Forgotten Past - Part 1 - Chapter 14

Kagekao lied on the floor of the room. He groaned and turned his head, opening his eyes slowly. He looked around in confusion.

He put his hand to his head and moaned; he had a painful headache. Taking the hand away from his face, he saw a few stains of blood on his fingers. He realized that his head was wrapped in bandages, which had become soaked with blood in a few spots.

Kage looked down, he was lying on the floor and wrapped in a blanket. Looking to the side, he saw something lying next to him. Kage sat up and looked at it; it was an odd mask, half black and half white.

Kage picked up the mask and looked at it. Something in his mind told him that it was his, and that he should wear it. Kage put on the mask. The white side of the mask caught the subtle effect of his eyes taking away light in confusion. This effect was amplified and reflected by the mask, which now had a confused expression on the white side of it.

He also noticed that he was wearing a black and white striped scarf. Kage took the blanket off of him, and looked around the room. Through the window, dim light poured through. It was the light of twilight, the sun would soon arise and the day would begin.

Kage struggled, but managed to get to his feet. It was dark in the room, but he could tell that he was the only one in it. The room was filled with boxes and discarded items; on the floor a couple of feet away was a plank of wood.

‘ここがどこ？’ (Where is this?)

Kage looked around more, trying to figure out where he was. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten here.

He began to get frightened, as he realized that he couldn’t remember anything at all.

‘オレは . . . 誰?’ (I . . . who am I?)

Kage concentrated, and managed to gain a shred of memory about himself.

‘そですか、オレはカゲカオ、はいおぼえた.’ (It is, I’m Kagekao, yes I remember now.)

Kage could remember his name; that was good. However, the only thing he could remember about himself was his name.

‘何でここにいる？’ (Why am I here?)

Kage looked around the room again. Seeing the only thing out of place, he walked over to the wooden plank. Picking it up, he examined it. There were a few spots of blood on the top, but otherwise it was a normal piece of wood.

Kage put it back down; that didn’t bring back anything. He looked around for anything else out of place; but the only thing he could find that didn’t seem to belong there was the blanket that he had woken up in, and himself.

Walking over to a pile of boxes, Kage opened one up. Inside there were supplies such as food and water; but this didn’t bring back any memories either.

Feeling confused and frightened, Kage sat down on the floor and wrapped the blanket around him. The only thing he could remember about himself was his name; that was it. Although he still seemed to remember things such as skills and knowledge of the world; he couldn’t remember anything personal.

No faces or people came to mind; nor were there any voices or any features like that in his memory.

The light coming from the window seemed to get brighter. Kage looked out, the sky was getting lighter, and the sun would soon be out. Taking the blanket off, he walked over to the window.

The window itself seemed old, so it took a few tugs to get it to move; but Kage managed to get it open. Unsheathing his claws, he climbed out of the window and onto the wall. He was several stories up, but that didn’t scare him.

Moving towards the roof, Kage climbed up. He reached it and pulled himself over the edge. The roof was bare aside from a few discarded items thrown carelessly on it; Kage was alone.

A bright light pierced the sky; the sun had peeked over the horizon and was making its way slowly up the sky. The clouds turned to shades of pink, red, orange and yellow as colors streaked across the sky. The bright lights reflected from the windows of buildings and the shiny metal of a few cars down below.

It was a beautiful sight, and yet, it didn’t bring back any memories either. Kage walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down, gazing at the fantastic scene. Birds left their nests from the trees in search of food, and a few cars drove along to road; bringing their drivers to work. The sun was now nearly in full view, and the city seemed to wake up.

‘ここが . . . どこ？’ (This is . . . where?)

The city was unfamiliar, everything was new; and made Kage feel small and lost in a strange and frightening world. He might have well been on another continent, the place seemed foreign.

Kage sat and watched the magnificent sun rise above the horizon. He didn’t know how long he had stared at the sunrise, but when he stopped, it was over. Looking down into the streets, cars drove along quickly, people opened their windows and looked out sleepily, and parents walked their young children to school.

‘この子供は、母と父があります、’ (Those children, they have mothers and fathers,)

Kage watched as the children walked forward eagerly, and as their parents urged them to slow down and be careful.

‘でも、オレは . . . ’ (But, I . . .)

Kage looked behind him; there was still no one there.

‘オレは . . . 母と父があります？’ (I . . . do I have a mother and father?)

He strained his mind for anything; an image, a voice, a name; nothing.

‘覚えてない、でも、あります . . . はい？’ (I can’t remember, but, they exist . . . right?)

Kage watched the hustle and bustle of the city morning for a little longer, but then stood up. Walking over to the other edge of the roof, he climbed down onto the wall and back to the window. He reentered the room, and looked around once more.

Then he sat down, and once again wrapped the blanket around him. There had to be something, anything, that he could remember about him. He tried to remember, the memories seemed to be there, but none of them would come to him. It was like there had been something there, but then it had been snatched away from him by some unknown person.

Feeling lost, alone, and scared, Kage lied down on the floor. Sure, he could remember his name, but he couldn’t remember who he was.

‘カゲカオが . . . だれ？’ (Kagekao is . . . who?)

His memory was gone, wiped out, a blank page. He couldn’t even remember what his mother had told him:

“Your parents love you, and we always will.”

Kage let out a depressed sigh and pulled the blanket over him.

‘オレはだれ?’ (Who am I?)