Cursed: Reborn

     One day my life just started, I couldn't remember who I was, or where I came from, I was just there. When I woke I looked around to see if I could find any indication of where I was or who I was but all I saw was  forest.  My body ached as if I had been hit by a truck, my aching limbs made it hard to move, I pushed myself up onto my elbows and looked around for something to help me get to my feet.  Not too far from me was a log lying in front of a tree.  I crawled over and pulled myself up onto the long in a sitting position.  I sat there for a moment waiting for my aching limbs to feel even a little bit better.  After a while the pain eased slightly and I used the tree next to the log to brace myself as I attempted to stand.  I slowly took my first step, I wobbled a little bit but soon I was moving at a steady pace through the forest.  I heard the sound of speeding cars off in the distance and did my best to follow the sound.  I tried to move fast so I could catch the vehicle and see if I could get some help, but I tripped and fell scraping my hands and knees.  The car had passed before I could make it to the road, and now I stood before an empty highway.  I stood there for a moment contemplating which way to go, I was sure either direction would lead me to civilization, my only concern at this point was which way would be faster.  My body still hurt and I wasn't sure just how long I could keep going before it gave out on me.  I walked for what seemed to be hours my feet were dragging and my head was spinning.  I was sure I would pass out at any moment.  Then I heard it, the sound of tires moving on the asphalt, my brain was so fuzzy I couldn't figure out where the car was coming from.  I turned this way and that way, then there they were two headlights speeding towards me,  I didn't have time to move so I just braced myself for impact, then there was nothing.  I had been surrounded by darkness for what felt like an eternity; it felt like I was floating in the void of my own mind just waiting to be brought back to the surface, when all of a sudden I fell deep in to the darkness only to emerge in light.  At first I thought it was the headlights again so I braced myself  by covering my head with my arms, but the crash of the car into my body never came. I slowly lowered my arms and opened my eyes, I was no longer on the road, instead the forest was replaced by white walls and florescent lights that buzzed loudly.  Looking to my left I was a woman standing next to me, a look of shock had made its way to her face as she stared at me.  In front of the woman stood a machine that made an awful beeping noise.  From the machine came wires that connected themselves to my skin,  then it clicked I was in a hospital.           "Oh my lord you're awake, hang on sweet heart I have to call the doctor."  The woman said in a hurry and scurried out the room.  She was an older woman with ash blond hair and tired green eyes,  she looked tiny and round, I imagine she was quite pretty in her younger days.  Not long after exiting the room the woman came back with a man in a white lab coat.  He towered over the woman and looked to be quite a bit younger than the woman, with sleek black hair and black eyes.  Upon seeing me conscious on the bed he too looked shocked: I guess I wasn't supposed to be awake yet.          "Hello miss, I am glad to see you awake, I am Dr. Stevens" he said with a smile," would you mind answering some questions for me?"  I shook my head and he stepped further into the room grabbing the chart from the end of the bed.          "Okay miss, can you tell me your name?" he asked I shook my head no, looking confused he  scribbled something down then continued.         "What about your date of birth?" once again that was a no.         "Where you're from?", no, "What happened to you?", no, "How you got here?" no.  He kept scribbling on the chart and once we were finished he looked me in the eye.         "You don't remember anything at all?" he asked staring deep into my eyes, as if he could actually see if I was lying or not; once again I shook my head no, the doctor sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose.         "I will order some tests and get a brain scan to be sure there's no other damage, but it appears that you have amnesia.  I'll notify the police and have them come talk to you and we will see if we can find any friends or family for you."  I nodded to show that I understood and the doctor left.  The woman, who I assumed was a nurse, came to stand by me once more.  She has a sad look in her eye, she reached out and took my hand.     "It'll be okay," she said, "we will get this all sorted out and have you back home in no time." She gave my hand a squeeze and left the room after telling me to rest.          I wasn't sure why but I already knew that the police weren't going to find anything.  Waking up with no memory almost felt natural, like I had done this once before.  I have this feeling that this was supposed to happen to me, and it was up to me to put the pieces together as to why.  The police had come in and asked me almost all the same questions as the doctor.  Who are you? Where are you from? What is your name?  Do you remember how you got here? Do you remember anything at all? Did you know the person that brought you in?  That was the question that got to me, who had brought me in? I blacked out as soon as I saw the headlights I didn't see anyone.  Someone brought me in, the person who had brought me here might have seen something that might indicate what I was doing here.  According to Matilda, the ash blond nurse, I was brought in by a woman that is very well known in this town.  She was kind hearted and wealthy, she believed in helping the less fortunate, donated thousands to charities, apparently she is a saint.  Matilda said the woman had left her number in case the police, or I, had any questions for her about how they found me.  Twenty-four hours later and the police came back empty handed, there was absolutely no trace of me anywhere.  The detective that had been assigned my case gave me his card, he told me that if I remembered anything that could help them, to give him a call.           At this point in time it had been determined that I had no other injuries to my brain or anywhere else and I could be discharged by tomorrow morning.  The doctors and nurses kept calling me patient 286, it was my room number, I found this extremely annoying, I know I don't remember my name, but they could have at least asked me if I wanted to pick a name to be called by for the time being.  Matilda is my nurse, she is a hard working nurse and a very kind woman herself, her shift had ended hours ago but she insisted on staying with me.  She too thought calling me patient 286 was ridiculous.            "You have no one, I can't imagine how scared you must be."  She said while giving me a sympathetic look.  Unfortunately she was wrong I wasn't scared, everyone expected me to be panicked and crying, but I wasn't.  Matilda seemed to think it was an act and that I was having a mental breakdown inside.  If I'm being honest of course I was curious as to why I was here,  anyone who woke up in the middle of the forest would be, but there was no point in freaking out about it, it wouldn't get me answers any sooner.              "So sweet heart what would you liked to be called?" Matilda asked as she took a seat bedside my bed.  I thought about it for a minute and came up blank.         "I don't know, I can't think of anything" I said, Matilda smiled sweetly at me and once again took my hand and gave it a squeeze.          "Well lets see,  you have a unique look so you'll need a unique name to match it." I smiled at her as a thank you for the compliment.  All of a sudden she sat up straight and stuck her finger in the air    "Why don't we look up unique names on the internet?" she then pulled out her phone and began typing away.           "Okay we have Amelia?" I shook my head no, "okay how about Ara?" once again a no.  We went through name after name, Ariadne, Blaze, Cleo, Davina, Echo, Fallon, Galaxy for Christ sake I didn't like any of them.  Matilda looked just about done herself until I noticed the beautiful pendent around her neck,        "Matilda what is that stone called?" I asked pointing to the shimmering white rock that seemed to hold no color yet so much all at once.         "Oh this old thing, its just and old necklace I got as an anniversary gift, it's my birth stone, it's Opal."  Then it hit me, it felt so right, I loved it my name was Opal.          "Opal, I said that will be my name, you can call me Opal."  Matilda smiled at me and nodded her head.        "If that's the name you choose then that's the name you shall have."  The rest of the day consisted of Matilda telling me her life story.  She is an only child, was married but sadly her husband died a few years ago form a heart attack, she never had any children but had always want some.  Matilda hated cats so she became an old dog lady instead, she also didn't have the time to be taking care of a bunch of dogs so she only had one.  He was a beautiful Golden Shepard named Jack, he was old and that suited her just fine.            It got late fast and Matilda had to go home we bid each other goodbye and she left, I probably wouldn't see her again because I was leaving tomorrow and it was her day off.  She looked sad as she walked out the door, I suppose she was lonely working so hard and only rely having time to take care of her dog and sleep.  On her days off Matilda relaxed, she caught up on her reading and tended to her garden.  She was a very sweet woman, on her lunch break she went to go buy me clothed because the ones that I had been wearing got thrown away.  She told me that they were covered in dirt, and blood, and had been torn to shreds.  Matilda had great taste in clothes for a woman her age, she bought me some sweats and a large graphic T-shirt that had stitch on it,  she also bought me a pair of ripped high waisted skinny jeans, a V-neck white shirt, a pair of black an white Nike shoes, and a brown leather jacket with a hood.  I was stunned when I tried on the clothes they fit perfectly.  Matilda had a gift she had a sixth sense about people, she knew them, she could tell what they liked.  It was no wonder she was so good at her job.  After she had left I stared at the fuzzy Tv that hung on the wall, I was in a the city of Lansing Michigan, it was the very beginning of summer so it was nice and warm out, which explained why it was freezing in this hospital.  There was nothing good on Tv so it didn't take long for me to fall asleep, once my eyes shut I was gone.     I was running as fast as I could trough the forest, I wasn't running from something, no I was running toward something.  Using inhuman speed I weaved through the trees, dodging them left and right; there were fallen trees and boulders that blocked my path, I easily jumped over them as if I weighed nothing.  Finally I came to a dirt road and off in the distance I heard the horrified screams of women and children.  I ran down the road to the village that lay at the end of it.  Looking at the village I noticed I was no longer in the modern world I knew, now I was thrown into a medieval village that was being burnt to the ground.  The village people were running in all directions, some were fleeing for safety with their wives and children,  others were trying to help the wounded, and the rest were dead.  This was where I had been running to I was here to save the people of this little village, but it appeared I was too late, disaster struck before I could get there.  Still I was able to save a few, I began weaving through the burning buildings as fast as I could, pulling out everyone left inside.  I was currently holding up a wooden pillar to keep it from trapping a child beneath it when suddenly I was struck and thrown through the wooden wall and into the dirt.  Composing myself I looked around to see what had so forcefully pushed me out of the building.  That was when my eyes landed on him,  his aura was one of hate and rage, his eyes red as fresh blood.  He stood a few feet in front of me fists clenched at his sides, jaw tight, baring his teeth at me  giving me clear view of his sharp deadly fangs.  He looked as if he were half animal, half man.  As he looked at me his eyes softened and I saw a glimpse of the man I used to know.       "I told you not to interfere Opal" he said jaw still clenched, "You can't stop me"     "I will not stand by while you kill innocent people all for revenge on one man." I said, his eyes grew angry.     "One man, one man!" he screamed "it was not just one man, it was a whole kingdom.  How can you stand there and defend them after what they did, what they did you, to me?"  I understood his pain, what had happened to us was unforgiveable, but this was not the way.     "This wont change anything, you can not punish everyone for the mistakes of a few people" I tired to reason with him, but there was no use, the man I knew was long gone.     "I will make them feel the lose I felt, I will make the know the pain of having nothing!"       "You don't have nothing, you have me." I cried, it was true we lost so much but the one thing we still had was each other and he refused to see that, he let me go when he let his humanity go.       "I do not wish to hurt you Opal, so either stand with me, or move aside."  he said not looking me in the eye.     "I will not let you do this" I said through gritted teeth      "Then you too shall burn with the rest of them" with that we were at each others throats about to engage in battle, but before the first blow I was once again plunged into darkness      I sprang upright in my bed, my breathing heavy and my heartbeat rapid; I looked all over for the man in my dream, but he wasn't here, I wasn't in the past.  I tried to calm myself, and reassure myself that it was just a dream, but it felt so real.  My mind kept replaying the events over and over again, everything about it seemed so real, but that wasn't possible, there was no way that someone from that long ago could still be alive, unless they were a vampire or something.  The thought of me being a vampire made me laugh, I obviously had a heartbeat I could hear it on the monitor.  Dismissing the whole thing as nothing more then a dream, I probably watched some sifi movie before I lost my memory, that had to be it.  I looked over at the clock, it was one o'clock in the morning, I flopped back down onto my pillow and looked at the ceiling.  Although I know there was no one waiting for me when I leave here, I still wish I knew who I was, what kind of life I live, where my home is.  What was I supposed to so get out of here and wander aimlessly around the city.  The police had found absolutely nothing on me, there was no missing persons, I had no ID no wallet, not a single piece of paper one me to direct me to where I belonged.  The doctor had said that I looked to be anywhere from eighteen to twenty one, so I'm not a minor, I can go wherever I want and I don't need to be released to anyone.  I told the doctor that twenty felt right.  There was no way I was getting any sleep, I had too many things on my mind.  What was I doing out in the woods?  How is there not a single trace of me anywhere?  Why did I end up here?  These thoughts ran circles in my brain and I grew tired of thinking about it.  I forced my mind to go blank as I stared at the ceiling.       After spending a couple hours counted the ceiling tiles I decided I should take a shower and get ready to be discharged.  The shower was cramped and tiny,  there wasn't enough shampoo or conditions for my thick wavy locks; the bar of soap left my skin feeling dry and starchy.  I guess I shouldn't be complaining it was better then nothing.  As I got out of the shower I rifled through the supplies that the hospital provided; I brushed my teeth, then struggled to untangle my hair with the flimsy fine tooth comb they gave me.  Eventually the comb broke in my hair and I gave up.  Looking at myself in the mirror I realized this was the first time I had taken a second to look at myself.  Of course I have seen my reflection here and there but I never really looked at myself.  I had waist length wavy black hair,  storm grey eyes, full lips, and caramel skin,  I smiled at myself and noticed deep dimples appear on both cheeks.  I have to say I do not look half bad.  There was something missing though, it was like I was looking at myself but not my true self.  The girl in the mirror was a mask and who I really am is underneath.  I got dressed in the outfit Matilda bought me, I put the sweat pants and the t-shirt in a plastic bag that the hospital gave me for my belongings.  I sat and watched Tv until the doctor came in and told me I was free to go, it was almost noon by the time I got the discharge papers and signed myself out.  Now what do I do? I had no where to go, no friends or family had been found, no address for me to stay at.  The police had failed in trying to find out who I was or where I belonged, and to be honest I felt like they barely even tried.  So now it was my turn to investigate, right now the only lead I had was the couple who found me.  I walked over to the nurses station and asked for the number Matilda said the woman had left for the police.  The nurse typed away at her computer looking for the woman's phone number.      "Ah here it is, let me write it down for you," she said as she scribbled the number onto a sticky note, "you can use that phone over there to make the call."  She pointed to a phone that hung on the wall opposite the nurses station, I thanked her and went to go dial the number.  The phone rang three times before anyone answered.      "Hello?" said a mans voice one the other end, for a moment I wasn't sure what to say so I just said the first thing that came to mind.     "Hello, I'm looking for the woman that found the girl on the side of the road a few nights ago." I said      "Oh that would be my mother, hang on a second and I'll go get her, who should I say is calling?" he asked      "The girl that was on the side of the road." I thought about telling him my name, but then again it wasn't my real name and how were these people to know what my name was anyways.  After a moment of silence a soft feminine voice claimed the place of the mans.        "Hello?" she said      "Hello, my name is Opal, I am so sorry to bother you, but you found me the other night and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about how I was found?" I rushed out nervously.     "Oh yes my dear, anything you want to know I would be more then happy to tell you."  I breathed a sigh of relief      "Well for starters did I have anything on me?" I asked, the woman made a humming noise like she was thinking hard about my question.       "No," she said," I don't believe so."       "Did I say anything to you, like where I am from?"  There was silence on the other end of the phone, my heart beat rapidly in my chest waiting for her answer.     "No I'm sorry, the only thing you said was 'he's coming'" she responded.  'He's coming'? Who was he? What was he coming for? I wanted to ask her, but I knew she didn't have the answers.  I didn't know what to say anymore, so I stayed silent for a moment.  Images of the man from the dream I had the night before flashed in my head.  A wave of emotions went through my body, love, sadness, anger, and fear; I thought he was nothing more than a figment of my imagination, but now I think it was much more then a dream caused by a movie I may have watched. Who is he?  I asked myself again, the better question being; Who is he to me?      "My dear, are you okay?" the woman asked after I was quiet for too long      "Yes ma'am I'm fine, just confused" I admitted, there was noise on the other end of the phone, it sounded like someone else was speaking.  The only thing I heard clearly was the woman say , 'Hush, I can do whatever I want this is my house', and 'Go away'.       "Did the police find anything out about you?" she asked me,      "Unfortunately no" I gave an awkward laugh     "Do you have anywhere to go?"  she asked sounding concerned.      "Not at the moment but I'll figure something out" I tried to sound as confident as possible, but I guess I failed.       "If you like I have a guest house, you are more than welcome to use it until you get yourself together."  Once again there was noise on her end.     "Stop it" she hissed at whoever was talking to her. I'm assuming that whoever it is has reservations about a stranger coming and staying with them.  I understood, when they had found me I didn't look my best, I was covered in dirt and blood, that obviously wasn't mine.       "No it's fine really, I can take care of myself" I reassured her, she was not taking no for an answer.      "Obviously you can't because I found you on the side of the road about to pass out" she said blankly, "If it were my son I would want someone to help him.  I want to help you, now let me." I could tell this woman was used to getting her way,     "Okay," I said, "thank you so much, how will I repay you?"      "Don't worry about that right now, lets just get you taken care of; not where are you at?" she asked sounding happy that she won.       "I am still at the hospital" I said      "Okay, I will come get you, I'll be there in about thirty minutes" she said about t hang up.       "Ma'am?" I asked before she cut the line off,     "Yes?" she responded      "What is your name, I'm sorry I forgot to ask"      "Kasandra Knight dear" she laughed, "I completely forgot to introduce myself, you have nothing to apologize for it was my mistake."     "Well thank you Mrs. Knight"      "Not a problem dear, I am happy to help.  I'll see you here in a while," she said and hung up the phone.  This whole situation was so unreal,  I woke up in the woods, lost my memory, now I'm being taken in by some do-gooder rich lady.