The Many Ramblings of K. A. Webb

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Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

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Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.

The corridor was almost empty. Cole smiled to a couple of his acquaintances as he walked past them, thinking about exams and university. His AS exams were fast approaching, so he knew he needed to revise, but he didn’t know what he was going to do when he left college. University didn’t seem the right place for him, because he wasn’t interested in studying any subject in depth. If there were any other options they weren’t mentioned during tutorials, as the whole focus was on everyone going on to university, which meant he’d need to research them for himself. Sighing, he stepped around a group waiting to go into class, and nearly walked into someone.

Cole’s eyes met Charlotte’s. “Sorry,” she muttered, stepping around him.

For a moment Cole watched her walk away. “No insults?” he asked, just loud enough for her to hear him. There was never any malice between them, but they’d never been friends. “Are you okay, Lottie?”

When she turned to look at Cole, confusion filling her eyes, a tear trickled down her cheek. “Do I know you?”

All Cole could do to begin with was stare at her. They’d been in the same tutor group throughout secondary school and the question seemed more than a little strange. While he tried to work out an answer to the question he remembered there had been an accident. One of the boys in their year, who had been a friend of Charlotte’s, had died, and he’d felt emotionless about the whole thing. It was a bad thing to happen, but it didn’t really mean anything to him personally.

“You did know me.” Cole smiled at Charlotte. “I don’t think you know me any more.”

She ran a hand through her hair. “Amnesia is a pain.” She half smiled back, wiping the tear away. “I keep meeting people who knew Charlotte and they expect me to be her, even after I explain that I have amnesia, so I have no memory of her or them.”

“Who are you now?”

“Anna. I chose the name when I was in hospital and had no idea who I was, because it felt right, only to find out later that my name was Charlotte.” Anna shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned I’m not Charlotte, but…” Another tear trickled down her cheek. “There are so many people who want me to be her and I can’t cope with it.”

Cole looked at the girl who he’d always known as Charlotte and tried to put himself in her shoes. It was harder than he expected it to be, because he had no idea what it was like to have no memories, which was what made him sympathise with her. He could remember her during their school years, but she had no idea who she’d been then or who her friends were or… Thinking about it made him realise she really wasn’t Charlotte any longer. Once the memories of who she had been were gone she couldn’t be that person.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

Written for livejournal user ysabetwordsmith’s prompt. Again, I’m not sure if this is what she was after, but I hope it works. I like it.

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Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

Vitali looked at Anna and wondered what he would do if he was in her position. Being the one with the amnesia rather than simply knowing someone who had lost all of their memories. It was difficult to imagine, but it made him feel grateful for the first time that he did have a memory. Like everyone he forgot things sometimes. That was a part of life. He’d just never stopped before to think what it would be like to not remember his sixth birthday party or the day he went to the beach and ended up with sunstroke.

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Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

Written for livejournal user ysabetwordsmith’s prompt: a mourning ceremony for Charlotte.

Slowly Anna looked around the room. After seven weeks it was beginning to feel like it was hers in some small way, but the ghost of Charlotte still haunted her. Items that she had bought were scattered around the room mixed with things of Charlotte’s Anna didn’t feel comfortable getting rid of. Other people were still clinging to the thought that her memories would just magically reappear like they did in some films. Anna knew that it wasn’t going to happen. If they did return it was going to be a very slow and painful process, one that she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through.

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Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

Written for Surprise Story Week: 2.71828.

When Vitali walked into the college cafeteria it was almost entirely empty. He much preferred it when it was like that. The only time it was ever really full was at lunch, so he usually avoided it then. First he went to get a coffee. Normally he would have just bought a cheap one from a vending machine but he decided he wanted to buy a proper coffee from the coffee shop that they had in the cafeteria. A cappucino, to celebrate the fact that he had finally made a decision about his plans for the next couple of years. Once he’d paid for it he turned to leave the counter and almost bumped into someone who was also carrying a hot drink.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s fine,” she replied.

“Did I make you spill any of your… whatever that is?”

“Hot chocolate, and no, you didn’t.”

For a moment Vitali stared at her, trying to work out where he remembered her from. He didn’t think it was from a class but there was definitely something familiar about her. It wasn’t until she turned slightly that he remembered because there was a cut down the left hand side of her face. She had been in what had looked like a very nasty car accident so her picture had been put in the newspaper.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

“No, we’ve never met before. I saw your picture in the paper.”

She nodded. “I suppose most people have. It’s to be expected considering what happened.”

“I’m Vitali.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Vitali. Call me Anna.”

“Were you going to get sugar, Anna?”

She glanced at where the sugar was kept before shaking her head. “I don’t even know if I like this so I should really try it without sugar first.” Vitali must have looked confused as she smiled at him and then continued. “I have amnesia. At the moment everything is a bit of a guessing game.” She sighed. “My brother said I liked hot chocolate before. All I can do is hope I still like it now.”

They both started moving at the same time. “Is it likely that your likes and dislikes will have changed?” he asked, as they walked towards one of the free tables.

“I don’t think they will have but you never know. It’s also possible my brother might have been wrong.” She sat down. “Apparently we haven’t been close recently.”

Vitali also sat down. “What happened to cause the amnesia?”

“The doctor thinks that my memory loss was caused by being hit in the head by a speaker that was in the boot but it’s not definite exactly what the cause was. It could also have been caused by the psychological trauma of the accident, although that usually only affects the time around the accident, or something else that happened that I have no memory of.” She shrugged. “I just got unlucky because I’m one of the few people who actually loses all personal memories. I can’t remember who any of my friends are or my family, and really it’s more difficult for them than it is for me.”

“What’s it like?”

“I don’t know how to describe it.” She looked down into her hot chocolate. “At first I was terrified because I didn’t have any idea who I was or anyone who would know who I was. That lasted about an hour, maybe a little more, and that was when I choose a name for myself. I felt better when I knew something about myself even if it was something I’d made up. Once that happened it was like I started to know who I was. My personality didn’t get damaged by the accident. It took me a little while to convince other people to call me Anna, but my brother Lloyd understood and helped me.” She looked back up at Vitali and smiled. “Now if I’m by myself then I don’t notice all that much because there’s no one around that I need to recognise or anything that I need to remember. What’s really strange is sitting and looking at the books on the bookcase because I can remember the storyline to almost every single one of them. It’s only when I’m with someone who says that they know me that I realise that I don’t know them and then I force myself to try to remember, which I think actually makes it worse. Given time my memories should come back.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me.”

“It is nice to be around someone I don’t know. I feel better right now that I have done in the last few days. The only other person I don’t feel like I have to try to remember for is Lloyd. He’s really been fantastic and I don’t know how I would have coped without him. It’s still hard for him when he’s around me because he knows me and I don’t know him, but I think if we put a little time in then our relationship will be better than it was before.” Anna sipped her hot chocolate and wrinkled her nose. “Tell me about you.”

“There’s not really much to tell. After a year of classes that I cared nothing about I’m planning on taking some that I am actually interested in next year. My two best friends Oliver and Megan also go to this college, but they’re not friends with each other. I’m currently single.” He shrugged. “That’s about it.”

“What about the necklace?”

Vitali hadn’t realised his necklace was showing. “It’s nothing.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “No, it’s a pentacle. Witch, Wiccan, general everyday Pagan, or are you just wearing it because it’s ‘cool’?” He stared at her. “I didn’t lose any of the knowledge I already had, Vitali, and one of the things I know about is Paganism.”

“How come?”

“I think someone taught me or at least showed me a book on the subject because that’s a little blurry. So, are you going to tell me what you are or are you going to keep avoiding the question?”

He smiled at her. “Tact isn’t a strong point of yours, is it?” She shook her head without saying anything so he knew that she was waiting for an answer. “I guess I’d say Witch, but I’m not sure it’s an entirely accurate description.”

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Originally posted at dreamwidth.org (and crossposted to livejournal.com) as kajones_writing.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

See the beginning of this story here (LJ link).
See the second part of this story here (LJ link).

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