What Happened?

Bright lights welcomed her as her eyes blinked open for the first time in what seemed like forever. The white light was blinding, obscuring her view of the room that she was currently in. The sound of beeping reached her ears as her vision slowly came back to her to reveal where she actually was. White walls and the smell of antiseptic assaulted her senses all at once, overwhelming her as she slowly shifted within the bed. The sheets that covered her moving along with her, making her stop and look down at the white spread.

"Cassidy?"

The voice had nearly startled her, brown eyes shifting over to look towards the source of the voice.

A young woman with graying hair and a worried look to her eyes was sitting beside the bed she was laying in. The woman wore a white blouse with a pink cardigan but Cassidy couldn't figure out who the woman was to her. The sound of the name itself was so foreign, she began wondering who that really was. It was obvious though, it was her when the woman stood from her seat and leaned over the bed.

"Oh, Cassidy...baby. You're awake."

The woman smiled down at her, but with vacant and confused eyes, Cassidy could only stare up at the stranger before her. The elderly woman gently stroked her hair that was laying in a mess around her head.

"It's mommy, baby. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

The woman continued to say, but Cassidy just stared on, unable to recognize the woman who claimed to be her mother. To her, she was nothing more than a stranger who was claiming something completely insane. Though, who was the insane one really? This woman, or her? The thought had crossed her mind a couple of times in the short few seconds she had been awake when she realized that she couldn't remember anything from her past. Cassidy had no memory of her family, friends, who she was or even what had happened to her.

Regardless of what the woman was saying and who she truly was, Cassidy figured that she may be her best bet as to where she was and what had happened.

"Wh-where am I?"

Her voice was weak, tired sounding with a gravely quiver in it. The sound made Cassidy cringe ever so slightly, but the older woman didn't seem to mind.

"You're in the hospital. Someone found you laying out in the park and called the ambulance."

Taking the explanation in, Cassidy tried to picture herself out in a park somewhere. She tried to figure out what she had been doing the previous night, who she was out with, what had actually happened. Nothing was coming to mind and that was beginning to frustrate her to no end.

"What happened to you out there, sweetheart?"

A question she knew she could not answer, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't.

Turning her gaze away from the elderly woman, Cassidy shook her head slowly not wanting her swimming head to feel anymore woozy than it already did.

"I don't...know."

The look on the woman's face when she peered back at her caused something to knot up in her stomach. Did the woman look angry, upset, disgusted by the answer that she was given? Whatever it was, Cassidy didn't like the way the woman frowned down at her all of a sudden.

"You know I don't like that answer, Cassidy Anne."

The tone in her voice was nothing but menacing, bringing forth an unsettling feeling to wash over Cassidy. Was Anne her middle name? And why was this woman all of a sudden was getting agitated with her.

"Now answer the question, what were you doing out there in the forest?"

Cassidy wasn't sure how to answer, especially since telling the truth seemed like a bad idea. She couldn't lie either, that seemed like it would be the worst idea, especially with the woman so agitated.

"Cassidy Anne, you tell me right now or I'll..."

The woman was cut off by the door opening to her room and a doctor walking in. The change in the woman was so fast, you probably would have missed it if you blinked. She went from happy and sweet, agitated, to happy and sweet once more. The switch was terrifying and left Cassidy nervous to be left in the room with her when the doctor leaves them.

"Ah, look at who's awake. Our star patient today."

The doctor smiled and glanced towards the woman claiming to be her mother.

"How is she doing since she woke up?"

"Fine doctor, she seems to be waking up with no signs of problems."

"Ah, that's great to hear. So I take it that she's talking?"

The woman nodded her head and glanced over at Cassidy with a smile.

"She's talking and looking around, it's such a relief."

Cassidy wanted to be sick by what the woman was saying. When the doctor mentioned talking to her so called mother outside, Cassidy couldn't be more relieved. She watched as the doctor excused the both of them and walked out of the room. Waiting quietly, Cassidy watched as the door closed behind the elderly woman and the doctor that had just come in not two seconds prior. When she was finally alone, she breathed a sigh of relief and tried to think of what happened to her. Nothing but fog and blackness filled her mind as she tried to remember her past, whatever happened to her in the park, who she was.

Who that woman was.

Knowing a woman who could switch personalities like that and not remembering her was terrifying. What kind of life had she been living before whatever happened? Was the woman truly her mother or was she someone who just wanted control over her? Cassidy had no idea, however, there was another question that loomed within her hazy mind that she wanted answered, but at the same time, she didn't. That's when she came to a final conclusion.

Maybe she didn't want to know. Maybe, it was better if she didn't remember.