Fear and confusion were the first things she felt when she fell. When the bubble of her old world popped, she was being suffocated by icy water. It dragged her down into its depths, throwing her like a rag doll wherever it felt. Right before she ran out of breath, she slammed into a pier support, nearly knocking her unconscious. Gripping the pier, the used the last of her strength to crawl up (or what she hoped was up) until she broke through the surface of the water, only to be knocked under again. Still maintaining a fierce grip on the beam, she inched back up again and gasped for air. She couldn’t tell if the water was colder than the air as her lungs prickled with icy thorns. Her limbs were heavy and her mind muddled, but all she knew was that she needed to stay above the water. Her eyelids drooped, but she remained clinging to beam, whether by the last of her strength or because her arms were frozen in a position she didn’t know, but she didn’t get submerged under the black waters again.

When her eyes peeled open, the sky was still dark, but it was slowly lightening up. The water around her was much calmer than before but still had a strong current. She couldn’t feel anything below her neck, but her face was burning from the cold. Her limbs detached themselves from the beam and she felt herself sinking into the water. Fear coursed through her system again, making her non-existent limbs move. She really hoped she still had arms and legs--she couldn’t feel them and her neck was too stiff to look down. Apparently, she still did because she broke the surface again, though this time she was bobbing down the river.

She forced her body to move towards the shore, urging her burning lungs to just make it a few more seconds, and then a few more, and then a few more, until she finally felt something hit against her numb legs. Struggling out of the water, she crawled out onto the crunchy snow along the water’s edge. She lay there, her mind slowly fogging over and sleep whispering sweet things.

Her body was suddenly lifted into the air by a pair of arms, but she couldn’t tell whose. She didn’t care; she was just so tired. If she just slept for a little bit, she’d feel a lot better.

“Don’t you dare close those eyes!”

The voice seemed so far away and sleep seemed so close.

“Dammit!”

Her eyes drifted shut. She was already feeling so nice.

Fire suddenly flared in her torso, and then in her legs. She screamed for it to stop, but the hands that carried her were putting molten lava on her. It was too hot, too hot! She liked it better when she couldn’t feel her arms and legs, now she was in pain! Hadn’t she felt enough pain?

“Just hang on, just keep those there until I get you to the hospital.”

Why was the voice doing bad things to her? Didn’t they know they were hurting her? She struggled in the arms of the voice. She heard it curse, but didn’t care. They were making her feel like she was on fire and she didn’t like it. She screamed until they let go. They were in a small space so she couldn’t escape, by the voice grabbed her and held her roughly, stopping her movements. The voice raised her out of whatever they had been in and ran her into a building. The building was made out of fire!

She kept screaming that it hurt, but other voices took her arms and legs and held her down. They put her in a bed and strapped her down, covering her in things that made her burn even more. She hated the voices and what they were doing to her! Her lungs and stomach and chest were too hot! She struggled and struggled, but no one came to her rescue.

“Are you sure this is the easiest way?” The first voice asked. “She was screaming the whole way here. Can we just ease her into regular temperature using a bath?”

Another voice, a lighter one, responded.

“We’re using the room temperature patches to get her to normal temperature, but considering her state of hypothermia she’s lucky she’s alive. What exactly was she doing?”

“She crawled out of the river.”

“What?”

“Crawled right out of the river. I just happened to be watching the sunrise when I saw her there.”

She was feeling a little better now. The burning was better, more like being too close to a fire rather than actually on fire. She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but the straps restrained her. The voices seemed to have noticed and came to her.

“Hey honey, my name is nurse Katy. Are you feeling better?”

She nodded. The liked Katy’s voice. Katy untied her limbs from the bed too. She really liked Katy.

“Can you tell me your name?”

This voice came from the person that took her out of the river.

“My name is Inspector Roger Smith. I’m the one that took you here. What is your name?”

She wasn’t a bit fan of the Inspector’s voice; it was too gruff and not nice at all like Katy’s. She tried to open her mouth, but only a squeak came out. She tried again, but a louder squeak escaped.

“Let me get you some water honey. I’ll be right back.”

Katy strolled away quickly, whispering under her breath “poor thing.”

“Are you the package?”

A look of confusion passed over her face. Package? Her? What was that supposed to mean?

“Do you know someone called Red?”

Red, like the color? Were people actually named after colors here? Where was here anyway? Everything was so foreign to her. It dawned on her that she couldn’t recall anything. She had suddenly found herself in water and then she was surrounded by fire, not giving her much time to think about where she was, or who she was. Try as hard as she could, she couldn’t remember a single fact from her life besides whatever she had just lived through. Apparently, she could understand whatever language Katy and Inspector were speaking, but she didn’t know anything else. She looked down at herself. Well, she knew she was female, but nothing else came to mind. Her arms were dark, not incredibly dark, but darker than the man standing next to her bed. Speaking of, what did he want again?

“I guess this is why Red didn’t tell me what the package was. I probably wouldn’t have agreed if I knew I was going to be taking care of a kid until they said so. Jesus, I’m such an idiot, there was obviously a catch. You goddamn idiot, you should be smarter than that. Fucking idiot.”

She didn’t really know what a few of those words meant, but she guessed they weren’t positive considering the look on his face. Oh, well. Her goal now was to regain some memories and figure out what she was doing there. She hoisted herself off the bed, but before her feet could even touch the ground, the man had his arms under her armpits, holding her up in the air.

“You are much heavier than you look.” He put her back on the bed. “Ouch, I may have thrown out my back.”

She attempted to get off the bed again, but he held her arm down.

“Oh, no, you’re not going anywhere, not until I get some answers.”

As if on cue, Katy came in holding a paper cup with water.

“Sorry it took me so long, I had two doctors have me do some quick errands for them. Can’t say no to doctors around here...Anyways, drink up.”

She cautiously took a sip of water and felt much better. Downing the small cup, she cleared her throat.

“I can’t remember.”

“You can’t remember what, sweetie.” The nurse asked.

“Anything. I don’t know anything. No memories at all.”

That seemed to catch everyone off guard.

“Excuse me, what?” Roger asked, incredulously.

“I don’t even know how old I am, but I guess I can speak this language.”

“English? Well, that’s hardly a feat if you’re raised here. But then again, you don’t remember anything do you?” Roger’s voice was sharp and he ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. She didn’t know what she had done wrong, but Roger didn’t seem to like her very much.

“Well, that’s okay honey. Sometimes when you experience something traumatic like what you went through you can suffer memory loss. It’s usually not your whole lifespan, but you may be a rare case. Let me get a doctor to sort this out.” She shot Roger a dirty glare before she walked out, but he didn’t seem to notice or care.

“So you seriously don’t remember anything?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“If I say it a few more times then will you believe me? I don’t remember, I don’t remember, I don’t remember.”

The Inspector stood there with his mouth agape.

“Clearly someone never learned how to speak to their elders.” He retorted.

“For all I know, I could be older than you.” She replied quickly.

“Listen here you little--”

Just then the doctor walked in and Roger shut up. She turned away to smile since she had a feeling it would piss him off.

“Alright, miss. I hear you don’t remember anything. What is the earliest memory you have, I’m just trying to get a picture of how severe this is.”

She tried to explain simply waking up underwater, but she did a poor job expressing the feeling of panic and pain she felt using words. The message did get across to her audience, however, because she saw the expression of anger fade from the Inspector’s face and one of surprise mask it. The nurse and doctor had expressions of pity painted on their faces, and she hated it. She’d even prefer Roger’s anger over those looks.

“It looks like we’re looking at an extreme case of amnesia here. To be honest, I’ve never faced such an extreme case in someone so young. You look seven, which falls under our pediatrics sector. I’ll contact them and see if they have any idea how to treat it. In some cases, the patient regains all their memories, in others, none. Just try your best to do whatever comes naturally to you since it’s probably your subconscious guiding you even though you may not be aware of it. I’m going to discharge you since we are running low on beds and your vitals are looking much better. Inspector, a word please?”

Roger and the doctor walked out of the room, but she could still hear them. They weren’t exactly being discrete.

“How did you find her?”

“Like I said, I was at the riverfront when I saw her literally climbing out of the water.”

“Well, considering her condition I feel that she needs to immediately go into the foster care system before she gains the illusion that you are her father. You are the first person she saw, and considering the trauma she endured, she could very well think you are her father. I suggest that whatever you do, you do it quickly.” The doctor’s footsteps pattered away on the tiled floor.

The Inspector trudged in, his hands in his pockets, a muddled expression on his face.

“I’m going to leave you two alone. The room will only be available for another ten minutes though since a patient just got out of surgery and is needing a room.”

“We’re leaving now, don’t worry. Let the surgery person have his room.” She said while jumping off the bed.

“We are?” Roger asked, amazed at the gall of this little girl who was slightly over half his height.

Not warranting a response, she strolled out of the room with Roger nipping at her heels.

“You are taking this whole amnesia thing very well. You seriously can’t remember anything, you’re not just pulling all of our legs?” Roger just couldn’t believe that this child was handling the fact they couldn’t remember anything in such stride.

The little girl didn’t say anything. She simply picked her stride down the white hallways, clearly on a mission to get out of this place. Bursting through the doors, she ran into the street with her arms outstretched. Breathing in the crisp, cool air was the perfect medicine. The warmth of the sun to her left was seeping into her pores, rejuvenating her energy. She felt light, but a twinge of sadness pricked at her heart. The euphoria of getting to rediscover things around her shoved the feeling of loss down deep. For some reason she had the elated feeling of starting anew; her past was behind her and would never touch her again, not as long as she kept moving forward. The curiosity of her past was nagging at her mind, but she refused to focus all her energies on finding out who she was rather than identifying herself as a new person.

“Hey, girlie, you need to slow down before you get hit by a car.” Roger’s hand had shot out and grabbed her by the shoulder, stopping her in her walk through the parking lot.

“So that’s what you took me here in. Can you show me?” Her expression lit up as if the sun itself were shining through her eyes.

“You mean, show you my car? Have you never seen a car before?” Confusion wrapped around Roger’s brain.

Was this little girl really the package Red wanted him to pick up? All the pieces lined up, but why in the world would Red not have been able to pick her up? The girl certainly didn’t seem cursed, if anything she seemed like the brightest ball of energy he had seen in a very long time. It reminded him too much of Tyler and he hated it. No, this girl was Red’s package and he just had to deal with it until he could get rid of her. A thought occurred to him; did Red know about the girl’s amnesia? Did Red somehow cause the trauma that lead to the amnesia? That may explain why Red had him pick her up in case something in the girl’s mind broke loose when they saw Red.

“Is this one it?” The girl’s voice drew him out of his vortex of thoughts.

“No, two more down.”

The little girl was so excited to experience this new world. New world? Well, everything seemed new to her although some things were familiar. Maybe she would have to find out about her past after all, but only a little, just to get some answers as to why she could identify some things and speak this language, not enough to dirty her new life.

Roger watched in silent amusement at the little girl who was running around his car, tapping at the headlights, running her hand along the metal, and looking at her reflection in the mirror. It dawned on him that she wasn’t wearing a coat in near zero degree temperature. He quickly shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. How could he have been so stupid to let a small child who had just suffered severe hypothermia run out in this temperature without a coat?

“I think you need this more.” She said and took the coat off, handing it to him. He was clearly shivering, but she didn’t really mind the cold air. Being submerged in icy waters most definitely affected her, but the air was fine.

“Just get in the car. Keep the coat.”

He fumbled with his keys and unlocked the car doors. Running around to the passenger side, he opened up the door for the little girl before getting in himself. He immediately cranked up the heat and relaxed when he could stop seeing his breath mist in the air in front of him.

“I can’t keep calling you, well, you. I need to call you something. I just can’t believe you don’t remember anything, let alone your name.”

The girl breathed onto the glass on the passenger side window and drew a little sun, tracing the sun over the horizon.

“Can you come up with a name for me? I don’t really know what a good name here is.”

Roger wasn’t expecting that request. Racking his brain, he tried to come up with a name. Susan? Gertrude? Molly? He wasn’t good at names, which is why his wife was in charge of naming Tyler. The thought of naming her Lisa crossed his mind, but he refused to give this small child his precious wife’s name. Well, he found her crawling out of a river, so would River be a good name? Probably not. Frost? Snow? Now he was just grasping at straws.

“How about Sun?”

“I like it! Does this place only have one?” The question was so innocent, yet so odd.

“Yes, we only have one sun. I think we’ve always had one sun last I checked. Are you sure you’re okay?”

The girl nodded, her face scrunched up as if she remembered something unpleasant.

“How come you’re not giving me to foster care? I don’t really know what that is, but that way I won’t think you’re my dad? I already know you’re not, but I guess foster care will make me not think that at all?”

The Inspector groaned and ran his hand through his hair. He started the car and figured the car ride to his apartment would be long enough to answer questions on both sides.

“So you heard that huh. Well, the thought crossed my mind, but I don’t want to put you through the system. I was in foster care when I was ten until I was eighteen. Went to six homes in eight years and always came back with a fresh set of bruises. And I have to keep a promise to someone and hold on to you.”

“But what is foster care? You get to travel around home to home? By why do you get hurt?”

“It’s where they put kids whose parents aren’t alive anymore or don’t want them. They try to help the kids by putting them in other families that want them, but most of the time it doesn’t work out.”

“Oh.” She went silent. The atmosphere was palpable in the car. “Who’s the person you kept the promise to?”

“Red.” Roger turned to gauge her expression, but there was no sign of recognition. She really was telling the truth in that she didn’t know Red.

“Why did you make a promise to Red?”

“I struck a deal with them. Anyways, are you hungry or anything? I’ve already eaten, but I suspect you haven’t.”

He pulled over at a diner and they both got out. They must have looked a little ridiculous, a little girl wearing a heavy coat and a grown man without one because the waitress who took their order gave them a funny look. Not until partially through their meal Roger had the chilling realization that he had a shift that day and was already two hours late. Asking the diner to borrow their landline, he dialed the station. Mrs. Lawrence picked up.

“Detroit police station, how may I direct your call?” Her voice politely stated.

“Hey Stacey, it’s Roger. Something came up and--”

“Roger Smith! Where in the blazes are you? I called your house four times! I almost called a search party for you! This is so unlike you!” He heard her take a deep breath before speaking. “Are you alright? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright and everything okay. I may have bitten off more than I can chew here though.” He tried to explain the situation to Stacey, leaving out the parts about Red and their deal.

“Poor thing! Take good care of her, alright Roger? If you need any help taking care of her, just call me. It’s good that you’re making this decision to adopt her, you need someone else in your life.” She hung up before he could counter. Adoption? He never said that at all! Stacey always took it one step too far. Sighing, he thanked the waitress, who seemed to have heard his entire conversation and was now looking at him with glowing eyes, and sat back down.

Sun had had a ball eating her pancakes and eggs--she was wearing most of the items on her plate now and syrup had somehow managed to get caked in her hair. A napkin clung to her forearm, glued there via syrup. Her fork was absolutely untouched. All in all, she was quite the sight to behold. Holding back his laughter, he wet a napkin and tried his best to clean her face, but he knew she was going to need a bath as soon as he got to his apartment. Although she had the maturity of an adult, she was at toddler level when it came to eating. He paid his bill and left for home, curious to what else she had to learn.

On the drive there she had her face pressed against her window staring at all the passing buildings and asking what they were for. He was glad she didn’t know how to roll down windows yet otherwise he would have had to worry about her jumping out just to get a closer look. Besides her impeding curiosity, it shouldn’t be too difficult to take care of Sun until Red needs her. From what he could tell, Sun was just an odd little girl suffering from amnesia. It wasn’t until she stripped and got in the bath that he noticed something out of the ordinary.

On Sun’s back was a large scar stretching from her right shoulder blade to her left ribcage. He’d seen large scars before, but this one was pitch black as if the wound itself were a tattoo. He leaned forward, trying to get a closer look. The skin itself was crystallized as if the scarred tissue were made of stone. Perhaps this was the curse Red was talking about. As if sensing his realization, Sun turned around. She was smiling, but her blue eyes had turned pitch black.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, her eyes suddenly turning blue again.

He merely smiled back by instinct and told her everything was fine. His insides were screaming to get out of that bathroom and leave the city as fast as he could. Those black eyes had wanted to devour him. Not just him, he realized, but everything. There was something unnatural inside that little girl, something that threatened to lash out and destroy everything.

That was most definitely a curse.