“Surprise!”

A shout in the dark and suddenly the room was filled with light and laughter. People burst out from every corner of the small room and ran, laughing to the door where she stood, shell-shocked.

“Happy Birthday, Karma!” They all yelled and shouted and laughed, and she still stood, unresponsive. No smile graced Karma’s face, nothing to betray her feelings could be seen on her. She looked on, mouth agape, staring at the writhing and bubbly throng. Who were these people? Why were they in her house.

Just then, a man entered behind her. He had been the one to take her home from the hospital, the one who seemed to know her, though she couldn’t remember who he was. “Guys, something’s happened.”

It was amazing. All sound immediately died away. All it took was one sentence and all of the people in the room stopped moving. Karma wished she had that kind of power. Those people had been scaring her with their wild antics. Now she too looked at the man, waiting for him to say something else.

“Karma got a concussion today. The doctors say that she has some memory loss, but that it should all come back to her in a few days. She doesn’t know who any of us are.”

Damn right she didn’t. But, memory loss? Was that why everything before that day was fuzzy, why she couldn’t remember anyone? It sounded absolutely horrid and she wished her memories would come back quickly.

“Karma, honey?” She turned to look at the man. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m sure you’ll get your memories back soon and until then, we’ll just make do. So, don’t worry.”

Don’t worry? How could he say that? She was in a room full of strangers and she had to take it on faith that they really did know her. There was always that feeling that they had kidnapped her, that she didn’t know them at all. Maybe they were the ones who had given her a concussion, caused her amnesia. The thoughts began to race around her head, faster and faster, spinning her into a frenzy of panic. They unsettled her world and made her begin to doubt everything she had been told. Slowly, inch by inch, she began moving back towards the door. She had to get out of there. These people were not her family, they lied!

With a burst of speed that left everyone stunned, she raced out of the open door, running to a place she didn’t know, for a reason she wasn’t sure of. Nothing was certain in her life anymore. She couldn’t be sure of anything until her memories came back.

Finally, exhausted, she stopped, breathing heavily. Leaning against a nearby wall, she slid down to the ground and started sobbing. Everything was overwhelming her, drowning her. She didn’t know what to do and it scared her to death.