Saturday. 6.2.07 9:59 am
She woke to voices, though none were familiar. A young, dark skinned woman with burgandy dreds to her waist was sitting in the chair beside her as was an older man in the uniform of the US Airforce with ranks that of a colonel. Leah instantly sat up. She had to use the bathroom and she also felt dirty.
“Easy, Leah,” the woman said, immediately getting up to come to her aid.
“I have to go!”
“I will help you”
Leah nodded as the woman helped her.
“What is your name?” she asked her.
"Leah? You really don't remember me?! I'm Clarisse, from school. We were dorm mates. You truly don't remember me?"
“I am sorry, Clarisse, but I don’t even remember me. My life is unknown to me. What was I like?."
“You are an artist. You are also kind and caring. You were well-known in Little 5 Points for you amazing portraits. You would paint people for a small fee of $15 and you usually were tipped well. I will help you try to regain your memeory and so will the colonel.”
“That’s right, Leah. I have arranged a place for the two of you to stay in a nice area just across the River in Shreveport.“
Leah looked at the colonel and noticed that he had grey streaks in his auburn hair and a wedding ring on his left hand.
While Leah was in the bathroom, the nurse had come in and was changing her sheets. She slowly returned and the nurse had already finished the bed and was waiting patiently for Leah.
“Leah, I brought you a wheelchair so you can go to the shower room and bathe, but use the tub, not the shower. Your head injuries are still healing. I can wash your hair for you and help you if you wish,”
Leah obliged and Clarisse brought out towels, underwear, and a gown along with some lavender soap and shampoo. It took about fifteen minutes for Leah to get situated into the tub of fresh lavender scented water. The nurse was gentle with her hair, but Leah insisted on bathing herself and wanted to be alone. When she finished, she was helped drying off and getting into her clothes and the chair. She felt much better after her bath.
Leah took a long look in the mirror at her reflection. She had a small scar curving on her jawline stopping at the middle of her throat. It was barely noticable and could easily be coverd with make up. Her eyes were violet, though the whites had red lines in them and her hair was unevenly cut with the longest strands reaching her shoulder. She had little hair around the lower back of her head. Two bullets to the head, the nurse had said to her.
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Short story that I am working on
Friday. 6.1.07 11:25 am
She woke up to the sunlight streaming on her face. She tried to remember what happened to her, but couldn’t. Where was she? Where was her family? Then she tried to picture her mother and then realized that she didn’t recall what her mother looked like. Then, she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could not even remember her own name or age. She had no idea who she was.
The door opened and in walked a nurse. She was in some kind of hospital. The IV was hooked up to her and she really needed a bath.
“Ah, you are finally awake,”
She nodded then asked, “What happened to me?”
“You do not remember?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t”
“You may have amnesia. Tell me, what is your name and what year is it?”
. Surely she knew her own name! But she couldn’t get past the fog in her mind,”
“I-I can’t” tears started flowing, “I don’t know,” she whispered. She started trembling.
The nurse gently soothed her.
“. Your name is Leah Soileau and you have no children. You were born in Bossier City , LA , though you chose to attend school in 2004 in Atlanta , GA. You lost your parents to Katrina in 2005 after they moved to New Orleans . You in the mall when there was an armed robbery.. You took two bullets in the head, yet survived it. Then there was the fire. Only one of your friends survived and she is here in the city as well,”
“So I am in Atlanta ,” Leah, now knowing her own name murmured, trying to remember the events as the nurse just spoken.
“No, you are in your home in Bossier.. Colonel Arrington lost his family in the mall and wanted to save you and Clarisse. You are actually at Barksdale Air Force Base.,”
Leah struggled to take all of this in. A bombing, shopping at the mall, and being home in a place where she has no memory.
“Rest now and the doctor will see you later,” The kind nurse, whose grandmotherly presence that Leah felt attached to all of a sudden, left. Leah instantly fell back to sleep hoping she would wake up with her memory intact
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