FicWad

Elena slowly regained consciousness and found herself lying on a bed in an alcove. She lay quietly as her memory of the morning's events returned. Her head still ached, but was easing. "I wonder how long I've been here," she said aloud.

"About three hours," a female voice replied. "Vincent brought you straight here when you collapsed. How do you feel?"

Elena turned her head to see who was speaking and was slightly surprised when she realized her headache didn't increase. She looked around and noticed a woman about her age (or a few years older than herself), with a kind face, sitting nearby. Elena smiled slightly and replied, "A lot better than I did just before I collapsed, thank you."

The woman smiled back at her. She stood up and moved to the bed, sitting on the edge. "That's good. My name is Mary. Do you feel well enough to sit up and eat something, Miss . . .?"

"Call me Elena. And I'd like to try."

Mary helped her get up and move to a chair. Moments later, Elena was eating some soup. "This is very good," she commented. "Are you the cook?"

"Well, yes. But this was very easy to make," Mary replied. "I'm glad you like it."

The two women chatted companionably as Elena ate the soup and some bread that accompanied it, and when the food was gone, Mary removed the tray and set it on a small table. Then she sat down near Elena.

"Vincent said that just before you collapsed, you said something strange. Are you able to remember what happened without the pain returning?"

Elena looked at the woman for a long moment before replying, "I'd like to try." She closed her eyes, leaned back and let her mind slowly go back to what happened in the tunnel. As the memories of those last few minutes prior to her losing consciousness returned, she felt the pain intensify, flare briefly, then subside. The memories remained and she sat up, opening her eyes widely.

"What is it?"

"Mary, I have no memory of the first fourteen years of my life. I was found wandering around in a wilderness area upstate. I was totally nude and unable to speak. Since then, I have had only brief flashes of my previous life, like seeing still pictures for only half a second, then they're gone. At least that's the way they've been, until today. This time they lasted longer, and I heard sounds, voices."

"Would you like to tell me about them?"

Elena hesitated, then replied, "I think I need to, to keep them from fading away. But they aren't happy ones, for the most part."

"Don't worry about that, Elena. Go ahead," Mary said kindly.

"I remember a tiny baby," Elena started, as she gathered her thoughts, "who looked like Vincent might have at his birth. Then I remember being alone - in my room, I think - and hearing angry voices, screams, then silence, broken only by a baby crying. Finally . . ." She paused as she sensed another presence. She stood up and moved to where she could see Vincent, who was standing just outside the alcove, listening.

"Finally," she said to him, "I remember being dragged along by a strange man. I was crying out for my parents, and he said they were dead and I'd never see them again. He also said the baby was dead, too. That's all I remember."

She became very still suddenly, as the last memory returned more strongly. The pain returned, but not as intensely, as if it was losing its hold on her. Her face grew troubled as she moved slowly toward Vincent until she was close enough to touch him.

She looked confusedly into his eyes as she said, "No. Those weren't his exact words. What he said was, 'Your brother is dead, too.' "