Lost Memories

Lost Memories 

By: Emma Ebiner

I feel damp air, and a chill goes down my back. My eyes are closed, and I can feel that I'm laying on my back. My head is aching.  It feels like a hammer is pounding over and over again.  I hear voices all around which does not help. My eyes twitter. I open my eyes a little to see a bright light in front of me. I wait for my eyes to get adjusted. I look around and see several people.  I don't remember anything about my past or what my name is. But for some weird reason, I'm happy, like a weight has been lifted off my back. 

“Sarah,Sarah,” a boy yelled coming into the room with security men running after him. I had no idea who the heck was Sarah, so I kept minding my own business relaxing on the bed and thinking. He goes up to me and shakes me. “Sarah, Sarah,” he said again, “please tell me you remember me please. Please tell me you remember Greg, Greg Montella.” The boy was pleading and in my heart I wanted to remember him, but I just couldn't. I didn't even remember my name until they guy came barreling in here calling the name Sarah. He saw my puzzled expression and knew at that moment that I did not remember him, not even a speck. I did feel love and compassion with him, like I had once felt those feelings before, but I wasn't quite sure. “How could you do this,” Greg yelled. “How?”  He started shaking a man, in a white lab coat. “ I told you not to do it,” he yelled, still shaking the guy. “But sir, the man in the lab coat said,”a little scared “she asked for it.” “It's terrible that you offer that,'' Greg said. So angrily I was afraid he was going to kill the man in the lab coat. “Sir we only offer the big memory wipe to people who really need it, and to people who have terrible and unbearable memories.” “ You don't get it,” Greg said. “When you erased Sarah's memories you erased the bad and the good. Sarah had a hard and sad life at times, but other times she had good times.” Big memory wipe, hard life, happy life, what is going on. All these questions swirled around my head. But part of me did not want to know. “ You have to understand, when Sarah was happy she was the happiest person in the world. The last two years were hard on her, but what about the 18 years of joy she had. The happiness she shared with her friends, and family. Doing fun things. You erased that all!!!” What is going on, I yelled. Greg went over, he opened his mouth, but then the security guys put their hand over his mouth, and dragged him away.  

I was confused, and scared, and a little part of me wanted to remember, but then there was the voice screaming in my head. Don't remember, you don't want to remember. 

I apologize for that, the man said in the white lab coat. “My name is Derrick, you probably don't remember me but I sure do remember you.” He laughs but not the one that you would want to join in and just smile, the one where it's scary, mean, and definitely gives me the creeps. “Well you're all done, you can go home,” Derrick said.  “Uhh.” “Oh that's right you don't know where you live. Here is the address.” He hands me a piece of paper. I look down, 125674 Sycamore street. I had a puzzled expression. “Oh that's right you don't know where that is.”Oliver, OLIVERRRRR!!!!!!!!! Come over here.” A man comes over. He had a phone in his hand, and…. a blue lab coat? I always thought they were white. He was very buff, and had bright blond hair, and white skin. For some reason I recognized him, a very faded memory which I could not just grasp. “Oliver, can you please take this fine lady home, Derrick asked, sounding more like he was demanding. “Yes he said with a smile, not a fake one but a true genuine nice smile. I could see his pearly white teeth. He grabbed my hand and led me to his car. I felt comfortable with him, not afraid. We got in the car and started driving. I saw sycamore street. “Over there,” I say, “you have to turn over there.” “Sarah, we aren't going to your house quite yet,”he said. “Then where are we going,”I asked. “To the movies of course.” “Oh okay, I said, feeling relieved. We got there. “So what's showing,” I asked. “Well we are going to go to a love dream.” Oliver said.” We went into the movie theatre, got candy, popcorn, and noachoes. We sat down, and the previews started. Long boring previews, when the movies started I was almost half  asleep. In the middle of the movie Oliver put his arm over my shoulder. I didn’t mind. We walked out of the theater talking and laughing. When we walked outside there was a perfect sunset, like a dream. We got in the car still laughing at my bad jokes. We started driving, still laughing, and talking about everything. We went up to Sycamore street and I was so excited to see my house. “Is it that one, or is it that one,” I asked like a hundred times. He drove his car to a stop. A stop where I saw the most beautiful house ever. “Here we are,'' Oliver said. “Wow, it's beautiful”, I said , admiring my beautiful house. “Hey, wait, come here for a second, Oliver said. He touched me cheek, and leaned in. “ummm I have to go, I think my cats meowing.'' I ran out of the car as fast as I could, ran up the porch and up into my large, yellow mansion, and slammed the door. 

Bang, bang, bang, I hear that noise. “What in the world,” I grumbled half asleep. It had taken almost an hour to find my bedroom, and another hour to fall asleep, and now someone is banging on the door at 4 in the morning. “Ugghhhhh,” I groan and get up. I opened the door surprised to see Greg, the guy I saw earlier. “What in the world are you doing here at 4 am?” “You need to know the truth, you just need to,” he said. “I don’t get it,” I said. “Sarah you forgot everything, your parents death, your little sister, and us.” He said, trying to convince me. “Drink this you’ll thank me,” he said. “You’ll remember everything.” “What if I don’t want to remember,” I say, “you make my life seem so terrible and I don’t want to remember.” “Please,” he said begging. “No,” I said a little more forcefully. “Fine but since I’m here at least let’s talk and have a drink of water, please you owe me that much.”  “Fine,” I said, finally agreeing. “But you have to get it, I have no idea where the cups are.” “Okay,” he said and went into the kitchen. 

Meanwhile I sat down at the dining room table. He came back shortly after and said, “drink this,” and handed me a cup. He sat having his own cup in his hand. I drank it all in one gulp noticing how thirsty I was. Then suddenly I started to have flashbacks, one after the other. Happy and sad all my memories are coming back. How my parents died, how my little sister is at some random person's house, how Oliver is a dirty little rat. But then there were happy memories, of birthdays, friends, family vacations, horseback riding, and then I remembered Greg, all that we have been through, how much he helped me and how much I hurt. I got all my memories back in a second. But one memory kept replaying in my mind. When my parents died, shot in the head. I got very mad and frustrated, especially at Greg. “Greg, how could you do this,” I said yelling. “Sarah, how could you want to do the big memory wipe you forgot everything”!!! He said. “Greg, I wanted to forget everything, my parents dying, my sister.” “And me, I’m guessing,” Greg said, interrupting. “No, I said I didn’t want to forget you, or the great time with my mom, dad and my little sister Emily. But what happened that day, my parents got shot in the head, the head! In front of me for that matter. My sister got taken away, I lost my job after that and that was the least of my problems and I needed to forget that, to start over. That’s why I did the big memory wipe, now you know why,” I say breaking into tears. “Sarah, I wanted to help you and giving you back your memories was the way to help you. I could not stand if you could not remember me. 

“Sarah, I love you, I love you more than anything, or anyone,” he whispered  as he knelt down. I know that you have had a hard life, and you are hurt. But I want to help you, I want to love you more, and more.  Sarah Jesscia Philips, will you marry me?” Greg asked, pulling out a ring. “Yes,” I said and for the first time in a very long time I was truly happy. And at that moment I realized I didn’t want to remember the bad memories;  they hurt. But I also had good memories that were worth remembering. And on that day forward I remembered how I was lucky to run across Greg Montella. I learned that you have to, live, love, and learn.