The Moon was shining brightly, hanging in the night sky, elegant and pale. A star appeared among the cloud, and took its place near the Moon, as it began telling a story.
The Fifth Story - The Game of Fame (Part 1)
A girl walked, limping, through the woods. The night has fallen. She felt really thirsty and hungry. The cut on her forehead had stopped bleeding but her left arm was still badly bruised and so were her legs, it was painful to walk, but she kept on. It was like an eternity until she reached a small river. The girl sat on the river bank and scooped a handful of water with her hands. She washed herself and drank. The cuts stung badly so she left them alone. Nobody spoke in the woods, only the crickets and insects in the forest chirped. She was scared and alone. She wondered how she would die in the forest. Out of hunger or getting eaten up alive by the wild inhabitants of the woods? She couldn't decide which was the best choice among those two so she kept quiet and prayed. Only God could save her now. There was a rustle among the wild bush tree near the river. Something's hiding inside, observing her. The girl could not move her body because of fear. That was it, her end had come.
When a boy, same sized as her, but fit and lean, jumped out of the bush. He looked at her as if she was a dream come true. Something that excites him. He shouted a name. Allison. And a girl came running to the river. Allison looked much mature then herself. She stared at them both and remained silent. Allison reach out her hand to the girl, "I'm Allison, the Forest Ranger. I can help you, just come with me," the girl took Allison's hand and she leaned on to her all the time, limping through the woods until they reached a small cabin house. The boy followed closely behind the two girls. The girl was given a bath and her cut was tended by Allison. After finishing up the last band aid, she was lead to a small bedroom. "You'll be safe here until tomorrow morning, we'll contact your family or friends and they could come and bring you home, so don't worry," Allison assured the girl with a smile. The girl seemed confused. "Family? Friends?" she mumbled to herself. "What's your name?" Allison asked before leaving the room. The girl thought hard, but nothing, "I don't know," she replied.
Allison sipped her cup of coffee. She looked at the girl, and thought, " She lost her memories, this will make everything harder, I'll try and see if can help her gain back some of her memories, truthfully, she looks really familiar." "Want a cup of coffee?" The girl stare at the coffee pot and shook her head. She was quiet all day. Allison tried striking up a conversation. "This, is my brother, Alston. He's 18 but he suffered a very high fever and his brain tissues were severed when he was 8 years old. Since then, acts and remain as an 8 year old until now," she looked sadly at her brother. Alston was sitting on the floor, finishing a puzzle. The girl rose up from the chair and walked to Alston and sat beside him. They looked straight at each others eye and turned to the puzzle and continued finishing it. Allison smiled at the sight of the two.
Alston and the girl went for a nap and Allison cleaned up the table. She picked up the toys on the floor and came upon the puzzle. It was almost finished. Just the middle part left. Being helpful, she picked up the remaining pieces and assembled them to complete the puzzle. And she now realise why the girl was so familiar. She was on the puzzle. Jolin, the teen star, singing sensation. She ran to the kitchen table and picked up the newspaper. It was on the front page, Jolin is Missing. So, the girl's name is Jolin. Maybe she could remember something now, "I'll show her all her videos and music, maybe she could regain her memory," and she went to her her computer and started searching.
The girl woke up and walked out of her room. Allison was behind the computer, she seemed busy. The girl stood there, not sure whether she should do anything, fearing that it might disturb the kind person who saved her from the forest. Allison saw her and beckoned her to the computer. The girl approached the computer and sat beside Allison and stared at the monitor screen. There were pictures of her and videos of her singing. Allison kept asking her whether she remembers anything. The girl shook her head, until a picture of the Jolin Tour Concert poster appeared on the screen. Her head felt painful and she saw flashbacks of the past. Fragments of her memories were coming back to her...
She was standing in a room. There was a big mirror, and it was full of clothings, jeans, dresses, tube tops, leather suits and also cosmetics. She walked to the mirror and looked at herself. Beautiful. Confident. Stunning. She smiled with satisfaction. "Jolin," and she turned back, "your concert's starting," said her manager. "I'm ready now, where's Jen? I didn't see her the whole time," she asked. "She must be with the other dancers, in the waiting hall, hurry up, we need you to get the ball rolling," and the manager took her hand and they hurried out of the room.
She opened her eyes and stared at Allison. "I think, my name is Jolin," and Allison smiled, "you're memories' coming back," and Jolin nodded. It must be a good thing to remember something, Allison looked so happy. Both of them turned towards the computer and continued looking at all the videos, hoping that Jolin could recover more. But something was bugging Jolin, she couldn't remember who Jen was. She must be her friend, for she seemed to care for her a lot from what she saw just now.
Days passed, yet Jolin's memories hadn't recovered much. Allison was worried. Should she keep Jolin with her or send her back to her management agency. Alston was playing with Jolin outside of the cabin. Her brother seemed to have grown really fond of Jolin. He liked her since the first day she arrived in their wooden house. Allison had always been a busy forest ranger. Many things needed her attention, illegal lumber jacks, animal hunters and poachers, she was the guardian of the forest. Her brother was always being left alone and with Jolin accompanying him, he seemed to be much happier now. Sending Jolin away would only break Alston's heart, and that in return would break hers. Allison shook her head to get rid of the thought. She turned back to the monitor screen and finished up her report. Suddenly, she heard Alston shouting, "Jolin!". Allison rushed out of the cabin and found Jolin on the ground. Alston was panicking and tugged at his sister for help. Allison checked Jolin's condition and carried her into the house. "What have you two been doing, Alston?" With tear filled eyes, she looked at her sister and answered, "I showed Jolin my toy car," and he held it up for his sister to see, "I played with her and chased her, just game, and she head hurt and sleep on the ground, don't want wake up," Allison patted her brother on the head and smiled, "she dying? she dead?" he asked, "No, Alston she's fine, she'll wake up soon, she just fainted," and Alston smiled at her and at Jolin on the bed. "Good thing she safe, she my friend." Allison bit her lip. Things would get her hard if Jolin goes away.
It was midnight, the clock pointed at 12 sharp. Alston was tucked in his bed. Allison was drinking coffee and reading a book on the couch when Jolin became conscious and walked out of her room into the living room. Allison put down the novel as Jolin sat beside her. "I remembered something."
She was running. It was on a gravel road, there were trees all around her. Someone or something was chasing her. Her leg was killing her. She looked over her shoulder and a black car was speeding up to her, it was closing in. She ran for her life. She must survive. She lost her footing and stumbled. The car continued approaching. They're going to kill her. She had no choice. One of her leg was twisted. With much effort, she carried herself to the side of the road. It was really steep down. She will have to jump down into the valley to save herself from them. They car was coming. A few more seconds and they would reach her. She closed her eye and let herself fall down into the dark valley. She bumped her head into something hard and everything went black.
Allison kept quiet. Jolin stared at the carpet on the floor. "I cannot go back, someone is waiting for me," Allison put her arms around Jolin, "they'll kill me," she said. "Then you'll have to stay with us, until something is figured out and you recover totally from your memory lost," Jolin nodded. "If only you could remember who was chasing you," said Allison. The night was cold and an owl perched, high up on an oak tree branch, as it hooted into the night.
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