Become - 3. Chapter 3

Become

Chapter 3

The mist was settling in the valley and made it so that it impossible to see anything. Looking out the window, I was barely able to see the gardens through the grey haze. It only looked cold and foreboding outside so I was glad the window was fastened shut. The soft sounds of Emily's harp wafted through the house while the sound of quiet chatting could be heard from below. I was engrossed in reading a novel while lying on my comfortable bed. Occasionally, a yawn escaped from my mouth. The ever-present feeling of sleepiness seemed to be weighing down on me more. I tried to continue to read but my eyes drooped and the peaceful attraction of sleep seemed to be very inviting. The soft sounds of the harp lulled me even more towards that state. I abandoned my novel and closed my eyes intent on falling into a comfortable sleep.

It seemed that just as I closed my eyes, a commotion of voices arose in my head along with an annoying beeping noise. I was surrounded by darkness and I was unable to make out anything. I tried to open my eyes to return to my room but somehow I was unable to manage it. I tried to distinguish the voices I heard. Slowly, one soft voice came forward and I strained to hear what it was saying.

"Mitch," it said quietly. "I miss you."

I tried to make some sort of reply but I found myself unable to utter a single word.

"Mitch, I really miss you. Please come back."

Then to my surprise, I felt someone stroking my hair softly. A jolt went through my body and I woke up. I stared around my room to see where the voice had come from. Was it just in my head? I closed my eyes again but nothing came of it. The voice that I had heard was gone. Maybe it had just been an odd dream but the touch had definitely sent a shiver down my spine. It had felt so real. I could not place any reason to explain what had I had just experienced.

It was a cold and misty afternoon and I really had no reason to stray from my room. My parents would not be happy to see my wandering around the house. They wanted me to stay in my room by myself. They even told everyone else to stay as far away from me as possible. It was all because I was not normal. Therefore, I was to be kept away from the rest. Emily did not heed my parents and visited me often. I was surprised she had not visited me yet. She had been playing her harp earlier before I had fallen asleep but I could not hear it anymore. I could not even hear the chatting from downstairs. I strained to hear something but the house was completely silent. It was possible that everyone had gone out somewhere. Since they never took me along, I was never told anything about any excursions the family took. However, I did not dare investigate further in the chance that I was wrong and would have to face one of my parents. I always confined myself to my room.

I sat near the window, thinking more about the voice I had heard. It had seemed so familiar. It was like a pleasant memory from a long time ago. I was certain maybe it belonged to someone that I used to know. That really did not help me much as I was not good a remembering things from the past. However, that did get me thinking that maybe I did have a past that I could not remember. Maybe I had a past before the blackouts and confusion. I was only fifteen from what I remembered but I could not place an estimate of time on anything. I could not remember how long I had been living here in this room by myself away from any company. Maybe I had been normal at one point.

On the other hand, maybe it was all just a dream. What did the past matter? This was the present state of things and from what I could see; nothing was going to change much anytime soon.

"How do you know this is the present?"

I turned around to see that boy that I had seen the past two days looking at me with a grin.

"Where did you come from?"

"Through the door," he said pointing backwards at the door. "I came upstairs to see you."

I was confused. "Why did you come to see me?"

"Because I am your friend," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't have any friends."

"You have lots of friends."

"Where are all these friends then?" I asked not believing him.

"Waiting for you. Waiting for you to come back."

"Come back?"

I was confused but the boy was silent. I had never had had any friends that I knew of and I did not know who this boy was that claimed to be my friend.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jake," he said happily extending his hand.

"Well, Jake, I don't know you."

The smile on Jake's face turned into a frown.

"Stop saying that Mitch. You will remember. You have to remember."

"Remember what?"

"Remember who you really are."

"I know who I am. I am Mitch and I live here with my parents and my sister Emily. I have a lot of black outs and I don't remember some things but I do know who I am."

I looked at Jake but he was not saying anything.

"You're not real," I said simply.

"You're just a figment of my imagination. I do not know you and I do not think I ever did. I must be hallucinating."

"How do you know what is reality, Mitch?"

I heard a door bang from downstairs and voices entering the house. I turned around to see that Jake had left, if he existed at all.

I was going crazy. Mad. It was bound to happen to someone who has to stay alone in a room all day. I decided that I wanted to go see what Emily was doing. She could help me out or maybe she would play me her harp. That always helped soothe me. Quietly, I walked out of my room making sure no one heard me. I walked down the hall towards Emily's room. There were voices coming from inside her room. I was not sure who they were so I pressed my ear to the door to hear.

"What a lovely harp!" exclaimed one voice, which I guessed, belonged to a middle-aged woman.

"Yes, Emily was quite fond of it," replied the other, which I recognized as my mother's voice. "She loved to play on it, especially for Mitch."

There was pause in which I could only hear some quiet sniffling.

"She would have been twenty one today if she were still alive."

I suddenly felt very dizzy and everything became black.