The Last Memory: Chapters 1-2

Chapter One

Trenton let the warmth of the fire relieve the chill from her hands and the quiet of the room around her fill her. The small cabin wasn't much. It only had three rooms and a small fireplace but it had been a good escape from the outside world for the last few months.

Trenton looked at the calendar. Yep, it had been four months, and she knew that it was about time to go back home and face the music, at least the place everyone was telling her was home. Her memories of the past were few and since her accident, she couldn't remember how her life used to be or who she really was. For all she knew, she could have been a famous actress or a chemist.

Trenton remembered the accident. She remembered slipping and hitting her head, and she remembered looking across the bathroom floor while blood flowed around her head. Everything after that was a blur, and though there were a few people at the hospital trying to help her remember things, nothing prominent about her past rang a bell.

And boy did it bother her that she couldn't remember anything! It was like being a stranger in a new town. She wasn't sure who she could trust or what to do. There was no map that gave her directions on how to navigate her new life or how she could find out about her old one. What if her old life was unfullfilling? Was it even worth finding out how it was? Or would it be better just to restart her life from the present moment? At least she would know how she felt about everything if she did that.

It was an odd feeling to not know herself, to have no idea if her past life made her happy, and to not know what her goals or dreams were. Trenton put her head in her hands and tried not to cry. She didn't know who she was. She didn't have any aspirations, and for some reason she felt like she was missing someone close to her, but she didn't even know who that was at this point. It was so lonely restarting a life that she didn't even remembered having, and though the doctors said that there was a chance that she would regain some of her memory over time, there was still no guarantee.

Taking a breath, Trenton tried to figure out what to do. She couldn't hide out in the cabin forever. She was fortunate that Pam, the woman that claimed she was her sister had the funds to help her get it, but she had to move forward somehow. And leaving the cabin was the first step in doing that. She didn't know where she would go or how she would get a job, but she was sure that it was time to be self-sufficient. Life had to start at some point, and given that she was blessed enough to get another chance at living hers, she figured she shouldn't waste it.

Trenton pulled the familiar business card out of her pocket and used the small phone that Pam had given her to call the number on the front of it. "Hello," she said into the receiver.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end responded.

"Can I order a taxi for tomorrow?" Trenton replied. She gave the respondent on the other end the information that she needed and hung up the phone. Trenton put the phone back into her pocket and looked at the small crumpled piece of paper in her hand. Pam Reed. 3506 Ramelle Dr. She wasn't sure if going to Pam's house was a wise idea, but it was a good starting point in figuring out who she was. Hopefully, Pam had honorable intentions.

Chapter Two

It hadn't taken long for Trenton to pack up the small amount of items that she had taken with her to the cabin, and before she knew it, she was in a cab, headed for Pam's house. She wasn't sure what to expect. She had only talked to the other woman for a couple of hours after waking up from her coma, but Pam had been able to provide photographic evidence showing that the two of them had spent time together on quite a few occasions.

Nevertheless, if Pam was her sister then why didn't she remember her. Even with memory issues, it seemed odd not to remember one's own sister. There had to be memories there, but every time Trenton tried to picture Pam in her head, her mind went blank. Trenton sighed. She needed to remember who she was. It was too difficult trusting people she didn't even remember knowing to tell her about herself.

"We're almost there, ma'am," the cab driver called from the front.

Trenton looked out the window at the row if houses that suddenly replaced the grass fields she had been staring at only minutes ago. The neighborhood looked nice. Each house had a long driveway and an attached garage, and she could even see a few kids gathered around a basketball hoop in front of one of the houses that she passed. Trenton wondered if Pam was married and if she had children. This neighborhood seemed like a great place to raise a family.

The cab driver sifted through the streets, deeper into the neighborhood before slowing down in front of a large beige house. "Here we are ma'am," the driver said.

"Thank you," Trenton said, pulling a couple of crumpled bills that Pam had given her at the hospital out of her pocket. "Keep the change."

"Thank you," the cab driver said with a kind smile on his face and he drove off before the conversation continued.

Trenton walked to the front door with her small bag in hand and knocked. She wasn't sure what to say or how the other woman would react when she saw her, but she also didn't know where else she could go.

The large front door creaked and opened almost immediately, a smiling Pam on the other side. "Done with your time in the woods?" she asked, waving Trenton inside.

"For now," Trenton replied. "I need to get back to my life. Whatever that is."

"I figured as much," Pam said, leading her to a large living room and gesturing for her to sit down. "You never liked being away from your routine for too long."

"Good to know," Trenton said, not sure what the adequate response was when someone was telling you about your own life. "I assume I will learn more about myself as time goes by, but for now, I need to figure out the basics. I need a job. I need some sort of identification. I need a place to live."

"I have your driver's license, birth certificate, and your social security card," Pam stated. "I made sure to grab them when I was cleaning out your apartment."

"My apartment?" Trenton asked as it was the first she was hearing of the place she once lived.

"Yes," Pam said. "The lease was almost up when you got into the accident. You had even talked about moving, but you never got the chance, so I figured I would hold onto your valuables until you woke up from the coma."

"Thank you," Trenton said, still unsure she could trust the other woman. "Now, I just have to find a new place to stay."

"You can stay here," Pam said nonchalantly. "It will give you a chance to get back on your feet."

"I appreciate that," Trenton said. "But you have already done so much. I really don't want to be a burden."

"It's no burden," Pam replied. "I would do anything for you. You should know that."

"Noted," Trenton replied with a smile, but there was still something off about the entire situation.