The gray sky rumbles as the rain pours down on his battered body. A lost memory from many years ago is unearthed from the depths of his fractured mind. He was grievously wounded and left to his fate on the side of a road. Several vehicles pass by, but they all turn a deaf ear to his cries for help. Just when he is on the verge of losing all hope, he sees a blonde and plump boy run towards him while screaming his name. The teenager falls to his knees and cradles his head in his arms as tears rush down his red face. Ethan reaches up with a bloodied hand to wipe his tears. He smiles despite the insurmountable pain and pulls his face down to kiss him. He remembers the taste of the boy’s salty tears, the pure rain, and his own metallic blood.

“I won’t let you die! I’ll save you! I swear!” the boy swore as young Ethan slowly faded away.

March 19^th 2016

Ethan squints open his eyes in a blindingly bright and unfamiliar room. He is lying down on a large bed with several tubes attached to his body. He can feel his mouth and throat being obstructed by an ET tube connected to the ventilator. When he looks to his right, he notices a middle-aged man with curly black hair hunched over. His clasped hands hold a rosary, and the faint murmurs of prayer are carried through the air. Who is this man? Where are they? What happened to him? Ethan has more questions than answers, and it irks him.

The door to the room suddenly swings open, and a tall bearded man walks inside. He ignores them both and walks straight to the table to place a big paper bag on it. He audibly sighs before tearing open the bag and unpacking its contents.

“Sil, come eat. It’s getting late...” the man’s deep voice booms through the room.

The man next to Ethan stirs a bit but makes no effort to open his eyes or move from his seat. “Not now, Rick. I’m praying...”

“You haven’t eaten all day. You’ll need your energy if you want to continue praying...” He approaches the man next to him and gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Come. Take a break.”

The curly-haired man slowly opens his tired eyes and stares into space with a sorrowful expression. He lifts the rosary over his head and wears it around his neck before tucking it inside his shirt. “Why is the world so evil, Rick? Why do monsters have to keep tormenting our son? All we’ve ever wanted was a normal life for him. Why is that too much to ask?”

Rick hugs him and rests his cheek on top of his head and closes his eyes. “It’s going to be okay, Sil. He’ll wake up soon. I’m sure. Ethan’s tough. There isn’t a thing our son can’t overcome. We just need to have faith and stay strong.”

Ethan couldn’t remember anything about these two men, but he knew now that they were his parents. A wave of familiarity and desperation washes over him in an instant. With a feeble and trembling hand, he reaches out to touch the curly-haired man’s arm. A jolt rushes through him, and he turns his head towards Ethan in an instant.

“Ethan! Oh my God! Ethan, can you hear me?!” he screams as he leans close to him with his hands clutching his shoulders.

The taller man leans in as well, but he is too shocked to say anything. Tears well up in their eyes as gratitude and grief become one. Ethan could tell they were both immensely relieved to see him awake and well. It felt nice knowing he had parents who loved him, even if he couldn’t recollect anything about them.

***

A little more than a week had gone by since Ethan had awoken. During this period of recovery, he lost himself deep in his thoughts. The newfound memory of his younger self clinging to his then-boyfriend haunted him. He had always assumed his past was more or less normal. What kind of life had he been living back then, and who was that boy? Those questions remained unanswered, and a part of him hoped to keep it that way. To avoid further pain, he refocused his attention on more recent events.

As the fog in his brain began to lift, the names and significance of the people close to him gradually returned. His parents were Silvio and Enrique Lorenzo; he had four close friends, and his crush was a man from work named Isak Holstrom, whom he had been stalking for months. Fortunately, he also more or less remembered the names and faces of all his relatives. But what angered Ethan the most was his inability to remember anything from the end of November until now. His doctor told him he had retrograde amnesia and that his memories could return somewhere between weeks and months. He badly wanted to find the face of his attacker, but all his attempts were in vain and left him with a stinging headache.

Ethan once again felt incomplete, powerless, and agitated. This was the second time he had suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his memories. The only silver lining was the fact that it wasn’t as bad as his first incident. After surviving a brutal car crash at the age of eighteen, he slipped into a coma for two years. When he finally came back to the light, the first twenty years of his life were gone, and he had no memory or sense of identity left. So many times he felt like he had woken up in someone else’s body and was living their life. However, in time, with constant support from his family, he was eventually able to piece himself back together. But now, seven years later, he was in a similar situation again.

With his memory failing him completely, Ethan had no choice but to rely on the accounts of others. According to the doctors and the police, he had been attacked with a rock while he was relaxing near the river. Someone called the police using Ethan’s phone and informed them that the attacker had fled. Sheriff Milligan was the first to arrive at the scene, and she found him profusely bleeding with his clothes drenched in his blood. She quickly drove him all the way to the hospital and saved his life. The police have no leads as of now due to the troubling lack of evidence. Whoever called the cops using Ethan’s phone did so anonymously and strangely left no fingerprints or traces of DNA behind. Milligan’s running theory is that the attacker and the caller are one and the same.

The hospital curtains around his bed are suddenly parted, forcing him out of the crevices of his mind. Davina, the elderly nurse in charge of taking care of him, walks in carrying an enormous bouquet of roses and a red envelope in her hands. Ethan is left flummoxed and speechless as she hands him the gifts with a teasing grin.

“A pretty blonde boy asked me to give this to you. You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend, Ethan. And here I thought we were getting close.”

“Davina, I don’t have a boyfriend...” Ethan claims as he struggles to hold the bouquet.

“Sure, Love. Whatever you say.”

Before he can ask her anything, Davina walks off and closes the curtains on her way out. As far as he can remember, Ethan had never been given flowers before. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the gesture or what he was meant to do with them, but he relishes their fragrance regardless. He sifts through whatever is left of his memories, but he can’t think of anyone in his life who would send him gifts like these. Out of sheer curiosity and boredom, he counts the number of roses and soon concludes that there are a hundred of them. He sets the heavy bouquet down on his lap and turns his attention to the envelope; a golden heart-shaped wax seal shimmers in the center of it. His brows furrow and his lips tighten as he stares at it anxiously. Inevitably yielding to temptation, Ethan carefully peels the seal off and pulls out the letter.

A Tale of Two Rats

Two ugly rats lived in a sunny town,

They loved each other and it made others frown.

The world spat on them but they did not falter,

For they would soon bring sinners to slaughter.

One made dormant and the other transformed,

They left this foul world unreformed.

      -RED