10 - Backstory (1)

Max found Jeremy and Clara huddled in the gardens, sitting on a bench hidden behind an enormous planter. Clara, though quieter now, was still crying in Jeremy’s arms.

“What happened?” Max asked while crouching and rubbing Clara’s hair, “What triggered the tears? Is she okay?”

“I'm not sure. But I think it was Celine." Max's brows furrowed.

"You made her laugh, and something about the sound brought back all her memories.”

“Clara kept repeating the phrase, "Celine is my sister." Do you think it’s true?”

“We have to look into it. It might be the piece of the puzzle we were looking for.”

“We’ve been looking for stories of ten-year-old girls being kidnapped, and we always came up empty. Maybe we should investigate Celine, her family background, to see if she has any siblings. Maybe she plays an integral part in all this.”

‘Fuck, I just met her, and we’re already entangled in this stupid mess. I want to be selfish and hope that Clara, for once, is wrong about something. But I want her to have closure at the same time. This is going to be difficult.’

Max nods at his brother, pretending to be unbothered by the news. “I’ll do it as soon as we get to the hotel. This might be bigger than we thought.”

Clara often has nightmares that send her into a state of crying in anguish all night, reliving the nightmares repeatedly. In times like these, Max and Jeremy felt helpless, and all they could do was soothe and hug her until she stopped crying or fell asleep.

Growing up, these three only had each other to rely on, and because of this, it kept them closer. Comforting each other in time of need and being each other’s family.

Max carried Clara like a helpless child curled up in his arms while Jeremy hailed a cab. They needed to get more information so they could help their sister.

-=-

Clara, Max, and Jeremy all grew up at the orphanage, where they adopted one another as siblings. And as soon as they turned legal in age, this ragtag crew changed their last names to Johnson, in homage to their favorite wrestler, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Max got dropped off at the orphanage when he was around five, and Jeremy was only two, so they had no recollection of their parent’s identities.

Because the orphanage was impoverished, they forced the older kids to care for the younger ones. To ensure that everyone would get cared for and to minimize the cost of hiring additional personnel.

The caretakers assigned Max to care for Jeremy, and he grew to love him as a younger brother. Occasionally, the boys gave into fights, but the longing to have a family always kept them together. Clara was eventually added to the mix, and she completed their little family.

Clara got dumped outside the orphanage by her kidnappers. She looked severely dehydrated and badly bruised when Max found her lying on the ground. He had snuck out to avoid doing his chores when he came back screaming, fearing she was dead.

When she awoke, Clara had no recollection of who she was and what had happened to her. She couldn’t even speak.

The experience had traumatized her so much that her brain repressed most of her memories before the accident. The doctor who examined her diagnosed her with traumatic dissociative amnesia.* A condition where the brain blocks out traumatic experiences, leaving the person in a state of partial amnesia.

People with this condition can remember primary bodily functions, how to eat, walk, read, write, and even recall facts about things around them. All except the most important thing about their identity.

Based on her height, weight, and knowledge, the staff estimated Clara to be around ten, so as soon as she could get up and walk around, they assigned her to watch the smaller kids, like Max and Jeremy.

The other kids avoided Clara because they thought she was weird. She never spoke or took part in any of the games, always sitting alone, looking at nothing.

But Max had an affinity to get close to her since he was the first person who found her. It made him very protective, especially when the older kids teased her.

By this time, Max and Jeremy had been inseparable, so they tried everything to help Clara come out of her shell and help speak again, but nothing worked.

And because the adults did not think she would get better, they mostly left her alone.

When her wounds healed and she was strong enough to walk around for longer distances, the duo showed her how to sneak into the nearby forest to pick berries or catch fish in the river. They were never lucky with the fish, so they ended up playing in the water.

Clara was shy in the beginning, but when she opened up and was more welcoming of their presence, the trio developed their own sign language in case she never learned to speak again.

At a very young age, Max had a penchant for entertaining people. So he occupied most of their days with tales of his dreams and adventures.

Jeremy learned to be quiet at a very young age, voicing out his opinions always got him in trouble, and he did not like getting punished. So he opened up only with Max and Clara.

Like a regular toddler, Jeremy loved being held and hugged all the time, which is why he loved Clara the most. She would always sit with him and cradle him until he fell asleep.

At night was a different story. Clara would frequently disrupt everyone’s sleep with her blood-curdling screams and constant sobbing into the wee hours of the morning.

It didn’t make her very popular, but it gave all of them an idea that she knew how to speak, but something was preventing her from doing it.

The nightmares made the caretakers at the orphanage miserable, so they left her in a room far from everybody so she wouldn’t disturb the other kids and them during their sleep. Unfortunately, this measure backfired and pushed her deeper into neurosis.

At a young age, Max and Jeremy knew Clara needed to be with people and did not need to be isolated. So the brothers would sneak out at night to be with her, hoping to ease her fears. Being with them had eventually lessened her nightmares, especially when they held hands or embraced one another as they slept.

To help her forget her nightmares, Max would tell stories before bedtime. Good stories that left her feeling happy.

It was as if they were kindred spirits, fated to find and care for one another. So, as they grew older, Clara just took on the role of their older sister. And since they never got adopted, they took it upon themselves to be each other’s family.