Page 7 of Eternal Surrender

I was unraveling.

Sword fighting, the wooden blade slicing through the air, this ten-year-old boy swearing to save this castle with my brother. . .

“Alex!”

Memories were lying, implying I’d lived through two different childhoods, the images gushing in like a torrent, threatening to drown me.

On my knees now, trying to grab the violin hovering just out of reach.

“. . . Orpheus plays the violin.” Sunaria was making no sense.

Even though I didn’t know this woman, I recoiled at showing how vulnerable I was, how confused.

Fighting off the vertigo, I rose, resisting the drag of nothingness snapping at my heels, threatening to lose my grip on time and place, clutching my abdomen and clenching my teeth as the twisting agony threatened to ravage my insides.

Sunaria had my right hand in hers and she was dragging me along the tunnel, but I broke free and staggered back, leaving her standing there.

I didn’t know who to trust or what to believe anymore. But one thing was certain, I wasn’t walking willingly into a place where death was waiting for me.

With both hands on the stone doorway I gave it a shove, securing it closed.

If Sunaria was screaming at me from the other side, I didn’t hear her.

Chapter Two

The shower cascaded over me; it was invigorating.

Within the marble tiled bathroom, I tried to subdue my frantic internal dialogue that threatened to send me over the edge, resisting the urge to smash my forehead against the glass door. . . through which I saw Alex, leaning forward in a corner chair, his elbows resting on his knees.

My recent memories were mostly intact, and I felt a quiet relief when I saw he was unharmed.

Realizing I was studying him, he said, “You once told me taking a shower helped you think.”

“Ironic that I have to be in the shower to think about that,” I said.

Trying to read him, I assumed he was far from forgiving me for what had occurred within the hour and pulled a guilty expression, gesturing to his throat.

He rubbed his neck.

“What day is it?” I asked.

“June 24th. What do you remember?”

“Doesn’t make any sense.”

He seemed to find interest in the hardwood floor.

“Quid pro quo?” I asked.

Alex looked away telling me this game would not be played.

This illusion of normality was impossible to sustain. Even so, I did my best to go with it, lathering my body with the rich soap and taking some comfort from the way the pressure of the oversized showerhead pounded my scalp, relieved to be washing off the seawater.

“Who’s Orpheus?” I asked, watching him carefully.

Alex’s attention focused on the door.

I ran my fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp. “Sunaria called me Orpheus.”