaming up this whole thing? No. I just wanted to wish this was a dream. The one thing I didn’t understand was why did this all have to happen in one day? It was all too much to comprehend. If he only knew what was happening. Would it be better knowing the truth then being put in the dark? Where the heck are his parents? That is what I really wanted to know! It seems like the only one making important decisions for Eric was Ms. Ashland. Shouldn’t the family being doing that?

While other nurses took Eric out of the office and back to his room, I sat on the floor asking myself all these questions that I couldn’t answer. I felt very frustrated, mostly because I couldn’t do anything. I just wanted to help! My eyes began to get puffy and tears ran down my cheeks. I cried so hard that night. It felt as though I was crying Eric’s tears. That unbearable pain that he couldn’t feel, I felt it.


It was the worse feeling I had ever felt in my life.

Chapter 2

I wasn’t able to sleep the night I came back from the nursing home. I tossed and turned on my bed for hours. I couldn’t clear my mind; it was full of depressing thoughts. I also had what Ms. Ashland said to me that night floating through my brain.
-I was crying heavily when Ms. Ashland bent down toward me “I’m sorry.”
I got up off the floor “WHY THE HELL ARE YOU APOLOGIZING TO ME? I was furious.
She backed away. “I can see you cannot handle this job. I understand very well, this job is extremely complicated. I wish for you to leave. For your own good, please do not return.” She said this in a very calm voice while wearing an expressionless face-
I didn’t know how to react, so I just got my bag and left after she said those words to me.
I wished I had never fallen asleep by his side. I wished he didn’t see himself…I wished none of those horrible things ever happened to him in the first place. The more things I wished for, the more depressed I felt. There was no hope for a miracle. All the people that surrounded him were all out of hope. I was no use to him. Ms. Ashland was right, I couldn’t handle that job.
But what if…
What if I was supposed to be his last hope? Maybe all he needs is love and compassion. Maybe I’m the one to give that to him! I thought to myself…why else would I of met such a person? It was destiny. I don’t know what came over me that night. In just one night I started from depressed to hopeful. Maybe it was destiny kicking me in the butt. Who knows? One thing I do know is-I needed that job back.
That very next morning I planned to go to the nursing home to talk to Ms. Ashland.
I decided to leave at 5 since I was wide awake and ready to talk it over. I ran to the block over and walked towards the entrance. I saw Ms. Ashland standing there looking directly at me.
“I knew you would come back.” She smirked.
“….So…I can have my job back?” I took a step toward her.
She opened the door. “First I need to talk to you.” She walked inside and held the door open for me.
I walked through the door and followed her into her office. She sat down and pulled a chair up to her and told me to sit down. “I know you may have many things you want to ask me. I am giving you this chance to ask me anything you wish.”
I did want to ask her some things but I was hesitant to ask even though she said it was ok. I was silent for a bit. When I looked back up to Ms. Ashland she smiled and said “I know this may be awkward but you may ask anything.”
I nodded “Ok. I want to know about Eric’s parents and why he is here.”
Ms. Ashland responded eminently “His mother is dead.”
I was shocked. “H-how…”
“She killed herself…she drove herself mad. Her husband told me she couldn’t deal with having her baby completely lose his life even though he was living. His father brought him here so we could keep his whereabouts a low profile. He gave us a lot of money to take care of Eric and keep him a secret…It was just the 3 of them until the accident. His father is very rich so for awhile they tried many things to try to fix his brain, but ended up failing. That’s why Eric is here. I am not really sure why his father chose this place though.” She inhaled then exhaled.
His mother killed herself??? And his father pretty much abanded him??? On the outside I tried to be calm but on the inside I was the total opposite. I thought it was already bad for Eric but then I found out why his mother and father aren’t here. Well I know why his mother isn’t here, but why isn’t his father here? I know it must have been tragic to have something horrible happen to his son, then his wife commit suicide because of it. I can’t imagine what he has felt or may be feeling, but I don’t think its right to just leave his son alone to some strangers. Eric should be able to remember his father, so why leave?
Ms. Ashland stood up “If you can handle this job, I am willing to give it back to you.”
I also stood up. “Yes! Please!”
She nodded. “You can go see him then. He is still asleep, so when he wakes up you know what to do.”
“Yes! Thank you very much Ms. Ashland!” I walked towards the door.
“Wait!”
I turned around. “Hm?”
“Why do you want this job so badly, anyway?”
I smiled. “It’s destiny.” I walked out her office and shut the door behind me. I ran down to Eric’s room and stopped in front of the door and looked at the number near the door. I stood there for a few seconds then opened the door softly.
When I opened the door I saw that he was still sleeping. Thank goodness. I sat next to the bed on a chair I pulled up and pulled out a sketch book. I loved to draw in my spare time so I decided to draw for a while until he woke up. I really didn’t know what I wanted to draw though. When I looked over to Eric I was overwhelmed by the intense cuteness of his sleeping face. I smiled and realized just what I wanted draw. I moved my chair so I could get a better angle of his face. I opened up my sketch book to a clean page and took out a pencil. I began to draw the shape of his head. I sketched his jaw line and drew in some of his hair. I drew a little bit of the one ear I could see then drew some hair that lay on top of it. I sketched his nose and more of his hair flowing down from his forehead. I had to sketch over his hair a few times to show how full it was. The last thing to draw was his eyes. I looked down towards the sketch book and sighed.
“Too bad his eyes are closed; it would be beautiful if they were open.” I looked up to Eric.
His eyes were open, looking back at me with that intenseness I remembered from yesterday.
I was surprised to have him looking at me suddenly. “Oh! Hi there!”
“Finish it.” He was still looking directly at me.
“Eh?”
“The drawing! You were drawing a picture of me right?” He smiled. “And since my eyes are open you don’t have to worry about it not being beautiful.”
I think I blushed a little. “Uh…ok. I’ll finish.” I looked down at the paper then back up at his eyes. “Ok, just make sure to keep looking this way.”
The whole time I drew his eyes he never looked away. Every time I looked up to him we had eye contact. The expression he had seemed very peaceful and yet painful. I could see it in his eyes. His eyes carried his pain, I think without him knowing it. When I was finally done I just looked back up to him and looked into his eyes for a few extra moments.
“I’m done.” I smiled.
“Can I see?” He sat up.
I was just about to show him then I remembered I obviously can’t show him. “Nope!”
“Hey! That’s not fair!”
“Who said this was going to be fair?”
“By the way, who are you?” He sat up.
“Well I’m Alison. I will be hanging out with you today! Your parents are on a trip, so today u will be staying here with me. There is no need to worry about them ok?” I smiled.
“Oh?” His eyes wondered. “This looks like a nursing home! Gosh…my parents are strange for sending me here.”
“I agree, but there is no use in thinking that. Let’s have fun today!”
He nodded slowly. “Um, where is my stuff?” He got up.
I also got up. “Um it should be here in this room.” I walked around, and then found a brownish bag near the door. “Oh!” I walked over to the bag and picked it up. “Is this what you were looking for?”
He grabbed the bag violently and went through it. He pulled out a book; the book his mother gave him. “Good, it’s still here.” He sighed from relief.
“That book must be pretty special huh?”
He looked at the book. “Well, it’s my mom’s. She told me if I lose it she will be very upset.”
“Oh, I see.”
“If you don’t mind, I would like to read this.” He got back on his bed and sat there Indian style while reading.
I was very silent for a long time. I was so temped to fall asleep but knew if I did something bad might come of it. I watched him read. I tried to focus only on him and not my dreariness.
He turned to me. “It’s awkward when you look at me while I’m trying to read.”
He said that yesterday too…I smiled. “Uh, sorry.”
“It’s alright I guess.” He started to read again.
I really did hope that it could stay like this. He would read his book and I would watch. It was peaceful. There was no pain that day. He read his book and we talked a lot too. Mostly the same things we talked about the day before, but there was no helping that. When I went home that day I felt more at peace. I wanted to see him every day and bring him happiness. I wanted his life to be less empty. I truly wanted to be his friend and give him love he needed so badly.
When I got home that night I went right to the kitchen to eat some food; I didn’t eat much that day since I had so much on my mind. It was pretty late and dark. When I turned on the light I saw my mom sitting at the table. She stood up.
“Alison, why are you coming home so late?” She looked upset.
“It’s my job.”
“You work at the nursing home don’t you? I don’t understand why you have to work so many hours. You are going to burn yourself out if you work that many hours every single day! And why don’t you have the weekends off?”
“I have Sunday off mom.”
“I would like it if you found a different job.” She sounded serious.
“No. I don’t want any other job. I can’t give you the details but this job is very important. I am not just doing it for the money.” I looked away.
She laughed. “A nursing home job is that important to you?”
I nodded.
She was silent for a moment. “Well it is your choice I guess. I just didn’t want to see you dig your own grave and work too much.”
I smiled. “I’ll be fine mom, gosh. I am old enough to take care of myself you know!”
She walked over and gave me a hug then told me to get enough sleep. She went back to bed as I grabbed a quick bite. I went to my room after that and surprisingly got to sleep pretty fast.
I usually never remember my dreams but that night I dreamt about Eric. I am not really sure what the dream was about but his eyes were not full of pain. He seemed happy. Seeing that made me want to try that much harder to remove his pain. I had no idea what I could do but being there for him was a good start. I couldn’t give up on him like his father did. I felt like he needed me and being needed was the best motivation I could have.

Chapter 3

I woke up early the next morning just like the morning before and went right over to the nursing home. This was my new pattern. I did enjoy going every day…it was just…I wanted him to remember me when I came back the next day. We would have great conversations one day and he would forget the next. That pattern I was not fond of, but I had to deal with it because there was no changing it. I took him as he was. But as every day passed, I felt my heart sink knowing he wouldn’t remember me. I continued to bring hope into his life but it felt like I didn’t receive any of it. I had a feeling that would happen; me getting too attached to him. I knew at this stage because I was attached I would get more and more depressed knowing his condition wouldn’t change. I felt that I was moving forward and he was left behind; which was exactly what was happening. Even though at first I called him a kid, I felt afterwards I had no right to call him that. I started to think of him as more of my equal. That was when I began to fall for him.

It had been about a week since the incident with the mirror. Every single day was the same after that. The repetition of silence and awkward conversations circled me. The awkwardness was only there because the repetition was as well. Even though each day was different he would talk about the same things then read the same chapters he did the day before. I could only accompany him by being in the darkness. Even though I was there every day, he wouldn’t notice that. But even if I was put in the dark, I stood there, for his sake.
It seemed that the rest of the summer would be the same but, another incidence accorded.
It was a weekday and I came to the nursing home in the early morning. It was pouring rain all morning and it seemed like it was not going to stop any time soon. I ran inside soak and wet, because I had lost my umbrella. I was hoping that the rest of the day would be better.
Ms. Ashland walked out of her office and greeted me as she gave me a towel to dry to off with. I thanked her and went down to Eric’s room, like the usual. I opened his door.
“Hello Eric! I’m Alison.” I looked around and I didn’t see him in his bed. “Eric?” I went over toward the bathroom door and knocked on the door. “You in there?” there was no answer. I was asking myself "did he run away again?" Did he somehow see himself? I ran out of the room and looked around the nursing home. I didn’t want to tell anyone else that he had ran away, because he might get scared like last time, but most of all, I didn’t want them to shoot him with whatever that thing was and put him to sleep. If I could, I wanted to tell him the truth.
I walked around the nursing home a few times, and then decided to look outside. I went through the back and circled the garden. I looked up to the sky as the rain started to stop and when I looked back down I saw someone sitting on a bench about 2 yards away from me. I could tell it was Eric.
“Eric.”
He turned violently. He face was pale. It looked as if he saw a ghost, or maybe himself.
I walked over to him slowly. “Eric? Did something happen?”
His eyes shifted. He moved his lips like he wanted to speak but nothing came out. He then turned away and looked forward.
“My name is Alison. “ I said this as I sat next to him. “Something did happen didn’t it?”
He actually nodded.
“Did you see something?” I paused. “Your reflection?”
“What’s wrong with me…? When I looked into the fountain water I saw a reflection, but one I didn’t recognize.” He paused. “Was I in a coma?” He looked me in the eyes. Again, I saw his pain.
“No. You were not in a coma. But you did get into an accident some years ago.”
“W-where are my parents? How long have I been like this? Am I dying?”
“Uh…about your parents.”
“Did something happen to them?” it seemed like he somehow knew.
I was silent.
He stood up and was in front of me. “I want you to tell me all that you know.”
“OK. I will tell you.”
I’m not going to go through every little detail of that conversation, but I did tell him everything I knew. We sat on that bench and talked and talked.
But it was different from the last time he saw his reflection. He did not go wild and ran away completely. He did run away, but when I found him, he just stayed put. Maybe he trusted me without even knowing it. It was hard to tell, because of the situation, but I was happy he did stay.
When I finished telling him, he stayed silent. It was understandable that he would be.
I broke the silence. “I’m Sorry.”
He shook his head slightly. “It’s not your fault…but I’m glad you filled me in on it.” He smirked. “So I’m 17 huh?” He laughed like he didn’t believe what was happening. “It kind of feels like this is a dream or some type of fantasy.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.” I then thought for a second. We cannot let the others know that he knows. “Eric?”
He looked at me. “What?”
“We are going to have to make a plan. Because since you know the truth you want to continue to know until you can’t anymore, right?”
He nodded.
“Well then, we can’t tell a soul that you know ok? You need to try to fool them all. Fool them so good, that you might fool me, because, if they find out, they will take it away from you.” I thought about them taking “it” away from him. “It” is the truth. I find that ridiculous that they must take away the truth. I understood that it will be in vain the next day, but I wanted him to be exposed to the truth even if that was the result.
He nodded again. “OK.”
I nodded back. “Good.” I took his hand. “Now let’s go back inside before they realize were gone.”
We ran inside quickly and nobody seemed to spot us, thank god. We shut the door behind ourselves when we entered room 28. I was breathing heavily and found myself laughing a bit as well. When I looked at Eric he also broke out into laughter. I have no idea what came over us, but for him I think he finally felt alive for once. Of course he was alive, but by being confined inside a room all day didn’t seem very lively to me.
For once I saw him not fearful or pained. What did surprise me was how calm he seemed to be. It was very different. Like his true self. Maybe stress built up and created a different character. The thing about stress is it can hurt you mentally and physically as well. Even though he wouldn’t know of this stress, that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. I don’t really know myself. I am just trying to explain something I don’t know the meaning behind. People have done so for many years. When people don’t know the meaning behind something, they want to know the meaning that much more. It was the same for Eric and me. I am always asking myself why certain things happen, why he reacts differently to certain things. But I am always going in circles because I have no way of knowing the real meaning.
But also, not knowing made being with him interesting. I did not know what to expect. I kind of liked that about him. I don’t know if that was a personality trait he had before the accident but it sure as heck was one of them now.
I had now been silent and was deep in thought. I could feel his eyes gaze in my direction. I was always told I thought too much.
He tilted his head. “You think too much.”
I snapped out of it. “Huh?”
He smiled.”You were deep in thought weren’t you?”
I shook my head then paused. Then I nodded and smiled.
I slipped back into deep thought again.
I was completely confused to why he seemed so fine! I bet I was freaking out more than he was! Or maybe not, I don’t have any idea; like usual. I know I probably sound like a broken record player, saying how I feel bad for him and have no idea what will happen next, but if you were in my kind of position you might understand.
When I came to again I noticed Eric was on his bed in a lump. I think he got bored with looking at me. I don’t blame him. I think I may have just insulted myself…
I stood up off the floor; for some reason I was on the floor. I poked Eric a few times to get his attention, but he seemed to be asleep. Fast sleeper I guess. I sat down in the chair next to his bed.
Bored again.
Are you bored from reading this? If you are, just imagine how it must feel to live it!
I let out a big sigh, and closed my eyes for a little while. I heard some movement on the bed in front of me after a moment of silence had passed. I opened up one eye and saw Eric sitting Indian style with his eyes fixed upon me. I opened my other eye.
“What?”
He replied quickly. “Nothing.”
“Uh. Why are you staring at me then?”
“No reason.” He smiled.
“Are you sure?” I touched my face. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Nope.” He continued to stare.
Maybe he was bored as well? Trying to drive me crazy? He already drove me crazy. He always makes me worry. That alone drove me in the “crazy” category.
This may sound extremely boring to you, but for the rest of the day we kind of stared at each other. I don’t remember much talking. Strange huh? Yep. We had a few staring contests and I drew some pictures of him. We didn’t need to talk for me to draw. A lot of silence. Not a bad thing at all. I am very happy that his one day he knew, was peaceful and we were not found out. Nothing too special, but this kid didn’t need anything spectacular anyways. I think he was happy to have a normal lazy day.
My plans for Eric and I for the rest of the summer were going to be more…outside the box; if you will. I wanted to be a little rebellious. Even though it’s my job to take care of him, and I was supposed to go by certain rules I wanted to give him a life back. He has been confined and I want to open up that part of his life up again. But doing so might lead us into some trouble.

Chapter 4

I was never the kind of person to go against the rules. I have been judged to be like that, because of my looks, but looks are deceiving. This time was different; I was willing to not go by the rules.
I went to the nursing home the next day with plans of rebellion. I had a feeling he would be very confused to why I wanted to run off, but I knew he wouldn’t go against me; mainly because he would probably enjoy us sneaking out. The outside world at this moment was Eric’s weakness. He wanted to go out so badly all the time and wasn’t allowed, so I knew he would go along with my plans.
The downside to “sneaking out” was I couldn’t check all the surrounding areas for mirrors or shining surfaces. I planned to keep him very close to me the whole time. We also could not stay out for too long for various reasons, like if he went to use the bathroom he could see his reflection there from the bathroom mirrors. I had to think a lot about this “plan”, because if something happened, who knows how he would react. Even so, I wanted to at least attempt to escape for a day with him.
I ran inside room 28.
“Eric!” I did a hop run toward his bed. “I’m Alison, nice to meet you!”
He smiled. “Hello.”
I was surprised with him expressing such an…expression.
I told him about his parents and how they were gone and he nodded, then I sat down in the chair next to his bed and smiled. “So, you want to go out today?”
Eric looked at me confused. “Huh?” His eyes shifted. “Are we allowed?”
I shook my head.
The corner of his lip curled upward.
I smiled again. “Where do you want to go?”
He answered quickly. “Anywhere!”
“How about the park?! We could go to my house real quick, so I could get my bike.”
He nodded. “Ok, that sounds good! When can we leave?”
“We have to think of an escape plan first…”
“We run out really fast, and don’t look back?”
“How about you run out first, but run out the back door. I can go out of the front door. Wait near the back until I call you.”
He nodded again. “But…what will I wear? “He looked down at his pajamas.
“Yeah…you need a change of clothes. Ah! I could let you borrow some of my brother’s, ok?”
“Ok!”
“On 3, we will make a run for it! 1…2…3!!!” We both bolted out in opposite directions. The back door was rather close, and the front door was on the other side of the building. I was hoping I could get out without anyone noticing. And of course because I was hoping not to bump into someone, I did.
When I was running down a small flight of stairs I bumped into someone going up those stairs.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” I then noticed who it was. “Ms. Ashland…”
She looked confused. “What are you doing? Please do not run so fast in these halls.” She paused. “Why are you running down here for? Eric’s room is on the other side of the building.” She leaned toward me. I didn’t know how to answer. I was already going into panic, but I tried to keep my cool on the outside. “He…ran away.”
Ms. Ashland’s eyes grew wide. “WHAT?”
“Ms. Ashland, calm down! I’m going to look for him…alone! If you send out a lot of people like you did last time, he will resist even more. He is different when its only one person. He is more reasonable. So let me look for him alone and I will bring him back as soon as I find him.”
Ms. Ashland had a disturbed expression. “Why should I let you?”
“I was the one who stopped him last time, remember?”
She shifted her eyes. “That was a different day; you don’t really know how he will react this day.”
“I want everything to go smoothly, that’s why I want to look for him on my own.” I tried to sound desperate; actually I was desperate to get away from her as fast as I could.
She let out a big sigh. “Ok, go look. But if you can’t find him you’re fired!” I nodded and ran down the hall and out the front. I ran to the side of the building and looked at the back where the garden was. Eric’s head poked out from behind the wall. His eyes got wide for a split second then went back to normal after noticing it was me.
I slightly tilted my head. “Hey.”
“Hey…”
I was so frantic by wanting to get out of there, I started hopping. “Come on, let’s go!”
He ran toward me and then I grabbed his arm and ran in the direction of my house. We cut through some of yards, because it was faster that way. We ended up at the back of my house. We both took a short breather. He sat on the ground while breathing heavy and I slowly was walking toward the back door.
“I will get the clothes. Is there anything else you need?”
He smiled while taking off one of his slippers. “I will probably need shoes…”
“Ah…sorry I didn’t even notice…” I laughed a little bit.
“Don’t worry about it.”
I ran inside and went into the laundry room and shifted through the clean stuff. I found pieces of clothes that seemed like they would suit him one by one. Today was strangely cold for the summer. It felt like fall so I picked out a black and gray striped long sleeve shirt. I randomly picked some pants and socks. Next were the shoes. I grabbed the few things I picked and went to my brother’s room to find a pair of shoes. When I was trying to open his door something was in the way. I had the squeeze through the door and move what was in the way. A pair of shoes where in the way so I grabbed them and ran out to the back where Eric was. Eric was still on the ground.
“Hey you!”
He looked in my direction.
I held up the clothes and shoes.
He got up and walked over and took them from me. “Where do I change?”
I had to think. He couldn’t come in my house because there were mirrors.
“Change in the shed!” I smiled.
He smiled. “Stop joking.”
I smiled back. “I’m not joking.”
“Huh? You’re serious?!”
I turned him around and pushed him toward the shed. I didn’t have to worry about mirrors or shiny surfaces in the shed because there were only cardboard boxes; so it was perfect! I opened the door.
“Ok, go ahead and change.”
He turned and looked at me. “You are strange.”
I pushed him inside and closed the door.
I could hear him fumbling around. “I can’t see anything!!”
I bent over and started laughing.
“Hey shut up!” his voice cracked. His voice made me laugh even harder.
“You should shut up! Your cracking voice is making me laugh!”
He let out a big sigh.
I stopped laughing. “Better hurry up you!”
I heard him fumble around a little. “Ok, ok.”I stood and waited for a few minutes as he changed. He opened the door and tossed the shoes at me. “I can’t tie them in the dark.” He shifted his eyes. He just stood there as I eyed him in regular clothes for the first time. When I grabbed a random pair of pants they ended up being black tight jeans, but because he is like skin and bones, they were a little loose in the legs. The dark colors made him look even paler then before, but that made his eyes glow intensely. The shirt fit him pretty well but the sleeves where too short for his arm length, so I walked over to him and pushed each sleeve up on both his arms. He awkwardly looked at me. I then tossed the shoes back at him.
“Put those on while I go get the bike.” I turned around and headed for the garage. The garage was small and a total mess. My dad packed so much stuff inside one little room. The car couldn’t fit inside anymore. I was hesitant to go inside afraid something might randomly fall from the walls or ceiling. My bike was somewhere in there, just couldn’t see it. I hopped around things on the floor and had to climb over a small stack of boxes; very awkward. After some more climbing and hopping I spotted my bike in the far end of the garage in a corner near some more boxes. It seemed so close yet so dang far away. Then I thought. How the heck am I going to get it out of here? It was hard enough to getting in here, just with me, but me carrying a bike as well. I let out a big sigh. I grabbed the bike handle and pulled at it, quite violently I might add. That action led to boxes falling at my feet which lead to pain. Why must I be so inpatient? And when my patience is running low I get violent. Me and violence are not a great mix; it usually ends in me getting hurt. The bike fell on me, but I pushed it the opposite direction which made more things fall. I have bad reflexes. I kicked the boxes out of the way; which hurt the heck out of my feet. I once again grabbed the handle to the bike and pulled. I grabbed the other handle and tried to pull it closer to me so I could try to lift it. I lifted the bike quickly and kind of tossed it on the opposite side of me. This huge crashing sound echoed throughout the garage.
I heard Eric run in the garages direction. “Alison? What was that sound?” I saw him at the front of the garage.
I slightly waved. “That was me, throwing the bike.” I giggled.
He was cracked up over this. “You threw the bike?” he laughed.
“Don’t laugh! I am still in the zone! I need to get this out of here. You go away now! Go wait near the shed!”
“Are you going to throw the bike again?”
I shifted my eyes. “I might, if it’s necessary.”
“I don’t think throwing the bike is really necessary.”
“I didn’t ask you about your thoughts…” I grabbed the bike again and started to lift it.
He backed away. “Uh, please don’t throw that in my direction.”
“I will do as I please.” I had an evil smile.
He started to laugh again.
I was confused. “Huh?”
“The face you made was hilarious!”
The loss of patience overwhelmed me and I picked up the bike completely and threw it at his direction.
He dodged it just in time and it missed him by like a centimeter. He looked back at me with this horrified face.
“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!” he breathed heavily. “That scared the crap out of me! What if that hit me?”
I didn’t really think about that. “Um, sorry about that.”
“Sorry?” he looked confused. “Are you a crazy person?”
“No I am not! I just want to escape already! I want to run away...And that bike was really annoying me, so I chucked it.”
“Run away?” he paused. “What are we running from?”
“The nursing home.”
“Yeah I see that, but is that all you want to run away from?”
It seemed as if he was looking into my soul. Was he reading me? Was I that easy to read? It was true-that wasn’t the only thing I was running away from. I was hoping I could run away from the situation; Eric’s condition. I was hoping that being back outside where true life was there to not only observe but be a part of, something might come back to him. He had been lost. I thought revealing this world to him again would…
No. I had to stop only thinking about making him remember. I was contradicting myself, over and over. I said I took him as he was, but deep down I wanted to know the old him, even if that was a child. I always had him on my mind. It was eating me, this constant repetition of never ending thoughts of only him. I would think about him and not even notice. I couldn’t be in love with him. I had only known him for barely half a month, and on top of that, his condition-how could love last? It couldn’t. That was a fact. I told myself these things because if I did fall in love I would be picking away my heart piece by piece. Ms. Ashland told me to not get too close to him, but how could I not get close to him? I was with him almost every day! I had this battle inside my head, it went in circles and it seemed like it would never resolve.
I didn’t answer Eric. He didn’t press me on the subject either. He picked up the bike.
“Let’s run away, and never come back then."

Chapter 5

I was completely shocked. I mean, I did want to run away, but doing so would lead to so many troublesome things. Running away for just the day is not a smart thing to do either. He gave me these eyes, they seemed like they were casting a spell on me; telling me to say yes. But no matter what, I couldn’t give in to him.
I moved my bangs to the side. “We can’t…I’ll lose my job.”
He looked back down at the bike.
I hopped around a few boxes, and then walked out of the garage. I grabbed one of the handle bars on the bike.
“Ok. Are we ready to go?”
“Why.”
“Huh?” I was confused. “Why what?”
“Why can’t we run away and never come back?” He looked at me. His eyes were dripping wet.
“What, why are you crying?” I wiped he’s tears away.
“I-I...don’t…know.” he was trying to hold back his tears, but he was losing control of himself. He grabbed a hold of me and held me tight as his head was buried in my shoulder. I held him close to me for a moment until he pushed away.
His mouth was slightly moving. He seemed to be whispering something. He turned his head in a violent motion.
“I’m ok.”
I wasn’t fooled by him. “You are obviously not ok.”
Was he feeling some hidden emotion, or trauma, or even depression? I wish I could get inside his head and understand him. But even if I could get inside his head, I would probably understand him even less. I wonder if he always has battles inside his head. Maybe things seem wrong, but he doesn’t understand what it is. Maybe he senses something strange, and he can’t yet grasp it. I can’t even begin to imagine what goes through his mind, and what he feels.
He turned to me. “No, I am completely fine.”
Or maybe he doesn’t even sense anything and sometimes his emotions will spin out of control.
Eric got closer to me. “Alison?”
I snapped out of it. “Oh, sorry.” I needed to stop thinking so much and just get out of there. I grabbed the other handle bar and put my leg over on the other side and sat in the seat.
“Ok. Let’s go.”
He looked confused. “Um, why are you sitting in the seat? Are you making me ride on the back? The guy should pedal for the girl.”
I laughed. “You feel uncomfortable with me pedaling? Just get on! When I start to pedal, jump on the back.” I started to pedal. He jumped on the back and had his hands on my shoulders.
When we were about 2 blocks away, I realized I forgot the helmets.
“Oh! I forgot helmets!”
“It’s ok!”
“No! What if I lose my balance and we crash?”
“You sound like my mom.”
“Great…” we started to go down a steep hill. “Hold on!!!”
“Whoaaa”
We just got at the bottom.
“I’m so glad.”
“Glad about what?”
“Even though I just met you today, I’m glad I agreed to you taking me out! I’m having fun and we haven’t even gotten to the park yet!”
He sounded like a little kid, who is playing outside on the first day of summer. He sounded happy, innocent, and free. That should be something a kid his age felt. But then again, because of his appearance I didn’t want him to get too carried away and draw a lot of attention. I was also thinking, isn’t he suspicious of me? Like he said, we just met today (according to him) and I wanted to take him out, well sneak him out. Of course I’m not a pedophile. But that’s really complicated. He is 17, but in his mind he is 12. If I was a pedophile and took him away, he is only a year younger…oh god! Why am I thinking about that? I really need to stop thinking so much.
I let out a big sigh.
“Alison, how much longer until we get to the park?” He patted my shoulder.
“Uh, not much longer.” I took a left turn.
I wasn’t taking him to a kid park or anything. In our town; near the shopping area, there is this big park in the center with lots of trees, and flowers. My plan was to get some food, eat it in the park and walk around a little bit and maybe shop a little too, depending on which store.
I was now riding near the side walk and we were about one more block to the shopping area.
“One more block!”
He didn’t answer me, but his grip on my shoulders got a little tighter. I think he was excited, but he didn’t want to say so.
I pedaled a little faster and took a right turn. We were now in the center of town. I started to slow down, to let Eric take in the landscape and surroundings.
There was a slight breeze, and the wind was caring the scent of wild flowers and freshly cut grass. The light from the sun bounced off of every surface making it seem like everything was glowing. The air was still chilly, even though the sun was out and very bright. There were couples holding hands, grandparents with their grandchildren in the park, and children playing on the playground. People were living their lives, out in the open for all to see. They would go out into the world, out of their homes and live, laugh, and cry, they could be happy, sad, or mad-whatever they felt or expressed, anyone could see. That feeling, of living out in the open, Eric had not been able to do that for 5 years.
I can’t even think of me or anyone else not going out and doing things outside in the open. That’s how people live; it has been like that for thousands of years. Eric can finally do that today. I was so excited for him, but I didn’t show my excitement.
There was one major problem. All the stores had big windows in front of them; you can see your refection in them. I think I could deal with when we were around smaller shiny surfaces and pull him away, but the windows in the front were the main problem.
My plan was to go down to my grandma’s shoppe and leave my bike there, and then walk around from there. I always go to her shop when I am riding my bike around town. She will give me a few snacks and tell me how beautiful and capable I am. My grandma was kind of a free spirit, if you will. She used to be married a long time ago to a wealthy guy. They got married young, but it ended the following year. She married him because her parents wanted her to be with someone who could take care of her well. She told me there was no real love between them. She always told me”Never hold back in love because you will regret it later.” Apparently she wanted to marry someone else, but her parents refused. That’s why my grandma is always saying “Do what you want and don’t hold back, and if you make mistakes, that only means your living.” I can tell her anything, not like my mom; she freaks out over every little thing I tell her. That’s why I told her about Eric, I also told her that I was planning to sneak out with him today and I might stop by. She said she hoped I would come by; she didn’t really say much else. I took that as a good thing.
I stopped my bike in front of her Shoppe and violently grabbed Eric by the head. He was twisting, spinning, and turning. I pulled him inside her Shoppe successfully; he didn’t seem to see himself in the window. I let him go. He turned to me.
“What the heck was that about?” he rubbed his head. “I think you pulled out a chunk of my hair.”
I called out for my grandma. “Gran! It’s Alison!” I went to the front desk and Eric followed me. I heard her voice from the back.
“Just you wait a sec.”
My grandma’s Shoppe has lots of homemade things. There is food, blankets, furniture, and jewelry. She makes it all herself. She is amazing.
She walked out of a storage room door. “Hey Allie.” She walked around the desk and took a good look at Eric. “So you’re Eric.” She poked him a few times. He looked extremely confused.
“Excuse me, who are you ma’am?” he squinted his eyes as she poked him a couple more times.
I pulled Eric away from her. “Gran, stop poking the poor kid.”
She smiled. “You can call me Gran, Eric.”
“Oh ok.” He nodded, and then his eyes shifted. “But how do you know my name?”
“Alison told me.”
“She did? We only just met today.”
“Uh, she told me this morning that you guys might come over here.”
That’s actually the truth. Just before I left work I called her and reminded her about me coming over. I told her about Eric about 2 weeks after I started to work.
Eric nodded again. “Oh.”
Gran walked back behind the desk. “You two want a snack?”
I ran behind the desk and went in the back. I was in search of Gran’s chocolate covered apples topped with chocolate chips. I walked inside the small kitchen and looked around, and then saw 3 apples in a baggie. Next to that baggie was a smaller one with the chocolate apple cut up in little bite size pieces; that was mine. I grabbed that and ran back out to the front.
Eric was nibbling on a small cookie, while Gran was moving some new furniture out towards the front of the Shoppe. Eric was looking around the store while putting the rest of the cookie in his mouth.
“I like this place.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
I set the baggie on the desk. “Yeah, I love it here. Very cozy and comfortable, and I get free food too.” I smiled and then opened up the baggie and took a piece out. “Here, try this Eric.”
He took it slowly and put it in his mouth. “Whoa, it’s so sweet!”
I took a piece for myself and put it in my mouth. I ate it in less than a second. “These are my favorite. I love how the taste of the apple and the chocolate mix together. The chocolate is her homemade kind, it’s sickingly sweet.”
It seemed like his eye twitched. “Yeah, very sweet.”
Gran moved the last piece of furniture. “Oh, you saw your bag Allie?”
“Yeah. Gran!” I had another piece.
“Good.” She walked toward Eric. “You had a piece?”
Eric nodded his head violently.
“Gran, I’m going to put my bike in the back ok?” I walked toward the front door. “Watch over Eric for a bit.” I ran out and grabbed my bike and walked to the back where there was a gate. I opened the gate and rolled my bike through and let my bike lay on top of the fence near it. When I came back Eric and Gran weren’t in the front anymore. I walked into the kitchen and Gran was pouring some lemonade in a cup for Eric.
Eric took the cup and guzzled it down.
“Eric, you wanna get going?” I was standing in the kitchen doorway.
He looked up. “Yeah.” He sat up. “Thank you…um, Gran, for the food and drink.”
“Oh, no problem.” She smiled.
Eric walked to the doorway.
I started to walk out with Eric then I turned around.
“Hey Gran, is it ok if me and Eric come back for lunch later?”
“I’ll have something ready.”
“Thanks. Oh! Do you have a pair of sunglasses?”
She got up. “I think I might.” She looked through her purse and pulled out a black pair. “Will these do?”
“Perfect.”
She handed them to me and turned me around. “Go now, your making him wait.”
“Thank you.” I walked back near the front desk. Eric was waiting there.
“Eric.”
He turned to me. “Huh?”
I put the sunglasses on him. “There, wear those.”
The glasses would of course allow him to still see, but if everything looks a little darker he might not notice some shiny surfaces. I didn’t really know if it would help, but I needed to try something.
Finally we got out of Gran’s Shoppe. We started to walk down the sidewalk. Eric seemed very interested. He seemed like he really wanted to explore. His eyes were wide as he looked at everything surrounding him. The kid inside him completely took over. He wasn’t talking much, he was very quiet. His eyes were moving so fast trying to look at every person, and every object. He didn’t want to lose the feeling of freedom. All of a sudden his eyebrows lowered and his mouth slightly opened. His eyes stopped moving and he also stopped walking. He looked down at the ground. His eyebrows were straightened and his mouth was closed shut. I was watching him the whole time. He then started to walk again, but this time his eyes were only in front of him, and he wouldn’t let them wonder. It was as if he knew he had to act like a 17 year old.

Chapter 6

I was debating on whether I should ask him if something was wrong or not. It really seemed like he knew something, but how could he? He didn’t see his refection today, if he did he would of freaked out; or at least say something. And if he did see his refection, he was not the type to hide something like that well.
“Alison…?” he looked to me.
“Huh?” I was completely spaced out.
“You know where you’re going, right?” he slightly smiled. “Aren’t you supposed to show me around? Because I don’t really know where I’m supposed to go.” He put his hands in his pant pockets.
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” I turned around to see if I even went in the right direction. “Well, we are headed the right way at least.” I smiled. “We are pretty much there. You see that shop at the end of this street.” I pointed to a small auto shop. “We turn right, and then the park is right on that street.”
I was thinking too much; nothing new. Whenever he does anything at all I will run it through my head, to try to make sense of it. But sometimes, some things will never make sense; especially the things you want to make sense the most.
I took Eric’s hand. “Let’s go!” I ran down the side walk while dragging Eric with me.
He blushed. “O-ok,”
We walked by the auto shop and turned right.
The whole street was filled with people. There were stands with food, and games.
Eric pulled at me. “What is this?”
“I guess you could call it a mini festival. This town has one every year during the summer. There is also a little talent show.” I paused. “I didn’t know it was today…”
“Sounds interesting.”
I started to walk toward a stand. “Come on!”
Eric followed. “O-ok!”
I walked toward a stand that had a game you could play and if you won you could win a prize. I looked closer and saw it was a math game.
“Gross…”
Eric stood next to me. “What’s gross?”
I pointed to the stand. “Math.”
“Math?” He ran to the stand and then called me over.
I slowly walked toward him and then I recognized the two men who were presenting the stand.
“Mr. Aldridge? Mr. Chichester?”
Mr. Aldridge turned and saw me. “Alison! How are you?” He waved his hand. Mr. Aldridge was a very skinny young French man. He was my math teacher in high school. He was transferred to my school just that year, and he was fresh out of college. He was always upbeat and smiling. And all the girls loved him for his French accent and young age.
Mr. Chichester on the other hand was…
“Hello Mr. Aldridge, Mr. Chichester. I’m fine, thank you.”
Mr. Chichester nodded. He was an old, fat, bald man who would always sweat excessively. He was a math teacher from another town’s school. But he lived in our neighborhood.
Mr. Aldridge pulled out a piece of paper. “Would you like to try our game?”
I took a step back. “Oh, no, no.” I hate math.
Eric took a step forward. “Give me your hardest problem.”
Mr. Aldridge turned around and searched through some papers. “Are you sure? It would be advanced calculus.”
Eric smiled. “I’m sure.”
Mr. Chichester turned around and grabbed a piece of paper. “This would be our hardest problem.” He set down the paper and placed a pen next to it. “Let’s see if you can solve this.” He wiped some sweat off of his forehead.
I didn’t even dare look at what was on the paper.
Eric took the pen and started to write. Mr. Chichester was watching him closely. Eric and Mr. Chichester were at this for a couple few minutes. Both Mr. Aldridge and I just waited.
“Done.” Eric put the pen down.
Mr. Chichester picked up the paper and looked it over. “…It’s correct.”
Eric smiled. “We Vincent’s are excelled in mathematics.”
“Vincent? Is Edward Vincent related to you?” Mr. Aldridge got a little closer to Eric.
Eric nodded. “He is my father, you know him?”
I realized I hadn’t known Eric’s last name until then.
Mr. Aldridge eyes were wide for a moment. “Yes, I met him in France, about 5 years ago.”
He met his father? After the accident?
“Mr. Aldridge, can I talk with you for a bit?”
“Sure…but you can call me Louis since you are out of school now.”
I turned to Eric and whispered in his ear. “You do not move from this spot. You will not get into trouble either, you hear?” I looked him in the eyes.
He nodded.
I walked around to the back of the stand and Louis was waiting there.
“Ok, I need to ask you about Mr. Vincent.” My eyes shifted a bit. “Do you know anything...about Eric?”
“Well, Mr. Vincent told me his son died 5 years ago.”
“What?”
“That’s why I am confused by Eric…being alive.”
“How could his father say his son is dead?”
“Maybe he thought that he was dead.”
“No. He knew he was alive. He tried to help Eric after the accident.”
“Accident?”
“I don’t know much about it myself, but Eric was in an accident which caused him head trauma.”
“What about Mr. Vincent’s wife? Is she alive then?”
“No she is dead” I paused. ”…so that means he told you about her too.”
“Yes, he told me something.”
“Well? What did he tell you?” I took a step closer to him.
“…She was killed…by Eric.”
“What?! No! She killed herself! How could he say Eric did it?”
“Um…” He scratched his head.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I asked you some strange things.” I turned around and started to walk away.
Louis grabbed my arm. “Wait. I still have contact with Mr. Vincent, and I would like to know more about this. Would you allow me to help you?”
I turned around and looked at him for a few moments. He was my free ticket to knowledge regarding Eric. I couldn’t turn away from this opportunity.
“Would you?”
He smiled. “I would be glad to.”