Remember

a Flash Fiction by Asana Yano

It is a warm day as she wakes up. Not a hot one. A warm one where the breeze is just right and the sun hidden by only a few clouds. She felt still as she looked around, not aching just still. It was strange, she didn't know quite where she was but there was a weird sense of familiarity. She recognizes the sweet vague smell of the pollens. And the chirps of the woodpeckers that chime in the distance. 

A million questions rush through her.  Was I asleep? For how long? Where am I? There were many things she didn't remember. But there was one that was different. One that she can't forget. But she did. 

Who am I? 

She panicked as she tried to move. But soon realized that she couldn't even take a step. Only move her eyes. She tried to scream out the words help but they were only heard in her mind. But then suddenly something spoke to her, a voice.

“Remember, don't worry about things you can't control.” 

The voice was soft and gentle. She couldn't recognize who it was but it brought her a strange sense of comfort. 

“Oh you're awake again,” another voice said. But this time it was more clear. She looked to her left to see a black raven standing next to her. 

“How are you speaking right now?” She says in surprise. Then she realizes that her words are finally coming out. 

“Rude, you can't be saying much yourself” The raven snapped back. 

“I'm sorry I've just never seen a talking Raven” She was confused about what was going on. Could she be dreaming? The raven looked too good to be true as well. With feathers that sparkled. 

“Can you please help me? I can't seem to remember where I am” She desperately asks the Raven. The Raven lets out a deep sigh. 

“Ive told you many times but the only way is to remember” the Raven says. 

“Yes, that is what I'm trying to do! I don't even remember who I am” 

“Just remember” 

Then saying that the Raven flew off, leaving a single feather. 

She was more annoyed now. Remember she thought to herself. She had never imagined such a simple thing to be so hard. 

Remember

Remember

Remember

She kept repeating those words over and over. Hoping something will come to her. And it finally did. It was that same gentle voice again. 

“Sometimes it's the small things in life that matter” the voice whispered like a soft breeze against her ear. And she looked down at the grass, right beside her was a single dandelion. As she stared at the little flower, the fog in her mind cleared. Suddenly, she wasn't sitting in a strange place anymore. Her vision was now lower,, and was standing in a bright, sunlit field. A man with a kind smile and tired eyes looked up at her. And he handed her a small dandelion. 

“Make a wish Sara” 

A wave of love washed over her. She remembered how safe she always felt in his arms. She remembered the smell of sawdust on his jacket and the sound of his deep laugh.

She couldn't remember who this man was, but she knew she felt safe with him. 

Suddenly she came back. She looks next to her to see the Raven again. 

“Please, help me go back to my life” she was desperate to return to that happy memory. 

“You cant” The Raven said bluntly

“Well then how do I get out of here?”

“Maybe you're asking the wrong questions” Saying that again she flew away even before she could stop her. 

The Raven's words echoed in her mind.

Then a single question came to her mind, Why was she here? 

Then suddenly a sharp pain erupted in her mind. And the bright yellow sun faded into the dark. Now she stood in her bedroom. She felt the heavy, terrible sadness that had finally crushed her, even in her memory. She remembered crying in the dark, taking the pills, and just wanting the pain to stop. It was all so overwhelming. The desperate desire for quiet. The finality of closing her eyes. She hadn't just fallen asleep, she had chosen to leave. 

The cold shock of the memory quickly faded. She took a shaky breath as the dark, gray walls of her memory melted back. She held her hand up to the sky. The bright sunlight passed right through her pale fingers. She looked down and saw no shadow on the grass below her. 

Heavy steps crushed the dry grass. A shadow fell across the white dandelion. A man walked into the field. The same man she knew. His hair was mostly white now.  He stopped right next to her, but his eyes looked right past her. He dropped to his knees in the dirt. Slowly, he brushed the  weeds away from a  stone on the ground. With shaking hands, he placed a fresh bunch of bright yellow dandelions on the cold stone. Then everything came back to her. He was the person that was there for her from the start. The person that loved her no matter what. 

"I miss you," he whispered to the wind. A tear fell from his eye and left a dark spot on the dry dirt. 

"I love you. I always will."

Suddenly with those words the coldness and fear let go. 

And the Raven flew next to both of them. 

“Ready?” the Raven asked. 

She looked at him one last time, holding the warmth of his words deep inside. She gave the raven a small nod.

I love you too dad 

Her voice echoed. Then a sudden wind swept across the field. It pulled the white seeds from the dandelion and carried them high into the blue sky. She closed her eyes, let the breeze catch her, and floated away with them.