this another one of your tricks?”
“No. It’s not a trick. I can’t remember anything.”
He sat quietly for a few moments before speaking. “What is the first thing you do remember, and how did you come to be back home?”
“The first thing I remember is standing in a park right beside a city street, the cold mist stinging my cheeks.”
She went on to tell him about finding the receipt and following the street to the address written on it, about being too weak to go on, and about Alice leading her to this room.
“I didn’t know her name then, but she knew me. She called me ‘Miss Marnie,’ and that’s how I found out my name. I don’t know anything else about myself, though. Can you tell me, Doctor? Can you tell me who I am and why these people seem to be mad at me?”
The portly man simply stared at her. He appeared to be waiting for her to add more information to what she had already told him. Finally he spoke.
“I’ve seen many cases of temporary amnesia. People who have had a shock sometimes forget things. A person who’s been in a mishap of some sort—a car wreck or industrial accident—may never remember it happening. And sometimes when something really terrible, emotionally speaking, has happened, people shut it out like it never happened because they can’t deal with it. But I’ve never had anyone forget who they are or what has happened in their lives up until the time of the event. That’s rare . . . very rare.”
He continued to observe her, without a word. Finally he sighed and continued.
“I don’t know if this is one of your tricks or not, Marnie”— he stood and picked up his satchel—“but I will tell you this: both David and Ruth are extremely upset with you. I don’t know what you did for them to react like this, but it must be something serious. I’m glad I don’t know. That keeps me from getting in the middle of something that’s not my business. Besides, you need to remember things on your own, instead of claiming someone else’s words as your memories. It would be too easy to tell you what you did or said and make you think that was the truth when it might not be so.
“I’m not saying anyone in your life would deliberately do that, but I’ve seen it happen in cases of severe trauma. You need to be the one to figure it out because you’re the only person who knows what you did and why. You’re the only person who can answer your questions.”
“I wish I could remember, Doctor. Truly I do. It is a terrible feeling to not remember my past or even who I am.”
“I would like to promise you your memory will come back, but I can’t. It usually does, though.” He turned and walked toward the door. “Just keep getting better. Take your medicine and rest. I’ll tell Alice to give you some light food. Maybe in a couple of days you can get up. Maybe something in the house will jog your memory.”
He paused before walking out of the room.
“Doctor, what did I say to you when I was ten?”
“You said, ‘If I can’t get to where I’m going one way, I’ll get to it another.’ You’ve pretty much lived by that rule all your life.”
Chapter 4
Marnie sank back into the soft bedding, pulled the duvet around her shoulders to protect her from the chill in the room, and thought about what Doctor Means had said. She might eventually remember her life and what had happened to her, but there was a chance she might not. She didn’t know if she could face the possibility of never knowing her past. She didn’t know if she could build a life with the people around her being angry about something she couldn’t remember doing. She wondered if she’d be able to make amends, especially if she didn’t remember doing anything.
As she puzzled over seemingly insurmountable obstacles, she noticed the small face once again looking into the room from around door.
“Hi,” she said, and the face disappeared.
She stayed quiet and still, and the face soon reappeared. He looked to be about five years old, and he had dark brown hair with bangs cut straight across. Chocolate eyes watched her curiously.
“Hi,” she said again, expecting him to retreat as before.
He was silent as his eyes scanned the room and came to rest on Marnie.
“Hi,” he