The Things We Forget

My father, Mark Brooks, caught my mother, Rebecca Brooks's hand just inches from my cheek and held it tightly.

"Enough!" Dad's voice was hoarse. "She's sick! Do you understand? She's sick!"

"That's exactly why I told her not to take Lily out of the house, not even for a second!" Mom wrenched her hand free from Dad's grip but didn't come any closer to me.

She simply glared at me with bloodshot eyes. "She's only three years old... Where could she possibly go in all this snow?"

Three?

I tried to open my mouth, but no sound came out.

Was she talking about my sister? Was she three?

But there was truly nothing in my mind.

Nothing except the comedy sketch that had just replayed on the TV during the New Year's Eve variety show, and the snowflakes swirling through the air around me.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors came over, too.

"Keep looking. She can't have gone far. Maybe she's at one of her friends' houses?"

Dad pulled Mom to her feet. "Why are you still sitting here? Get up and help look for her! There's no getting through to her!"

For a brief moment, Mom's eyes cleared. "Right! I have to find my Lily..."

She stopped looking at me, grabbed a flashlight, and headed outside.

The crowd began calling Lily's name.

I stood alone where I was, my mind completely blank.

"Lily... Isn't Lily my name, too?"

My memories went back to when I was three. Back then, Mom and Dad had called me Lily, too.

"Sadie Brooks! What are you standing there for? Get over here and help us look for your sister!"

Sadie.

Why had my name changed again?

Whatever. If I couldn't figure it out, there was no point thinking about it.

I had only just gotten to my feet when I heard someone shouting in the distance. "We found her! Lily's here!"

Everyone rushed toward the old oak tree at the edge of town. There was a shallow pit nearby, covered in snow.

Lily was inside it. Her face had turned bluish-purple, and her hair was covered in ice.

Mom let out a heartbroken wail and threw herself toward her. "Lily... My Lily!"

As if sensing something, Lily opened her eyes. But instead of looking at Mom, she stared straight at me. "Why... Why didn't you come find me, Sadie?"

She burst into tears. "You promised you'd come find me when you counted to thirty! I hid just like you told me to. I've been waiting for you the whole time..."

Mom whipped her head around to look at me, then gently set Lily down and walked toward me.

Smack!

The slap landed anyway, and a high-pitched ringing immediately filled my left ear.

"Are you happy now?" Mom's voice trembled with rage. "Are you happy seeing how close she came to freezing to death?

"How could I have given birth to a child like you? That disease... That damn disease! It makes you forget Lily, forget us. What, are you going to forget who you are next?"

Tears finally spilled down her cheeks. "Or are you doing this on purpose? Pretending you can't remember so you can leave her out here in the freezing snow to die?"

"Enough," Dad finally spoke, but all he did was pull Lily closer to him. "Let's get Lily home and warm her up first. The doctor will be here soon."

Not a single person spoke up for me.

I didn't even know how to defend myself. This was my fault, after all.

Mom shot me one last hateful look. "You stay right here and think about how cold and scared Lily was!"

Then they turned and left.

Seeing that, the neighbors didn't know what else to say. One by one, they went home.