sorry, its a little long. Reviews are strongly welcomed and can be as harsh as needed!
Aubrey’s Raven
Preface
One sentence down. I have no intention of stopping now. I’m going to tell my story for all to see—no matter what happens. The memories have been too much to bear so I’ve resorted to pen and paper. Then, to a typewriter. Then, to a publisher. So here I am, and here you are. Together. For a story of four lives and how they intersect: a girl, a boy, a widow, and a raven. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was destiny. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a fairytale.
Chapter 1
I kept on thinking that it wasn’t my fault. That it was all an accident. That all of this would go away in a few days.
Why? I asked myself. These thoughts did not seem my own. The more I thought, the more I was pushed into what was happening around me. Fire. I could hear voices—yells—and the sound of water being sprayed violently. The ground in front of me was soggy and brown. Sirens blazed.
Still-life paintings swished past me as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. Was I moving? If I was moving, what was I lying on?
“What happened next?” a child’s voice said in excitement and curiosity, “What happened to Aladdin after he laid on the magic carpet, Daddy?”
The child was sitting in a man’s lap. The man, obviously her father, was holding a book that was ragged at the edges from the continuous use. The little girl tugged at her father’s small beard to get his attention. Though, the father didn’t flinch a bit. He didn’t tousle the little girl’s auburn hair like he always did. Instead, tears formed in his eyes and started to burn his cheeks. “I--
A sharp shot of pain rushed through my body as I tried to maneuver my hands to feel around but as soon as I tried to move.
“Stay still. We’re almost to the ambulance.” A voice said sternly.
So I was moving. I was going to something called an ambulance.
Suddenly the scenery changed. I was in some kind of room filled with tools and equipment that lined the walls. White figures—monsters—were standing around in the room; all looking at me. I watched carefully as one of them grabbed something out from a corner. The white monster brought it over to where I was and started to put it on my face. I wanted so badly to swat the monster away but I didn’t want to move. Suddenly, everything disappeared. I disappeared.
“Daddy, why are you crying?” The child looked up at her father in disbelief. She reached her small hands to pat him on the shoulder. But was abruptly stopped. “Don’t touch me.” The father said, “Go to bed where you belong.” The child was heartbroken. What about the rest of the story? “But—“ The child started to say. “But nothing!” The father got up out the big blue chair they were sitting in, shoving the girl on the floor. Tears started to flow down her cheeks. They turned into screams. The father didn’t hear. He stepped over his daughter and pulled something from off of the table beside the chair. It was a bottle.
“Huh?” I opened my eyes. It felt like I hadn’t opened them for forever. I was no longer surrounded by white monsters in a small room but instead a single human being in a quite large room with bright blue walls.
“She’s awake!” It was a man. He sat on the side of the bed I was laying on, smiling and waving two more men into the room that were standing in the doorway. Though as soon as they came to enter the room, something startled them making them stop in their tracks.
“No one can come in the room right now. No one!” It was a different voice. One that was more feminine and screechy. A woman came bustling through the door, pushing the two men at the doorway aside.
“I need to talk to her myself. About her medical condition.” The woman said in a matter of fact voice. As she neared closer, I could see the golden badge on her chest reading “Dr. Braux”.
“Besides, who are you?”
“I’m police in chief, just trying to ask some questions, ma’am.”
“Well, you can talk to her after I’m done. I’m her doctor and therefore in charge.”
She pushed the man off the bed, ignoring his whines, and instead sat in his place.
“Now don’t be afraid little girl. I’m Dr. Braux. Your doctor.” Her frown was replaced now with a smile as she talked. She was white like the monsters before in the ambulance though this time she was obviously human and wore a dark purple sweater and khaki pants.
“Ok.” I said softly.
“Don’t worry about the burns dear. You are well looked after by yours truly.”
The burns.
I frantically looked down at my arms, if they were still there.
They were there, but they had gone through another transformation. No longer smooth and tan, no longer torn and red, but now rough and white. Both of my arms going to my shoulder and both hands were bandaged.
“Now, now, dear. Don’t panic. Though, I have to say that your case is not like any other I’ve seen in all of my practice here at Highland Hospital. Your arms, dear. They are the only limbs that are burnt.”
I looked at her questioningly. What was she saying?
“Fires don’t just go around choosing which parts of the body to burn, dear. The only way that could happen is if someone burned you deliberately. Do you want to tell me anything about this?”
I was stunned. Up until then I had never truly tried to remember what had happened to cause me to hear sirens, go in ambulances, and now be with Dr. Braux in a hospital. All the memories just came to me involuntarily. They were thoughts of a child and a father.
“I…I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m here.” I stammered. The child and father thoughts surely weren’t related to this, were they?
Dr. Braux frowned and inhaled and then placed her hand on my bandaged hand.
“What is your name, dear?” It wasn’t the same voice as before. This voice was of confusion and maybe even a little fear.
Tears started to form in my eyes. I had no idea who I was. I was nobody. I frantically looked upon myself for some clues to my existence. I was wearing a hospital gown.
“What are you looking for?” Dr. Braux was still looking at me confused.
“Where are the clothes that I had on when I came here?” The question seemed to come from nowhere but I knew deep down inside I knew that my clothes might lend a hand in the enigma of my own self.
“I’ll get them for you, dear.” Dr. Braux got up from the bed and walked over to a drawer in the corner of the room. She took out a huge plastic bag filled with clothing.
“Here, we had to cut your shirt to get to your arms but other than that, they are in good condition.”
She placed the bag on my lap and took out the contents for me since my cast was too big to do so. She took out a brown and blue striped polo shirt and blue jeans with a pink hem. But it was the last item that sparked interest. She then took out a necklace that sat at the bottom of the bag.
“I think I want to see the necklace.” I said in fascination.
Dr. Braux placed the necklace in my hand so I could look at it better. It was a gold chain with a black bird on it. A raven. I ran my fingers along the chain; it felt like heaven. My fingers stopped at the connector piece of the necklace. It was a little gold plate that had the words “To Aubrey” on it. Was this what I was looking for? I looked back up at Dr. Braux who was smiling once again.
“I think my name is Aubrey, ma'am.”
