Foreign

Voices she did not recognize met her ears well before her eyes would cooperate. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but she knew there were people nearby, at least two of them. One sounded like a woman, kind and caring, something she didn’t have a lot of experience with. The other was a younger person. Maybe a child. Or a teenaged girl? As her mind began to clear, the words became easier to understand.

“Let her rest, and hopefully, she’ll be able to tell us something soon,” the older woman was saying.

“I’ll change her bandages again in an hour or so,” said the other.

Her eyes flickered open, finally, and a bright light filtered through her eyelashes. She wasn’t sure, but this place seemed unfamiliar. But then… everything seemed unfamiliar. Her body didn’t hurt any more, so that was something. Still, wherever her eyes landed, strangeness surrounded her in a way that made her heart rate increase.

It was then that the older woman, who was standing at the foot of the bed next to a younger lady, looked over and saw her. “Hi there,” she said in a gentle voice. “Are you awake?”

She nodded her head slowly. The woman looked friendly. She had graying brown hair and was wearing a white jacket over her blue and yellow flowered dress. The other girl was wearing an odd outfit of large blue pants and a matching shirt with a V collar. Her dirty blonde hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head, but she had a smile on her face as well.

The older woman took a few steps closer, and that was scary. She couldn’t help but shirk back a little, her knees bending.

“It’s okay,” she said with her hands up so that it was easy to see they were empty. “We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help.” Her smile was warm and friendly. “I’m Isabella, and this is my assistant, Cleo.”

“HI,” Cleo said with a friendly wave. She was still standing at the end of the bed.

“Are you feeling all right? You’ve got some pain medicine in that IV, but if I need to adjust it, I’m happy to.”

Her eyes went to the bag of fluids hanging beside her, and then she realized there was a tube stuck in her arm. Her first instinct was to pull it out, but it didn’t hurt, and if it had medicine in it, then maybe this was a good thing, even though it was frightening.

Isabella took another step closer and asked, “Do you remember what happened to you?”

It should’ve been an easy question, but she had no idea what she was talking about. All she could remember was fear and pain. Running, falling, knowing someone was behind her. She had no idea where she had been running from or why. The thought of it had her heart leaping into her throat again.

“Take some deep breaths,” Isabella said. “We don’t have to talk about it right now, if you don’t want to. Are you hungry?”

She nodded. That was something she was sure of. She was definitely hungry.

“Cleo, why don’t you go get our new friend some soup and some fruit?”

“Sure thing, Luna Isabella,” Cleo said. She was still smiling when she stepped away.

There was something familiar about that word, Luna, and she didn’t like it, though she couldn’t remember why. She took a deep breath, hoping Cleo hurried back with the food. Her stomach was rumbling.

“We’ll get some food in you, and then you can rest some more.” Isabella had a kind, patient smile, and it made her feel better. “I just have one quick question for you, sweetheart.”

“Wh--what?”  Her voice was weak and gravely and sounded foreign to her. Maybe that was the way it always sounded.

With that reassuring smile on her face, Isabella asked, “What’s your name, dear?”

It should’ve been easy, automatic, tip-of-the-tongue don’t think about it. But… when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. “Uh… I don’t know,” she admitted.

Isabella’s eyebrows raised. “You don’t know your name, honey?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t know… anything.”