Redemption

three

Anne stared at the cold leftovers on the table, no longer in the mood to eat it. She just tasted a little of the soup and stopped. Her hunger disappeared somewhere as she replayed her conversation with Doctor Diana.

She is a killer. She is a killer. She is a killer.

Although it's hard to believe, but if the evidence is out there, how can Anne deny it all? 

She was sad and angry with herself. She was disgusted by what she had done. How could she do that to her own family?

Thinking about it again made Anne's chest hurt even more. Anne didn't know how long she had been crying, maybe hours. It felt like her tears had run out, and she could only curl up on the wall in the corner of her room, hugging her own body. The hospital uniform she was wearing wasn't thick enough to fight the biting cold, but Anne had no intention of moving into bed.

Anne kept thinking. Continuing to force her brain to try to remember the few fragments of memories about her family. But nothing, Anne still couldn't remember anything.

Is it possible that her memory will never come back again?

She didn't know what her parents or her two sisters looked like. She didn't know what their neglect was until she got depressed and acted out of control. Hospital staff did not give details.

When Anne woke up in the hospital ward at that time, she was only accompanied by a nurse. Then, an officer came along with two policemen. It passed like a blowing winter storm. Freezing Anne who was so shocked and confused. She was brought to court and suddenly the sentence was handed down to her. 

And this is where it ends.

She was not given time to digest it all. She was just brought to this place.

Anne wanted to know what she was like before she lost her memory. The data said that she was a heavy addict. Was she depressed? She was bullied. Maybe Anne looks really ugly. Maybe she is a weak nerd. Maybe she is quiet and strange, so that she is not accepted by her environment, even her family.

Was she that pathetic before?

Anne's lips slowly formed a bitter smile. Well, even now it's still pathetic. She is alone and lonely. Memory loss. Be a prisoner in the Criminal Mental Hospital. She would stay here forever, probably. She didn't have a prince on a white horse who would come to pick her up like a happy fairy tale ending.

 Ha. Again, her mind wandered. Anne let out a short sigh. Maybe because she was getting sleepy, she thought. What happened today really drained all her energy. Her eyes were closed and even though it was so cold—she really just wanted to torture herself by sleeping on the floor—she was able to fall asleep.

When Anne awoke in the morning, the sun had not yet risen. Anne just stared out the window until the warmth from the sunlight came and spilled over her face, then onto her body.

Warm.

But still, Anne felt empty.

Seconds passed and Anne just continued to lie down. Even as the sun started to burn her. The problem was, she didn't know what to do. Also, she didn't have much energy to move her body that needed nourishment. The food delivered yesterday was stale.

Her irises stared at the locked door. Just as she guessed when the new food came, the door to her room suddenly opened and Cindy stepped in with a tray. At a glance the girl glanced at Anne who got up from her position and moved to sit on the floor.

Cindy put the new food on the nightstand, then she took a plate of stale food without saying much. Her expression was very flat. Cindy was a quiet girl. Actually, her very simple dress style explained it. Anne kept her eye on her. When Cindy was about to turn away, she ventured to ask, "Wait, Cindy. Mmm ... is there no examination today?"

Cindy turned her head, her expression completely unchanged. "After the first examination, the patient is usually left alone for three days without any disturbance before being re-examined," she answered flatly.

"Why?"

"Because that's the procedure, Miss."

Anne almost snorted at that. She knew there was such a thing as a procedure, but that wasn't the answer she wanted.

"Wouldn't it be dangerous to leave a patient alone unattended for long periods of time? Doing something dangerous? Like trying to hurt myself? Or trying to kill myself?"

Cindy's eyes narrowed; she scanned Anne's expression. "I'll always check this room twice a day, Miss," she said emphatically. 

Then she walked away without waiting for Anne's reply. Of course, the door didn't forget to be locked. Anne hoped for once, the girl forgot to lock the door, so she could get out of this suffocating room. It wasn't that she intended to run away, she just wanted to see the scenery outside. This hospital was built in a secluded place, deep in the forest. A dense forest. So, there was very little chance of escape.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Anne took her food and sat cross-legged against the wall. The menu is the same as yesterday. She didn't finish it all, then lay back down on the floor.

She began to think hard. And keep thinking. Again and again. However, the result is still the same. Why is it so hard to remember any piece of memory? Then strangely, Anne no longer feels sad when she remembers what she did to her family. It was as if the sadness she felt was just an idea tucked into her brain. When she realized the sadness and cried, her feelings just disappeared.

Anne didn't understand how her brain worked. Maybe it's true that she is mentally disturbed.

She twirled her long hair in her hands, then looked at it disinterestedly. Her wavy hair was brown like her eyes. Her gaze shifted to the closed door, hoping that someone would appear there to overcome her boredom. The sound of footsteps in the hallway caught Anne's attention. What is Cindy? No. The steps are not the same. Hesitating, she approached the door and peered through the rather large square hole.

Two officers were seen dragging a man from the end of the hall. He wore the same uniform as Anne and his hands were handcuffed. Looks like a new prisoner.

Anne's gaze fell on the man's arm who kept looking down. There were a lot of cut scars there, some had dried up, some were still bleeding fresh. In her heart, she wondered what crime the man had committed. They walked past her room and the man suddenly looked up.

Their gazes met for a split second. Anne gasped into the man's deer eyes; cold and wild.

His face was pale. There is a long scratch right under his eye. The man continued to be dragged away while Anne could not take her eyes off him, until the man's presence completely disappeared from her sight. The sound of the door opening was heard from the end of the hall, the man was stationed there.

Anne was still rooted to her spot. Her eyes widen.

There was something…

Anne didn't know, but there was something about the man that felt familiar. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of the possibility that the man could be someone she knew before she lost her memory. Is it possible?