Chapter 1 of my book '28 hours'

Memories They are produced every millisecond. How can such a small thing…the “brain” do such an amazing thing? I have thousands of memories in my head, some I might not remember now. But I never knew that something so amazing could bring so much misery if gone wrong. Each step I take, each word I speak, each movement I make, will I remember it tomorrow? What if something goes wrong? What if…I don’t remember? I met a boy who couldn’t remember.No matter how much he wanted to, his brain failed him.His memories where limited, and his pain had no end.My name is Alison Willner. I am 18 years old and I had just taken a job at a Nursing Home nearby. I have long black hair that covers one eye and both eyes are packed heavy with eyeliner. I will always wear a lot of black but have accessories that are bright colors. It’s strange, I would think that my appearance would offend the older folks, but they seem to love me. I needed a job for the summer before college and the Nursing Home seemed to be a good choice.It was June 28th, the first day of my job. The air was very humid and the clouds were grey. I grabbed an umbrella just as I was about to leave. It seemed that only a second had passed when the rain began to fall. I opened the umbrella and started to walk down the sidewalk. With each step I took the rain fell down harder. I was barely past my house when it started to pour. The smell of rain had always interested me, so I walked slowly and listened to the sound and took deep breaths. Before I knew it I was on the street that the nursing home was on. I crossed the street and stopped at the sidewalk.There was an old bench in the front yard of the nursing home. I saw a guy sitting Indian style on the bench holding a small umbrella over his head. I kind of stood there and watched him until he turned his head towards me.“Hi there.”“Uh hi!”“So are you the new employee?” “Yeah…”“Interesting.” He stood up and walked towards me. “I’m Eric.” He shook my hand. “And you are?”“Oh, Sorry. I’m Alison.”He walked away as though I was already gone. He went inside the nursing home and closed the door behind himself.When the door closed it opened the following minute. A middle aged woman walked out smiling at me. “Hello dear, you came just on time.”I smiled, and noticed it was my boss.“Well, come on in.” She turned and walked back to the entrance and held the door open for me. “Oh. Thank you.” I walked through the door then looked back to my boss. “Um…who was that guy?”“Eric? He is a resident here.”“He is?” I was surprised because of how young he looked. I wanted to ask what was wrong with him but didn’t have to nerve to do so.She nodded. “I’m Madeline Ashland. You may call me whatever you want, but no “old hag” or “old lady” ok? I’m your boss, so please try to be somewhat polite.”“You don’t have to worry about that Ms. Ashland.” I was somewhat confused, because she was the one who interviewed me, so I already knew her name. Why did she repeat it? The confusion must have had shown on my face because she looked at me and apologized. “I’m sorry dear; I’m so use to introducing myself like that to even people I already know.”I was even more confused. “Oh?”“That is why I needed to find someone to come here to work in my place. I’m very glad it’s someone like you.”“Um, Ms. Ashland…what are you talking about?”“I will be placing you to one of my old jobs. It gets very busy here with having very few employees, so that makes me have to do a lot of work.”“I see…”“The boy you asked about, he is the one you will be taking care of. It’s not too hard of a job.” She smiled.“I will take care of him?”“Come with me dear.” We walked into her office and she closed the door. She sat down and took a deep breath inward. “Eric was in a car accident 5 years ago and lost his memory. Well it’s more complicated than that. He remembers everything before the accident. It seems that his memory will last about 28 hours. Within those 28 hours he is quite normal. He will sometimes get into trouble because he still has the thoughts of a 12 year old, so please look after him well.” I was completely shocked. I have heard about this kind of thing happing, but I never met a person with that condition let alone take care of one.“I will do my best.”“But before you go, I have to go over some very important rules with you.”“Of course.” “First: you must never allow mirrors in the room or anywhere in his surroundings. Second: As soon as he wakes up tell him your name and that he is staying here because his parents are away on a trip and will be back soon. Tell him not to worry. Third: Don’t get too close with him, because it will hurt you and not him. You hear?”“Yes ma’am!” Ms. Ashland stood up. “I shall show you the way then, but first make sure you don’t have any mirrors ok? And don’t worry about telling him that his parents aren’t here. I told him that this morning.” She was walking while saying this.“I don’t have any mirrors with me.” I followed her.“Good.” She stopped walking in front of a door with the number 28 on it. Ironic that it was room 28, because she just got done telling me his memories only lasted 28 hours. She then started to walk away.“Just go on in and tell him you would like to hang out with him. Have fun!”Somehow I felt extremely nervous. I didn’t want to say something wrong. I didn’t want to mess anything up. I turned the door knob and stepped in.He was sitting on his bed reading a book. He looked very interested in the book only, not paying any attention to what was around him. I walked over and took a seat in a chair beside his bed. He said nothing and just continued to read his book. This guy…was very beautiful. Not just his appearance, but his aura as well. He had very blonde hair that dangled in front his eyes. His eyes seemed to glow as his skin was pale, but his eyes were obnoxiously blue. He was awfully cute. I wasn’t able to notice before, because when we met outside it was dark and the umbrella was covering most of his face anyway. And now I just couldn’t look away. He then turned his face suddenly; it freaked me out. We had eye contact now, and his eyes were even more intense.“Um…hi.”“Hi.”“Do you mind if I hang out with you today?”He turned his head. “I have no choice. That assland woman yelled at me all this morning saying you were going to be with me all day. I don’t even know her, but she told me I am here because my parents are on a trip, so I have to deal. I don’t understand why I am here of all places.”“Her name is Ms. Ashland. Don’t say rude things about her, understand?”He had a surprised face. “I do…I guess.”“Good.” I came here to take care of the older folks, but ended up having to take care of a kid. Things could be worse. I’m lucky that he seems to be more of a mellow kid. He went right back to reading his book and I just sat there and watched him. I glanced at the cover and it read ‘United Belief’. I never heard of it before. The book seemed old though, and poorly made. Because I was so bored I tried to guess what the book could be about, than stopped because I got bored of doing that. While I was spacing out I heard him ask me “Couldn’t you at least sit up straight?”“Huh?” I sat up. “I can tell that you are bored by slouching over and spacing out like that. It’s creepy how you’re spacing out in my direction. I’m trying to read in peace.”“Do you always read?!”“Sometimes, but I was told to by my mother the last time I saw her. She wrote this book when she was in college. She found it recently in a box of her old stuff. She really wanted me to read it.” He then stared at the book for a long time.“Do you like it?”“Yes. It’s written simply and the story is interesting.”“You seem like a smart kid.”“I am. I am as smart as a 16 year old.”“Wow, really?!”“Yes. I am homeschooled by my mother. She taught me all I know. She tells me I’m very mature for my age as well.”“I see.”“I’m interested to see how this ends.”“Huh?”“The book.”“Oh! Well how long do you have to go?”“This morning I started at chapter 3 and I’m at chapter 6 now. There are 28 chapters total, so I have 22 left.”“You are only at the beginning.”The number 28 again? This number just loved this kid I guess. “Are you a fast reader?”“No. I am pretty slow with reading actually.”“That kinda sucks. I’m glad I’m a fast reader, that way I can get it over with sooner.” “I see you don’t like to read.”“I like to write stories, not read them.”“That’s strange.”“I’m strange.”He smiled. Then forced himself to stop.“Aw, don’t stop smiling. You should try to smile more, ok?”“Ok.” He smiled again.“Good,” Just as I said that we heard knocking at the door. I got up. “Hello?” They asked “May I come in? I have brought lunch with me.” I answered. “Yes, come in.” She walked in and left the food on a table then left right away closing the door behind her. I walked over to the tray of food and brought it over to Eric.“Here you go.” I handed the tray to him.He took the tray and set it down. “They are all so distant.”“Hm?”“All the employees are so distant. As soon as I woke up Ms. Ashland was here and told me about my parents and you then left. She also told me to not leave this room. I did anyway, but when I was walking in the hall everybody was looking away from me. It’s very suspicious here. Oh!” He got up. “I want to show you something,” He ran over to a door and opened it. “Look in the bathroom.”I walked over into the bathroom.He pointed above the sink, but there was nothing there. “See.”I didn’t understand. “I don’t see anything.”“That’s the point. You can see that there use to be a mirror here.” He pointed at some holes in the wall. “Isn’t that suspicious? I didn’t say anything, but I had to say something. “That is strange, but just don’t think about it.”“No! It’s not just that! There are no mirrors or shiny surfaces in this whole room! Nothing at all. You can’t say that’s not suspicious!”I understood what he meant, but I couldn’t let him know the truth. I didn’t want to know what would happen if he saw himself now when he thinks he’s 12 but he looks 17. That’s why I needed to calm him down. “Eric. Just sit down and eat your food, ok?”He stood still. “But-““Go and eat your food and calm down. You’re over reacting.” “Ok. I understand.” He went over to his bed, sat down and started to eat.Thank goodness he was the type of kid to listen to a grown up when they spoke with a firm voice. I don’t know what I would of done if he kept on freaking out. I looked over towards Eric and he was already looking at me.“Are you hungry?” He held up an apple. “You want it?”“Uh. Sure.” I took the apple then took a bite. The apple tasted very sour and when I looked up at Eric’s face, he had a sour expression. He must of still be upset about the mirrors. I understand though. It’s hard when you want more answers but can’t get them. He is always going in circles, but he doesn’t even know it. That’s not the type of life I would want at all. But he doesn’t even know this is happening. He thinks that he is still living his normal life, but in reality… it’s far from it. Thinking about that made me want to know about his parents. Where were they? Was this accident too much for them? Did they just leave him because it was too hard for them? I wanted to know, but I knew I had no place to ask such a question. Eric was done with his food, but I only took one bite of the apple. When I have things on my mind I don’t really eat. I put the apple down and stayed silent. We both did so for what seemed like hours. I think we both had lots of things on our minds, so it kept us busy for awhile. I had fallen asleep from the silence. I must have been out of it for awhile because it was dark when I woke up. While I was stretching I noticed Eric wasn’t on his bed. I got up and called his name, but there was no answer. I went into the bathroom to see if he was in there, but he wasn’t there either. He must have left the room. I ran out of the room and down the hall calling out his name. There was still no answer. I was starting to get worried. I then ran down to Ms. Ashland’s office to see if she was there. When I got to the door I saw that there was nobody in there. I ran through the building but couldn’t find any nurses. All the doors where shut, so I thought that the elder ones where sleeping, but I should have been able to find someone by now I thought. I was extremely worried. Since I was running around the building so much I had to sit down and take a breather. Once I sat down and just listened to the silence, I heard a faint sound coming from down the hall. I then heard someone walking in the hall…very slowly. It seemed like they were limping. I got up and ran down the hall to see who was there. I called out to them, asking who they were. They answered with sobs and moans. I didn’t know who this person was, but they seemed to be hurt. When I walked closer to this person, they fell to the ground. That was when I realized who it was.It was Eric.He was covered in dirt and he was bruised. I kneeled down to the floor.“Eric, what happened?”“I…found a mirror.” He said that while crying.“Y-you found a mirror? What? Did you…” I paused.“I…I went to search for a mirror because…it was suspicious, but…when I looked in the mirror…” “Where is everybody?” I was panicking. “Why are you hurt?”He sat up slightly. “When I saw myself, I ran. They all must have gone out to search for me when they found out I was gone.”“But there is nobody else here other than me! Why would they just leave this nursing home like that!?”“I don’t understand either…but there is something wrong with me! I am supposed to be 12! I don’t look like I am!!! I remember looking at myself in a mirror yesterday, and I looked 12! Am I part of some strange science experiment?”“No. Calm down!”“HOW CAN I?” I stepped back. “I…I’m sorry.”“Why are you sorry? Did you do something to me???” He stood up franticly. “What did you do?”“I didn’t do anything! I am telling the truth!”“Can I really believe you?” He stepped backwards.The tense atmosphere was broken by many voices coming from outside. When the voices got closer, Eric seemed more and more troubled. “I need to get out of here!” He walked past me while limping. “Please don’t allow them to find me, ok?”“But, Eric! You can’t run away. You don’t even know what you’re running away from!”He was silent.“Something is wrong with you, but it’s not what you think Eric.”“What is wrong then???” “I…I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you.”“What’s with that? You say something is wrong with me, but you won’t tell me what?”“Just wait here, and the others will tell you when you calm down.”“Will they really tell me?”“Yes. You just have to calm down, and if you continue to run, you will never find out the problem.”He stood still. “…I…I understand.” We both waited in the hall until the voices reached the hallway. Eric stood very close to me the whole time. I heard my boss’s voice calling.“Eric! You need to stay where you are! Don’t run away!” she then stopped in her tracks when she saw Eric standing by me. “Good.” She was relived seeing him.I stepped forward. “You have to explain to him.”She replied instantly. “I know.”I turned to Eric and took his hand. “It’s ok now. She will tell you everything.”He stepped toward Ms. Ashland gripping my hand tightly.I was trying to pull my hand away. “What are you doing?”He had a very serious face. “I want you here with me.” He walked over to Ms. Ashland making me follow. “Now would you please fill me in on what is happening?”Ms. Ashland nodded. “Yes. Please follow me to my office.” She opened her office door and shut it behind us.The very second we walked inside someone grabbed Eric and shot something into him. I fell back and screamed from terror. I was completely confused to what was happening.“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” I was on the floor with my back against the wall. I looked down on the floor next to me and Eric was passed out. “Why…?” I looked up to Ms. Ashland.“This is what we have to do. It doesn’t make any sense to explain the situation to him when he wouldn’t even remember the conversation the next day!”I did understand what she meant, but it sounded cruel. I felt so much compassion for this kid, and I just met him this morning! Was this event really happening? Was I dreaming up this whole thing? No. I just wanted to wish this was a dream. The one thing I didn’t understand was why did this all have to happen in one day? It was all too much to comprehend. If he only knew what was happening. Would it be better knowing the truth then being put in the dark? Where the heck are his parents? That is what I really wanted to know! It seems like the only one making important decisions for Eric was Ms. Ashland. Shouldn’t the family being doing that? While other nurses took Eric out of the office and back to his room, I sat on the floor asking myself all these questions that I couldn’t answer. I felt very frustrated, mostly because I couldn’t do anything. I just wanted to help! My eyes began to get puffy and tears ran down my cheeks. I cried so hard that night. It felt as though I was crying Eric’s tears. That unbearable pain that he couldn’t feel, I felt it.It was the worse feeling I had ever felt in my life.

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my father...I don't think he acts like one to me really. He acts like a complete fool all the time. He would never admit to this though, he will never admit he is ever wrong and he never apologizes for the horrible things he has done. His personality is so hard to deal with, one second he is fooling around laughing, then the next he is yelling at you for saying something to him that was only a joke!
Joking with him is the only way I can talk to him really. If i try to be serious he will blow it off with a joke. He has been horrible to my mother quite a few times, only thinking of himself and never truly saying sorry. I have tried to talk to him before, being a serious as I could be and he just wouldn't be serious. He acts like he is in grade school, always just fooling around and thinking if he is sweet after being scolded, all the bad things he had done will be forgotten. He refuses to give in and say he is wrong, b/c to him, that is losing. No matter how wrong he may be, in his head, he is right. Once in awhile he will "try to be nice" to me. By doing that he feels like he is doing a good job as the "father", but there is more to being a "father" then just once in awhile pretending to care about what your daughter thinks. I never show him things i work hard on, b/c i know he will glance at it and slightly nod and in a "joking" voice say "ooh, so nice dear." I used to draw a lot and want to show it off obviously b/c I was proud, but I never want to show him. And now I am writing a book. I never told him myself, my mother did though. (By the way, my mother is totally supportive, sweet and truly cares about what I think) he just nodded. Well, I could go on and on about this subject, but I think i will stop for now...
I don't think anyone is going to read this anyways. [I prolly made a bunch of typos and spelling errors too...oh well]