Day One - 12:18 pm

I sit in Maida’s car and stare intently out the window, the scenery changes quickly, whizzing by in a blur. We leave the small city of Garfield and avoid the highway, Maida choosing to go the scenic route, she thinks it might help to spark some memories.

I feel like I should know this place, I try to scour every detail but nothing seems familiar. We drive past acres of bleak farmland and then wind up a narrow dirt road surrounded by pine trees, they’re so tall they block out the dark sky above us.

Maida turns on the radio and is trying to sing along to the music, stumbling over words she doesn’t know. The pine trees subside and I see a large blue lake surrounded by rocks and sand. It’s beautiful, deer are walking between the tall trees as we speed past.

“This place is so pretty.” I say, turning to Maida. She stops singing.

“Yeah, maybe on the outside, looks can be deceiving though.” She replies.

“What do you mean?”

“People think it’s perfect around here because it looks so idyllic but the towns are full of small-minded people, gossiping and backstabbing. They have nothing better to do. They always want to know your business. Small places are like that, you know?”

I think about what Ed said about Ridgemont, it does sound like that kind of place. A town where everyone knows your name and all of your secrets.

"Maybe that’s a good thing though? It’ll be easier to find things out when we get there.”

“Maybe. I guess it depends who you ask.”

“Have you been there before?”

“Yeah, once or twice. It was always a pitstop on the way to somewhere else. Gave me the creeps a little bit to be honest. I wouldn’t want to live there.”

“What’s it like?”

“Very small, not really any reason to go there unless you’re going skiing. It’s close to the mountains but far away from everything else. Doesn’t seem very exciting.”

A song starts on the radio, all of a sudden I feel an immensely sharp pain behind my eyes. I wince, white dots burn into my vision.

All of a sudden I’m transported to a building, it looks familiar but I can’t place it. I try to focus, it’s a high school gymnasium, decorated with streamers. It’s dark, loud music is playing, I’m dancing with someone, spinning around. The song on the radio is playing, coloured lights sweep the floor, like shooting stars. I look up and can see my dance partner’s face, a boy, maybe seventeen, he smiles at me. I feel myself smiling back.

The flashback ends suddenly but the pain remains. I open my eyes and see my hands shaking. I’m slumped against the car door. I grab at the arm rest and try to sit up, feeling sick. I lean forward and put my head in my hands.

“Hey, are you okay?” Maida looks over at me, concerned.

“Stop the car. Please.”

Maida pulls over and I open the door before the car comes to a stop, gulping in the cold air. I step out onto the gravel. Maida is saying something behind me but I can’t focus. I lean against the car and keep breathing until my vision clears and the pain goes away.

“Hey, are you alright?” Maida is leaning over in her seat, trying to get my attention.

“That song, it made me remember something.” I say, sitting back in the car.

“Really? What was it?”

“It was a dance, like a high school thing.”

“High school? That’s not something I’d want to remember.” She laughs.

My head is still killing me. I groan and lean against the back of the seat.

A new song begins but the flashbacks leave me alone for now. The pain was excruciating. Maida starts driving again, I shift in my seat and look at my reflection in the rearview mirror, my cuts and scars have healed, like nothing has happened. We pass a road sign, Ridgemont isn’t far now. I close my eyes and drift off.

1:40 pm

I wake up to a sharp nudge in my side and open my eyes. “We’re here.” Maida turns off the ignition and unbuckles her seatbelt. She’s parked the car in front of a general store. A small wooden building, faded red paint peeling from the boards. I feel like I should remember it but it doesn’t ring a bell. A man sits outside the store on a long wooden bench, wearing a plaid flannel shirt and torn jeans, loudly chewing gum.

“This is Ridgemont?” I ask Maida, hoping that this isn’t it and it’s just a stopover on the way.

“Yep.” She says, wrapping a green scarf tightly around her neck.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and open the door, a harsh wind picks up, I can feel the cold in my bones.

“I can't believe this is it?”

“Yeah, it’s a tiny place, not many people live here year round.”

“It’s freezing.”

“Here.” Maida grabs a jacket from the backseat and throws it over to me. I put it on and zip it up to my chin. I look around at the main street. Small buildings are dotted around, most don’t look open. The town is surrounded by tall pine trees, we’re high up and I can see the lake we drove past in the distance.

“This place gives me the creeps.”

“Does it feel like home though?”

“No, it really doesn’t.”

“Want to walk around and check out the town? Maybe it’ll jog your memory.” Maida suggests.

“Sure.” There aren’t many businesses in the main street, a cafe, a diner, a few motels and a petrol station. A typical tourist town I guess. The motels have vacancy signs lit up, not a busy time of year.

We walk past a diner, a tall neon sign stands next to the entrance. Main Street Diner - Breakfast Lunch Dinner - Open 7am to 9pm.

“I’m hungry, let’s get some lunch.” Maida turns back and goes inside holding the door open for me. As soon as I enter, fragments of memories start to come flooding back. The blinding pain along with them. I try to focus on my surroundings but can't, it all becomes a blur, I place my hand against the doorframe for support.

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It’s nighttime, I’ve just walked into the diner, the building is flooded with fluorescent light, harsh and cold. It’s snowing outside but it’s boiling inside, I peel off my jacket as I walk towards a table. I sit down with a group of teenagers and throw my jacket over the back of the seat. The boy from the dance is here, along with two girls, one with red hair, one blonde. They smile at me as I sit down to join them. The waitress comes over and I order something, she starts talking to us. Another group walks past and says something which upsets the boy, he gets up and shoves one of the people in the group.

The flashback ends and I open my eyes. Maida’s holding me up, her arm linked through mine. She walks me towards a booth and we both sit down. Maida grabs a menu off the table and loudly reads the entire list of options to me. “Do you know what you want?”

“I’m not sure, give me a minute.” My head is still aching, I hold my face in my hands and close my eyes. When the pain starts to subside I look around the room, the booth from my memory is right across from us. I look at the pictures hanging on the wall, old black and white photos in frames, pictures of people and old buildings, kids having a snowball fight outside the diner, a group of people smiling on skis. Reminders of a time long gone. A time when Ridgemont was probably a bit more interesting. A waitress walks up to our table, her grey uniform suddenly blocking my view. I look up at her, it’s the same woman from my memory.

“What can I get you girls?” She asks us cheerfully, she looks up from her small notepad. “Ellie! I haven’t seen you in ages.”

It takes me a moment to realise she’s talking to me. The woman waits for me to respond but I don’t know what to say.

Maida breaks the silence. “You know Elena?”

“Yeah, of course! I’ve known her since she was a little girl, her and Esther have been friends forever.”

“Esther?”

“My daughter.” The woman grabs my shoulder, making me flinch. “Ellie’s just like a daughter to me too. Isn’t that right?” I awkwardly nod, she feels like a stranger to me.

“Ellie and me just came back from a trip. We’ll have to go see Esther. I’m Maida by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Maida. Talia.” She points to her name tag. “Yeah! She’s working today, you could probably still catch her, she just got a new job at the Lake Cafe on the corner, I’m sure she’d love to know all about your trip. I’m talking your ear off, aren’t I? What did you want to order girls?”

Maida orders fries and a chocolate shake, I’m too nervous to eat anything and ask for some water.

“You okay sweetheart?” She grips my shoulder again, harder this time. I nod once again, more enthusiastically this time, she looks concerned but lets go and walks away.

“Well that was a good start, we’ve found one of your friends already!”

“Yeah, let’s hope she’s someone I can trust.”

After lunch we walk down the main street and find the cafe. We step inside, it’s small, one room, a single window at the front. Two white plastic tables are inside, all that they could fit and probably all they needed, apart from us, the place is empty. I go up to the counter to look for Esther. This place isn’t triggering any memories, I’m thankful for that right now.

A woman walks through a door in the back of the building and looks up at me. “Hey!” She drops the bag she’s holding and rushes over. I recognise her from the missing poster Maida showed earlier. “Where have you been? I called you so many times and you never got back to me! I was so worried!” She wraps her arms around me.

“I, uh, was in an accident.”

Esther’s face drops. “Oh my god, what? Are you okay? What happened?”

I open my mouth but can’t find any words. “Uh.” I stammer and look towards Maida.

“Car accident.” Maida says quickly. “We went on a trip and had a car accident.” I’m so grateful Maida’s here, I don't think I could manage this by myself.

“Oh god, that’s terrible. Were you in the hospital?”

“Uh, kind of. This is Maida.” I point towards her and Maida quickly puts her hand up and then places it back in her pocket.

“Nice to meet you Maida. Take a seat, I’ll get you guys some drinks.” We sit at the counter and Esther pours us some coffee. I wasn’t sure if I could trust her but I really wanted to believe she was my friend.

“I can’t remember what happened. I can’t really remember anything.”

“Like amnesia? You don’t remember me at all?”

“No, I don’t even remember who I am. I don’t know where I live or who I know here.”

“Well, I’ll have to help you remember! Your mother’s been worried sick about you, over this past week she must have asked me if I’d heard from you a dozen times. She even came in here. I didn’t think she’d be caught dead in a place like this.”

“Where does she live? Nearby?”

“Yeah, same place as you. 100 Sycamore, it’s maybe a five minute drive out of town. Out in the forest, you go past the trailer park. It’s strange to be telling you your own address.” She laughed.

“Thanks for trying to find me.”

“Always. You’re my best friend.”

We finish off the coffee, it tastes awful but it’s pleasantly warm. “I guess I better go home.”

“Yes, you better go see your mother! I’m so glad you’re okay.” Esther gives me another hug. There’s a sweetness in her voice that makes me want to believe her.

We thank her and walk to the door. As we go to leave Esther stops us. “Hey, wait! You should go to Nick’s party tomorrow night. It might help you remember something. Everyone you know, or knew, should be there.”

"Who's Nick?"

"He's one of our friends, we've all known each other forever. If that party doesn't bring your memory back, I don't know what will. I’ll pick you up if you want and we can go together. Maida, you should come too.”

I thank her and say goodbye. Maida and I leave and walk back to the car.

“100 Sycamore, right? Past the trailer park, I didn’t see a trailer park on the way in to town.” Maida unlocks the car and we both get in. “It must be so weird not remembering who you are. You could be rich or poor. You could be a horrible person who’s done awful things and not even know it. You could be anything, live anywhere, you could be best friends with someone famous, the possibilities are endless.”

“I doubt that, not living in a place like this. I think the options are pretty limited.”

She pulls out a map and hands it to me. “Okay, you find this place and tell me which way to go.”

“Uh, okay.” I look for Sycamore, the writing is tiny I go from square to square finally finding it on the map. "Will this get easier?"

"I don't know if it'll get easier but it'll make more sense. You ready to go?” Maida asks me, looking concerned.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

She smiles at me and starts the car. "You'll be okay, I'm here to help you."

I feel nervous, Maida’s right, it’s going to be very strange to discover who I am and where I live. It’s a mystery and I’m not sure I’m ready to figure it out just yet.

I give Maida directions to the house, looking up from the map occasionally. It’s a short drive to the trailer park, aptly named Shady Oaks. Filled with faded trailers, all rusting in unison, broken plastic lawn ornaments, old fairy lights strung between them, some lit, others broken. It’s begun to rain, the town looks even more depressing. The car’s windscreen is fogging up, Maida’s trying to wipe it with her sleeve so she can see. The trailer park backs on to a forest full of large pine trees, some are hanging over the trailers, pine needles littering their roofs and the ground around them.

We keep driving, speeding past Shady Oaks. After the trailer park there’s a whole lot of nothing. Just forest. It envelops the road, covering us in a blanket of darkness, I look up and see the trees, they’re so tall that they appear to be almost joined at the top, like an archway. It makes me feel safe and uneasy at the same time.

It doesn’t take long and we reach our destination. A large wrought iron gate sits at the end of the road. There’s no turn off, Sycamore Lane seems to lead directly to this place, the road ends at the gates. Huge T’s are welded onto them, surrounded by intricate scrollwork. They’re closed, a heavy chain looped between them. Maida stops the car and we stare at the gates through the foggy windscreen.

“Now what?” I say.

“Are you sure you gave me the right directions?” She asks.

“Yeah. Pretty sure.” I answer, looking back at the map. “This is the only place up here.”

“It looks fancy. I guess you’re pretty well-off then?”

Gargoyles look down at us from the fence posts on the sides the gate. I look to the left and right, the fence seems to continue forever. A camera sits at the feet of one gargoyle. Maida and I get out of the car and walk to the gates, no padlock holds the chain together. I loosen it and each of us pulls at a gate each. The black bars are almost as thick as my arm. Slowly we both tug the gates open. They’re incredibly heavy.

We get back in the car and drive forward through the gateway. As we slowly go up the gravel path, large trees continue to obscure our view. The trees end suddenly and a manicured lawn and gardens appear, a small lake on one side of the driveway, a large weeping willow planted next to the water. A lonely red rowboat is sitting underneath it on the grass. We turn a corner and a house comes into view, a large elaborate fountain sits out the front. The water is no longer running, four concrete mermaids look out forlornly from their permanent positions at the top.

“What is this place?” Maida asks.

“Home.” I know this with sudden clarity, it feels like home. It’s so familiar.

“Dude, you are rich.”

I feel a sense of dread. That might not be a good thing.