II

Natalie and Simon were staring at her for how many minutes. It feels like she will be under interrogation. She forgot herself and couldn't remember even a single letter in her name. What is her name? Who is she? She tries hard, but only blankness is all she can find. It is so desperate not to know what your name is, but forgetting who you are is like facing a solid zero. She holds her head and touches, accidentally a part on it that turned her face sour. Simon helps her, immediately. He checks her head and removes her hands from it.

"Shit!" He cusses under his breath. "I haven't checked this. Do you feel anything in your head?" He looks at her.

"Just the pain. Why what's on there?"

"Perhaps, you hit your head onto something. It's kind of purple and maybe, this would explain why you can't remember anything." He sits on the bed facing her.

"She has amnesia?" Natalie looks more surprised than she does. She even gets closer and checks her face as she could see through her brain. This makes her uneasy, but what if her words are true? She got amnesia and this explains everything.

"Don't you know my name?" She looks at both of them. She is just hoping they do, but the way they look at her burns down that small hope. She doesn't know what to think. Her mind is amid confusing blankness.

"We don't have any single idea about you." Simon touches his chin for a while then, shakes his head. "This turns out the other way. We should be the one asking you that question." He stands up from the bed, but he doesn't seem to be disappointed. It is just an expectation didn't meet.

"If you really can't remember your name, may I give you one? I mean, just for the meantime till you recover your memory," Natalie speaks again. Her eyes shine like hope is living in there. She looks like doesn't care if she lost her memories and this made her nod.

"Yes! What would you like?"

What? Isn't it Natalie to give her a name? Why is she asking her?

"Since, you're beautiful.."

"Alex," Simon intervenes which confused and erased Natalie's light atmosphere. Her brows were in one line and her nose cringed.

"Sorry? Simon, look. She's too beautiful for that name. Alex sounds manly," Natalie says, animated.

"It's a unisex name and safer to use." Simon's voice becomes cold, suddenly.

They both look at Simon. She is confused about the last words he said.

"You'll be Alex till you remember who you are," he said, not looking at her in a final tone.

"Argh!" Natalie complained.

"Alex is fine," she said, finally, but Natalie's face still shows her disapproval.

"Take a look after her. She's not good to be moving also her head," he orders Natalie like a boss. He throws a look at her wound before exiting the room. She is left puzzled by Natalie scratching her head.

"He is kind sometimes," Natalie says.

Sweat dripping from his half-naked body, Simon stares at the pieces of wood which he chopped, but his mind is somewhere else. They just got a stranger in their house. No. He has brought a stranger into their house whom he has no single idea of who she is. He just wanted to help but did not expect it will turn out like this. Kind of, he brought his life and her sister to any danger that woman may bring. From the arrowhead that wounded her, it is not just a normal arrow, but a weapon someone who is in power could have. A crossbow. From the looks of her, she doesn't seem to be just a normal girl in town. She has too flawless skin like she used milk to bathe it. He sighs and erases a thought that entered his mind, abruptly. He turns his look back at where their house is. There setting looks so peaceful, but is it okay to leave her sister there with a stranger? With the thought, he puts together and ties, hurriedly the chopped woods. When he arrives home, he can hear giggles coming from their house. He hears her sister laughing, loudly. What is happening in there?

"You sure it's edible?" Alex's face is in her sour expression while staring at the stem vegetable that Natalie is holding.

"One hundred percent sure and this is not grass. This is vegetable, okay?" Natalie says, laughing. "We call this roquette and good for the blood."

Alex nods, half-hearted.

"This is just one of Simon's favorite vegetables here. For sure, you'll like this too."

She comments nothing as she caught Simon watching them then, left. He is acting odd. He lost her first impression of him. It seemed like he does not like her being in this house, but what is she going to do? With her wound and amnesia, she just can't go elsewhere and wander. Simon shall understand her condition because he is the one who helped her out from death. If not because of him, she might be dead right now if that arrow contained poison.

"Are you okay?" Natalie asks letting her remember she is not alone in this room.

"Ah, yeah. Mm... Can I ask something?"

"Oh-Ah, yes!" Natalie smiles wide.

"Does your brother hate me?"

Natalie's facial expression changes then, think, deeply.

"What made you think of that?"

She shrugs. Her question is not that important. Whether he hated her or not, she has no right to complain right now. She owes him her life.

"Never mind," she tells Natalie.

"Umm... Sorry, about my brother. He seemed not caring, but he does. Please, don't get his actions wrong. It's just his characteristic," Natalie still explains.

"Characteristic?" She did not get her point on that.

"Cold."

She thinks for a while.

"I thought, he was hot," she has said what should be inside her mind only and it's too late for this annoying girl not to hear.

"Hot? Did you know how many women in our town have told him that? Don't get me wrong, but I created a list of their names and I don't wanna see your name in there. My brother doesn't like those sluts."

She did not get at once what Natalie is about, but she laughs upon realizing what this girl just explained.

"Worry not for we both don't know what my name is."

"Right."

They both laugh, but she is controlling herself not to make any sound.

"But when would your memory get back? I'm looking forward to that so, that I'll know what to properly address you. Simon just gave you a random name. Men have no tastes."

"That's hard."

"Sorry."

"Your brother saved me from death so, I think, the name he picked is not just a random one."