To Fear

I’m told the hospital isn’t far. Regardless, Coral insists we play a game as we go. A game that takes full advantage of my lack of memory.

Coral points at something. I try to identify it. If I fail, she gets to tell me what it is. With a big, proud grin on her face. She does a lot of grinning during our game.

She first points at a large freestanding mirror. Simple enough. I identify it as a mirror. Because what else could it be. But no. Wrong. Coral tells me it’s a map. Sure enough, a map of the city appears when she touches it. But not when I touch it. I re-identify it as a rude map.

My first wrong guess sets the tone for the rest of the game. I miss identifying common everyday items. Coral gets to feel smart and superior. Which she is when compared to empty-headed me.

Next, I misidentify a glass ball resting on a pedestal as an art display. Turns out it's a switch that stops traffic, letting us cross the road.

I guess that the extra large wagon pulling lizards are dragons. They are obviously not dragons! —per Coral. They’re wyrms. And here I thought wyrms were little noodle creatures that lived in the dirt. How silly of me. Coral agrees with my self assessment.

With confidence, I assert that a store selling a huge variety of palm sized glass figures must be a glass figure store. Nope. Wrong again. It’s a cat store. I’m still quite certain a cat is a small furry animal. But Coral hasn’t been wrong yet.

A flash and tingle overhead catches my attention. Spindles of bird shaped glass flit through the air. Coral tells me they are trills. They deliver letters and parcels. They can repeat vocal messages, and some can do even more. Marine has one. She lets me hold it. My breath catches in my throat. Eyes twinkle. I can’t savvy the detail. It’s like a real bird spontaneously turned to glass. With a tap and a word from Marine, it comes to life in my palm, hops into the air, circles us, then lands gracefully in Marine’s hand. I want one.

Nearly to the hospital, we pass a building where a stream of water flows out one wall, snakes through the air overhead, then flows back in through the other wall. I am transfixed, amazed, breath taken. I imagine something spectacular inside. Something to explode my mind. Coral informs me it’s a shop that does laundry. I’m only slightly disappointed.

I’m amazed at how much I’ve forgotten. Luckily, I’m not a complete hopeless case. I still know common things like roads, bridges, restaurants, etcetera. I also find I can read. But only if I don’t think about it too hard. I can’t actually identify individual letters. Seems I’m just reading on pure instinct. Something akin to muscle memory?

As I try to fathom how people keep appearing and disappearing from a pair of glass platforms set in the ground, a chill runs up my spine. I’m overcome with dread. I freeze. Nearly panic. Then it’s gone. Lasting only a moment.

“Something wrong?” Marine asks me. Her voice makes me jolt.

Yes! Hangman saw me! I know it! He’s going to kill me! My insides tangle in a knot. It’s hard to breathe again. But I manage to contain my building turmoil. For now.

“N—no. Just bad with crowds, I think. I’m fine.” I lie. But my vice grip on Marine’s hand must make this less than convincing.

“Put up with it a little longer for me. Hospital’s right around the corner. You'll be fine.” She assures.

That's right. I'm fine. I'm sure it was just my imagination. Just my nerves getting the best of me. This doesn't make me feel better, though.

We crack on. Marine hurries us the last leg to the hospital. We’re almost inside when someone steps in front of us. My eyes are locked on the ground, so I walk right into them. I about panic, but then a familiar furry feeling lifts me from the ground.

“Serie! Sweet child! Finally, found you!” Shuri cries. She cracks my spine with her hug. Tries to crush me. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

I squeak, “I’m so glad to see you, Shuri!”

She sets me down. With tears in her eyes, says, “I’m so sorry I lost you! I thought you were right next to me! Then suddenly you weren’t! I’m so sorry!”

I interrupt her apology, say, “It’s okay Shuri! It wasn’t your fault. It was the crowd. I got knocked to the side. Then— I got lost, and Marine and Coral found me.”

“Hi Shuri! I found her in our shrub! Do you have any— you know.” Coral says. She whispers the last two words. Seemingly trying to avoid letting her mother hear.

Shuri chuckles, and says, “Hello Coral dear. Sorry, no, I don’t have any sweets today. And as you know, you have to ask your mother if you can have any. Now, what’s this about Serie being in a shrub?”

Before I can assure her it’s nothing, Coral launches into a retelling of her version of events. Marine provides some minor corrections. My ears burn with embarrassment the whole time. I cover them with my hands. Avoid eye contact with Shuri. Feel like I want to crawl under a shrub right now.

When Coral finishes, Shuri says, “Good job, Coral dear. Always such a good helper. Helping others when they’re in need.” Then to me says, “I’m so sorry, Serie. Ah! I mean Mythriel.”

“Mythriel?” I question.

Shuri beams at me, “Yes! That’s your name! Which reminds me. I need to tell Grat and Sig that I found you.”

Shuri fumbles in her bag. Pulls out a glass bird, a trill. Bigger than Marine’s, but Shuri does have bigger fingers. With a word, it takes flight and disappears.

When she’s done. I ask Shuri, “Who’s Sig?”

Shuri giggles at me. It’s an odd sound considering her large stature and boar like features. A wide grin spreads across her face. She says, “You’ll see. I can’t wait for you to meet him! He seems wonderful!”

What? Him who? Something about her response makes my stomach turn. I don’t have to wait long to find out why.

Someone calls, “Mythriel!” from behind me. I turn to look — more so because Shuri looked than because I recognized my own name. A human man is running towards us. Broad shouldered. Strong. Sword bouncing at his hip. Handsome? Maybe. The biggest smile on his face. He looks happy, relieved, almost tearful.

The man sweeps me into a strong embrace, literally off my feet. I let him because supposedly he knows me. He spins me in circles. Overjoyed to see me, to hold me. He sets me down. Then something unexpected happens. Our faces reflect the same emotion. Surprise, shock, confusion.

He kissed me square on the lips. I punched him square in the gut.