Lost Girl, Part One

Part one: Losing Herself

     Everything about her was a mystery. Kane and Lucy, two childhood friends, had discovered the girl standing alone in a field of snow when they were only five years old. They asked her who she was, and her reply was "I don't know". The two children talked to her for a few minutes, but afterwards, they were still in the dark about her identity, because frankly, so was she.

     They took her home to Lucy's house and introduced her to Lucy's parents. Marie, Lucy's mother, asked what her name was. After thinking for a few moments, the girl replied "I suppose my name is Nala." Lucy's father smiled. "Why do you suppose that, sweetie? What about your parents? They would have been the ones who named you, right?" The little girl, who we will now call Nala, gave him a quizzical look and said, "I'm sorry, sir. I really don't remember anything except waking up in the big field and watching the snow. I think my name's Nala cause it seems like an important name, but I can't remember anything."

     The poor girl must have been telling the truth, because one look at the sadness in her eyes and Marie caved. She dropped to her knees, hugged Nala and cried, "Oh, you poor thing! How would you like to live with us from now on?". Lucy's father cleared his throat, "Now, honey…" "What?!" interjected Marie, "We can't just send her out back into the cold!" And so Nala was adopted into Lucy's family.

     The three children grew up together, and Nala became like a sister to both Lucy and Kane. They all stayed best friends for the rest of their lives, through thick and thin. Kane proposed to Lucy when they were twenty-three, and Nala later became "Auntie Nala" to their newborn son, Yansi. But in that same year, tragedy struck for the lost girl and her friends.

     It was on a chilly day in February. The three had just celebrated Yansi's first birthday, and Nala was going out for her morning walk by the ravine. On her way there, her feet crunched in the light snow and slid slightly on small ice patches here and there. She paid no attention to this, for Nala's mind was elsewhere. Lately, every day as Nala stepped outside into the snow, she heard the sound of a crying infant. It was only for a split second, and she seemed to be the only one who heard it, but it was distinct and upset her deeply. She'd talked to Lucy about it, who'd told her not to worry, that it was just her over-active imagination at work again. "Maybe it's just something from your past. From before we found you in the field. Either way, I don't think it's anything to worry about" she had attempted to reassure her friend. But It was in the back of Nala's mind and wouldn't go away.

     This was the reason that Nala wasn't paying attention when she walked dangerously close to the edge of the ravine, slipped on one of those small patches of ice, and fell.

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     Half an hour later, Lucy was getting worried. Nala still hadn't returned from her walk, and after staring out the window and fidgeting for a few minutes more, she couldn't stand it any longer. So Lucy dashed to the door to put on her coat, nearly crashing into Kane who was coming up the stairs. "What's the rush?" he asked. "Is Nala still not back yet?" Lucy shook her head worriedly. Kane put his arm around her and said, "I'll come with you. Let's go." It was like he could just tell that something bad had happened to Nala, and that scared Lucy.

     So the two set out to find their lost friend. It took them nearly another forty minutes to find her, and when they did, she was still alive, but only just. Can you imagine? This girl loved her friends so much that she held on, on the brink of death, for a whole hour to see them.

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     When Nala finally saw her friends running towards her, the overwhelming pain had started to fade. Then again, so had everything else. Suddenly, she heard it, loud and clear. The sound of that crying baby, this time for more than a split second. Not a cry of grief, but a cry so strong that it made Nala gasp. "NALA!" That was Kane's voice. She heard Lucy's voice too, but not saying anything in particular, just a wordless shriek of grief. Nala wondered what was making her so sad. Could she hear the baby too? She decided to ask. "Lucy?" said Nala, surprised at how faint and scratchy her voice sounded. "Lucy, do you hear it?" Lucy contained herself long enough to reply "He-hear what?" and Nala replied "The baby… it's crying."

     Then a few things happened. Kane shook Nala and said something that she couldn't hear at all. A few of Lucy's tears fell on Nala's cheek, and she reached her hand up to her friend's face to try and stop them from flowing. What was wrong? It hurt her to see Lucy this sad.

Then everything faded into oblivion…..

…..but not for long.