Chapter 5: confused

“Hmm, so what could this mysterious thing that you want me to see be?” Nicole questioned him.

     “You will know,” he replied to her, deep down Henry was conflicted about telling her the truth. “We would take a walk into the woods, it is probably going to be our first walk since you recovered,” he told her.

     Once he uttered the word ‘recovered’ it seemed to have triggered some sort of memory loop in her mind. Another set of memories flashed through her head, this time it seemed to be the last moments just before an accident. She froze in her tracks for a while, unable to speak or move.

     “are you alright?” Henry asked her, it seemed like Nicole had blanked out yet she was still awake but she made no reply to him.

     “what is wrong?” he asked again in a more worried tone, this time he grabbed her by the shoulders and tried getting her attention. She snapped out from what seemed to be a trance, her memories were returning and they were returning fast.

     “what the hell was that Nicole?” he asked, he was a bit scared and confused when the episode occurred.

     “I am not sure, they were strong thoughts. Maybe more like memories,” Nicole explained to Henry, “what scares me is that I do not understand the memories, but somehow I know that they are mine,” she uttered.

     “what kind of memories? Tell me about them,” Henry asked.

     “they are never complete, it always comes part by part but one constant thing is an accident. There were two other people in the crash, a man and a woman,” she narrated to Henry, “It has happened a couple of times these past few days. It did not seem important, so I did not mention it to you,” she explained.

     “hmm, that’s weird. When did all begin?” he inquired from her.

     “It was just a minor fall some days ago, after that I began experience the episodes. I guess it was because I hit my head.” She narrated, “Maybe it is probably my brain just acting based on the concussion I suffered,” Nicole told Henry, she had no idea what was actually going on.

     “Look, there has been something I had been hiding from you all these while and it makes me feel like a bad person.” Henry confessed to Nicole, “I just thought that it was not appropriate to break such a news to you, since you were still recovering from the accident you were in,” he explained, Henry knew that if he ever wanted to tell Nicole the truth he had to build up the courage and get it done.

     “what are you talking about?” she questioned him in a subtle voice. Henry looked into Nicole’s blue eyes, it screamed curiosity, fear and confusion all at once. Every second that Henry delayed his words fuelled Nicole’s curiosity.

     “You were not alone during the accident, there where actually two other individuals with you in the wreck but by the time I got there it was already too late for them. I tried my best but...,”

     “who were the individuals?” she interrupted Henry.

     “It was a man and a woman, probably in theory thirties.” He recalled, “i think they were your parents,” he told her.

     “my parents? I can’t remember who they were, the memories are incomplete and fuzzy. There are no recognisable faces in my head,” Nicole uttered. It was not Henry expected at all, he had envisioned a depressed Nicole after the reveal but she could not completely relate to people she could barely remember.

     “I thought that maybe the truth would enable you get back some of your memories at least the important ones,” Henry told Nicole. His eyes widened while his brows were raised, although Henry was surprised he felt a bit of relief deep down knowing that Nicole was not depressed.

     “maybe it would eventually come in handy as time goes on, anyway what was this important thing you wanted to show me?” Nicole asked, changing the topic entirely.

     Initially Henry planned to tale her to the crash site and tell her the truth, even the wreckage did not exist anymore somehow, he felt it would help with her memories. He saw no need for any of that anymore, it was of no use so he made up an excuse.

     “Yea, about that. There is this amazing lake just a few minutes away.” He replied to her, “I hope you are not frightened by water bodies?” he inquired.

     “not really, but I have no idea how to swim though,” Nicole confessed to him.

     “Oh! I guess I would have to show you a few tricks when we get there,” Henry replied to her.

     “That is cool by me, moreover I love adventures.” Nicole said to him with a soft flirty voice, she grabbed his hands gently.

     Henry took Nicole through the woods, it was obvious that the paths had not been walked for a long time. It was wet outside, and the ground was a bit mushy making it quite difficult to walk but that did not seem to matter. Moreover there was no harm in getting dirty, even if it was for a day.

     It took them about ten minutes to navigate their way to the river, it seemed like they had gone through a portal to another world. It happened to be just at the foot of a waterfall, flowing mildly.

     “wow!” Nicole exclaimed. Her jaw slacked and her mouth was left open as she turn almost three hundred and sixty degrees, trying to get a glimpse of the whole place. “how come you never mentioned this place to me?” she asked Henry.

     “I haven't been here in a while,” Henry told her, “I miss the warmth of the water,” he added. Henry took a dive without hesitating.

     “come along!” Henry screamed after the splash.

     She was hesitant, “you know I have a phobia for that, I think I would be okay here just watching you do your thing,” she uttered.

     “face your fears dear, it’s fun,” he told Nicole, persuading her to come along.

     “Ok, okay... just turn around let me take off my cloths,” she said to him with a flirty smile. She slowly submerged herself into the river, as Henry reached out to her assisting her movement.

     Everything seemed to be going fine, Henry got out of the river to rest for a while on the bank. All of a sudden, Nicole experienced another episode of her memories. She lost control and immediately began to drown.