Sleep brought me no rest.
Every time I closed my eyes, my mind filled with disconnected images: an open sky, the smell of damp earth, the echo of hooves striking hard... but I could never see the full picture. Everything was broken, like a poorly assembled memory.
When I woke up again, the room was bathed in a soft light. For a moment, I didn't know where I was... until I tried to move my legs.
Nothing.
"Ah..." I whispered. "Right..."
I leaned my arms on the bed and sat up with difficulty. My body felt strange, heavy, as if it didn't entirely belong to me. Then, a simple idea crossed my mind.
My name.
I opened my mouth to say it.
Nothing came out.
"Huh...?"
I tried again, with more effort. I searched my head, stirred up memories, voices, scenes from the past... but I found nothing. I knew I had a name. I knew someone had spoken it once. But it was like trying to remember a word I had never learned.
A lump formed in my throat.
"No..." I muttered. "Seriously...?"
The door opened softly.
"Good morning," a cheerful voice said. "Are you awake?"
It was Mejiro Bright. She carried a tray in her hands and smiled naturally. Behind her appeared Mejiro Palmer, leaning casually against the doorframe.
"Oh, perfect," Palmer said. "We thought you'd still be asleep."
Bright placed the tray next to the bed.
"We brought something light. They said you should eat slowly."
I nodded by reflex, but my mind was still trapped on the exact same point.
"Hey..." I said cautiously. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Bright replied without hesitation.
I swallowed hard.
"Did I... tell you my name?"
The two looked at each other.
"No," Palmer answered. "When we found you, you were completely unconscious."
"And when you woke up yesterday," Bright added, "it didn't seem like the best time to ask."
I looked down at my hands.
"I don't remember it," I said quietly. "My name... isn't there."
Bright widened her eyes slightly.
"Nothing at all?"
I shook my head.
"I remember some sensations. A lot of noise... and big horses, running very fast." I frowned. "That's it."
The atmosphere changed.
Palmer stopped smiling; she looked confused. Bright tilted her head slightly.
"Horses...?" Bright repeated.
"Yeah," I said, hesitating. "I was riding one, I think."
The two fell silent.
"That's... curious," Palmer muttered. "I've never heard of anything like that."
"Not... about horses?" I asked, confused.
Bright shook her head gently.
"I've never heard of that animal," she replied. "I know of wolves, deer, birds, etc... but 'horses' like you describe them, no."
A shiver ran down my spine.
"Then..."
Before I could continue, the door opened again.
"Is he awake yet?"
Mejiro McQueen entered the room, followed by Mejiro Ardan and Mejiro Dober. Their gazes fell on me immediately.
"Yes," Bright said. "But there's something you should know."
McQueen approached elegantly.
"Tell me."
"I don't remember my name," I explained it myself. "And my memories are... incomplete."
McQueen nodded calmly.
"That aligns with what the doctor told us," she replied. "The impact you suffered might have affected your memory."
Impact.
That word made an image flash through my mind like lightning.
The ground rushing closer. A sharp blow. A pain impossible to describe.
I brought a hand to my head.
"I'm sorry..." I muttered. "I must be a bother."
"You're not," Ardan said in a soft voice.
Dober spoke bluntly:
"You're still alive. That's enough."
I felt my chest tighten.
McQueen observed me carefully for a few seconds.
"Until you recover your memories," she finally said, "you will stay here."
"Here...? In the mansion?"
"That's right."
"Isn't that... troublesome?"
Palmer let out a small laugh.
"If it were, you wouldn't be in this room."
I couldn't help but look down, embarrassed by her smile.
"Thank you..."
I didn't remember who I was. I didn't remember my name, and I didn't even fully understand the world I had woken up in yet. But one thing was certain: I had lost my past...