Cursed: Reborn

Familiar faces

    Kasandra arrived a not long after our phone call, she recognized me right away; she was a tall woman around five nine, she has light brown hair with very few grey streaks in it, and soft brown eyes.  She didn't resemble a woman in her late forties, she looked to be in her late thirties early forties.  I was surprised by her easy going attitude, as soon as she saw me she went in for a hug; the gesture caught me off guard at first, but she has such a warm and inviting aura that I welcomed it.  Kasandra drove a sleek black Cadillac , I'm not sure they year but it looked brand new.  As she drove she talked about the night on the road, and how she wished she had more information for me, she also mentioned that her son was with her that night and I could talk to him as well to see if he had noticed something she hadn't.  After a half hour of driving, we entered a rich looking neighborhood full of overly large houses that looked close to the size of  mansions.  From what Matilda had told me this woman was loaded, I envisioned her in something that looked more like a castle.  At the end of the long road sat a large white house, we pulled into the driveway, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Her house was beautiful, it was two stories,  with a wrap around balcony, there were large pillars that reached from the base of the house to the roof spaced out all the war around, there were French doors at the center of the second flood, and each level contained windows perfectly spaced out, and lined up around the whole house as well.  My eyes were popping out of my head and my mouth was wide open, I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful house in my life, it was no castle but it was still gorgeous.  As I stood there staring at this wonderous beauty I hard a small laugh from beside me.  

    "I take it you like the house."  Kasandra said with a smile on her face, I was too stunned to speak so I just nodded my head.  

    "Come on, I'll show you around , and we'll see if Lucas is home."  she said as she walked inside,  The inside was just as spectacular as the outside.  When you enter you are greeted with the smell of fresh flowered and honey, to the right was the staircase, and a doorway that entered what looks to be a sitting room.  To the left is the living room, and back down a short hallway is a door that I assume leads to the kitchen.  The house is decorated in shades of light green, pale blue, and white, there were a few accent pieces of dark wooden furniture placed here and there. 

    "Hello, Lucas?" Kasandra called out, "I'm back." She hung her keys on a hook by the door, then looked toward the stairs as if expecting him to magically appear.  Soon we heard the sound of a door slam, and feet stomping on  the floor as they walked down the hall of the upper level to the stairs.  The person who descended the stairs made my heart stop, and my body heat up.  It was like the world has slowed down,  his golden hair and icy blue eyes caught the light coming through one of the windows, the way they sparkled made him look angelic.  He had broad shoulders and the muscles to match, he stood only a few inches taller than me, which put him at about six three.  When his eyes finally landed on me he froze, he had  a look of shock and disbelief on his face.  The connection, the attraction I felt toward him was unreal, and judging by his reaction he felt it too.  He slowed his steeps as he reached the bottom of the stairs, never taking his eyes off me.  His eyes held so much confusion and curiosity that I had a feeling that he has seen me before, before today, and before the night on the road.  Our trance was broken when Kasandra cleared her throat, I looked over at her, I forgot she was here,  she had a look of amusement on her face.

    "Are you two okay?" she asked trying to keep from laughing,  Lucas seemed to have snapped out of his trance at his mothers intrusion, his entire demeanor changed, his eyes became dark and closed off.  He glared at me with such hatred that I could hardly believe that this was the same man that was gazing at me with so much wonder just a moment before.

    "Yeah I'm fine mom" he said, his voice was cold and unfriendly, but it still made my heart skip a beat.  

    "Yes Mrs. Knight" I responded looking away from his deadly stare. 

    "Well Opal, I would like you to meet my son Lucas, Lucas this is Opal, she will be staying with us for a little while." Kasandra introduced us, Lucas' eyes shone at the sound of my name, but only for a moment before he once again looked at me with hate.  I was now the one confused by his sudden mood swing, but I brushed it off, maybe he was just nervous about having a stranger in his house. 

    "Nice to meet you Lucas" I said extending my hand, trying to seem as friendly as possible to try and put him at ease, it didn't work, he didn't take it just looked at it with disgust, as if shaking my hand would kill him.     

    "Lucas!" Kasandra hissed giving him a warning look, Lucas rolled his eyes and reluctantly shook my hand.

    "Nice to meet you too Opal." 

    "Luc, Opal wants to ask you a few questions about the night on the road, maybe you noticed something that might help her get her memory back." Lucas thought for a moment then shrugged his shoulders,

    "Nope" he said popping the 'p', my heart sank a little, I was hoping he had a lead I could follow up on.

    "Nothing at all, I didn't say anything to you? Or drop something?" I asked hoping to jog his memory.  Lucas narrowed his eyes at me, as though I were asking the dumbest questions he had ever heard. 

    "I already said no" he responded, 

    "Lucas!" his mother said again. 

    "I'm sorry mom but there is no reason for her to be here, she is not our problem, she's probably some back wood trash that got herself into trouble, and as soon as she found out that you were loaded she thought she would pretend not to remember anything to get you to take pity on her. We fond her all dirty and bloody on the side of the road for God's sake, she could be dangerous." Kasandra looked at her son with so much anger, if looks could kill he would be six feet under already; she looked at me and smiled sweetly. 

    "Opal drear, would you please go into the kitchen, it's straight back through that door," she pointed down the hall, "I need to have a talk with my son."  I could see the rage she was trying so hard to hide, heaven help this man because he was about to get it, I made a mental note to never get on Kasandra's bad side, she is one scary woman.  I scurried off into the kitchen without protest, I tried not to ease drop, but I caught a little bit of the conversation.  She was furious at his behavior towards me, she ranted about how she had raised him to be kind to the less fortunate, and that if he was in my position, that he would want someone to be nice enough to help him.  Lucas then responded with a 'I would never be so stupid as to get myself beat up and left in the woods'. I took offence to that, I wasn't stupid, I have no idea what happened to me but I do know that I am not stupid, it could happen to anyone.  Kasandra then lectured him about how he was just like his father, arrogant and selfish, and that if he wasn't going to say anything nice, or be helpful, then he shouldn't say anything to me at all.

    I walked around the kitchen while they fought, it has the same color scheme as the living room.  There was a huge island and bar in the middle, both the island and the counter tops were white marble,  the cabinets were a ash wood with silver knobs, and stainless steel appliances.  There was a huge entry way that led into the dining room, and of course it was decorated in the light green and pale blue.  Off the dining room there was another set of French doors that led to the patio outside.  I looked out the window and saw a perfectly landscaped back yard, there was pool a little off the the left, and a large stone grill.  In the back left corner behind the pool stood a cute little white house, I assumed that was the guest house that Kasandra had mentioned.  It too had French doors, and two ceiling length windows on either side, it had a cute little two step porch, with a black rocking chair on it.  Next to the guest house, there was a flower garden filled with pink roses, purple cosmos,  yellow sunflowers, and white and purple morning glories that crept up the side of the guest house.  I was so busy admiring the back yard, I hadn't even noticed that Kasandra walked in.  

    "Do you like it?" she asked, making me jump, I grabbed my chest to keep my heart from springing from it, 

    "Yes, your home is beautiful" I said

    "Thank you, come I'll show you where you will be staying"  Kasandra lead the way to the guest house, it seemed bigger on the inside then it looked from the outside.  It had a loft bedroom with black pipe rails, a small staircase with drawers built into the steps, under the bedroom was a tiny bathroom and a tiny kitchen,  across from the kitchen lay a small two seater sofa, a little round coffee table, and a fifty five inch tv.  The tiny home was decorated in black and grey with a lavender accent; this place was perfect, I felt like it matched my personality completely.  

    "Go ahead and make yourself at home, I'll leave to rest for a little bit, and I'll be back to get you for dinner." Kassandra said before exiting the tiny home.  As soon as she left I went up to the bedroom,  above the bed was an octagon shaped window.  I peered out the window into the woods that lie beyond the fence, I got this eyry feeling that I was being watched, so I quickly ducked under the window.  Once again images of the red eyed man from my dream flashed through my mind.

    "You will never defeat me Opal"  His raspy rage filled voice whispered in my head, I squeezed me eyes shut and shook my head, as of I should rattle him out of my brain.  As I sat there, my eyes shut tight I began to hear the sound of a heart beat.  I quickly opened my eyes, but no one was there, still the thump thump thump, of the heart beat rang loudly in my ears.  Then came the sound of screaming children, cars speeding down the highway miles away, wind rustling through the trees; all the sounds became jumbled together, and they got louder the harder I tried not to hear.  I put my hands over my ears and sank down to the floor, willing the noise to stop.  After what felt like hours everything became silent again,  I stood from my position on the floor, my own heart was pounding.  What the heck just happened?  I asked myself, maybe it was a side effect of having a brain injury, but according to the doctors I just have amnesia no actual brain injury was found.  Maybe I was hallucinating, maybe the doctors missed something, I told myself trying to brush off what had just happened like it was no big deal.  

    It was only two o'clock in the after noon, Kasandra hadn't mentioned what time dinner was, but I was hungry.  I looked through the mini fridge to see it was fully stocked, so were the cupboards, there were chips, donuts, mixed nuts, and a bunch of other snacks, a few pre-made salads, and some microwaveable dinners, as well as water and ice tea.  I pulled out a bad of Doritos and dug in, I walked over the the tiny living room and plopped down on the couch, on the coffee table sat a few books.  The titles read 'A Tale of Two Cities' , 'Withering Heights' , and  'Pride and Prejudice' .  I picked up Pride and Prejudice and began reading to pass the time.  

    I was nearly half way through the book when a knock came at the door,  I looked through the glass to see Lucas on the other side.  

    "Come on dinner is ready" he said as soon as I opened the door,  he didn't wait for a reply before he walked back toward the main house, I quickly shut the door and followed him to the dining room.  As we entered Kasandra was putting a plate of rolls on the table, when she saw me enter after Lucas she smiled,

    "Did you settle in okay?" she asked me,

    "Yes thank you." I replied, from beside me I heard Lucas grumble something I didn't quite hear.  

    "Ignore him dear, he's a bit grumpy today" Kasandra said shooting her son another warning look.  I couldn't help but laugh a little, Lucas appeared to be my age, if not a little bit older, and he was being treated like a small child by his mother.  

    "Take a seat anywhere you like." Kasandra said gesturing to the large table full of food in front of her, she sat at the head of the table, and Lucas took the seat next to her on her right.  I decided to sit on her left side only two seats down from where she sat, this seemed to satisfy Lucas; I knew I wasn't apart of this family, I'm a guest and I do not intend to insert myself like I have any right to be here.  However my distanced seemed to annoy Kasandra, 

    "Opal move closer, my arms cannot reach that far, how am I supposed to pass you food?" I did as she asked and moved closer, while still trying to maintain some distance, now it was Lucas' turn to look annoyed.   I understood why Lucas didn't like me, if I were him I wouldn't like me either.  Kasandra seemed a little too trusting, I might be a bad person, or in deep trouble that could possibly put the two of them in danger, but I also got the feeling that Kasandra could hold her own.  This woman seemed delicate but strong at the same time, she would help others as much as she could, but let someone try and take advantage of her and she would make their life a living hell.  Dinner was awkward, Lucas kept glaring daggers at me, and Kasandra kept trying to make small talk with me, which was hard because I have no memory so it's not like she can ask me about myself.

    "So Opal, you haven't recovered any of your memory at all?" Kasandra asked, I swallowed the food that was in my mouth,

    "No not at all" I replied 

    "That's a lie" Lucas said as he took a drink, he eyed me suspiciously, I was starting to get annoyed, I have been nothing but nice and polite to him, and all he's done was grumble, and huff, and make snide comments all night.

    "How so?" I asked 

    "Your name, you remembered that didn't you" he said it as more of a statement then a question.

    "Actually, I still don't know what my real name is, there was a nurse at the hospital who wore and opal necklace, I thought the name was pretty so I decided that it would be my temporary name." I said challenging him with my eyes to make another accusation so I could shoot it down.  

    "I have no proof that your telling the truth" he retorted 

    "You have no proof that I am lying" I said simply, we eyed each other.

    "Well whether you are telling the truth or not Opal, it is still a very pretty name" Kasandra said drawing both our attention back to her.  

    "Thank you Mrs. Knight" I smiled at her while giving Lucas a side look, he leaned back in his chair with his arms folded, looking like a child that was just put in time out.         

    After dinner I helped Kasandra clean up, once the dished were dried and put away I bid her goodnight and walked back to the guest house.  The night air was warm, I inhaled deeply breathing in the smell of freshly cut grass and pine trees.  I didn't feel like going back inside just yet so I sat on the porch of the guest house and listened too the night time creatures scamper around in the dark.  I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head, but as soon as I did that once again my ears were filled with the loud noise of the world.  This time I tried not to freak out, but tried to ease myself out, I needed to focus on something; off in the distance I could hear an owl hooting.  I concentrated on the owl, not long after the owl was all I could hear.  I sighed and relaxed, listening to the melodic sound of the owls soft cooing.