It was wake up time, because the alarm the older woman put on the stand in my box was making the most dreadful of noises. I yawned, rubbed at my eyes and kicked the contraption down.  It stopped making noises. Good thing she'd showed me how it worked or I'd have been scared out of my skin.

I got down from the sleeping place just as the cover opened. A girl popped her head around it, then her whole body appeared. I remembered her from early yesterday as the-girl-who-was-my-sister. This was my third time of seeing her.

'Wakie, wakie,' she said as though serenading. She had on the brightest smile I'd seen.

'What are you called?' I asked the question that seemed more important to me. I didn't want to make the mistake of calling her her given nickname like I'd done to the-boy-who — Howard.

She seemed taken aback and an expression passed over her face and was quickly gone. But I'd noticed it. Thinking of it, I would have felt that way if someone I'd known all my life can't remember my name . . . right?

'I'm sorry for that, I just wanted to be clear.' I quickly apologized.

She put on that bright smile again and came to sit on the sitting place opposite my sleeping place.

'No p,' she said. I was confused as I didn't know the meaning of what she had just uttered. I must have shown my confusion because she laughed (a rich melodious sound) and said, 'That meant no problem; it's okay, ya got the point?'

I nodded, confused again. 'What are you called?' I reiterated.

'Marilla,' she said and stood up. 'Now come down for breakfast or Mom's gonna kill me for keeping you.'

My eyes widened and I was gripped with fear. Kill her?

'Oh, c'mon. I mean she's gonna be mad.'

I swallowed audibly. 'Be mad? Why? Is Mother not okay?' I said in a small frightened voice.

Marilla now looked like she'd burst. I didn't know what was amusing in being killed or running mad.

'You know what, just forget I said anything, change into something and come downstairs.'

'Into what?' I asked.

Marilla paused then said, 'Into a dress, maybe.' She looked at me suspiciously. 'You know, any long piece of cloth in the closet.'

One. I didn't know what a closet was.

Two. Was she wearing a dress too?

Three. Why couldn't I go downstairs in what I was wearing?

'It's that . . . long box over there.' pointed to a long flat box at the other side of my box in reply when I asked. 'No, I'm wearing a pair of jeans and a blouse.' She pointed to her leghuggers. 'Because they have been slept in,' she said to the final question. 'By the way, you don't wear day clothes to bed, you have PeeJays.'

I didn't know what PeeJays were but I got the idea that they were not day clothes. But, bed, I had no idea who that was. I wasn't going to ask, though, I didn't want to be an annoying person with too many asks.

So I opened the closet after she'd left and pulled out the first piece of clothing my hand came in contact with. It was a long robe that brushed the floor and it seemed a tad oversize. It had a hardpaper on a string attached to the neck and it felt uncomfortable against my skin.

I went into the smaller box that joined mine and washed my mouth with water. Then I made my way carefully down the steps with the long robe pulled up to my knees to keep from stepping on it and tripping.

I got off the steps and went the path to the eating place. I'd been there the day before, when we were to have the early day meal.

They were all seated on their respective seating places but the way they looked up suddenly at my entrance, the way the hushed voices I'd been hearing on my way suddenly stopped, I knew they'd been talking about me.

I felt sad and slightly annoyed at this. Even if they were just being worried about me, I didn't really know how to swallow that pill, I didn't like being pitied whatsoever.

But I just pretended not to notice anything and smiled at them.

'Wakie wakie.' I repeated what Marilla had said to me in greeting earlier.

They all looked very shocked all of a sudden, like I'd just morphed into another person. What had I done wrong?

Howard made a strange series of sounds in his throat and his face alarmingly changed colour. Had he contacted a virus? Looking at the others faces, I got more confused. The older man looked to have hints of a smile on his lips, the older woman looked shocked . . . and confused, Marilla had an expression somewhat close to Howard's.

'What?' I whispered, eyes wide and feeling rather stupid.

The older woman shook her head and pushed out of her sitting place, the hard material scraping on the floor.

'Guys, this is so not funny,' she said as she made her way to me. 'Tiana, isn't that dress too hot for you to wear?'

I shrugged still confused. What was that all about?

She pulled out a sitting place beside  and led me to it. 'You can always change it later, darling, have your seat, okay?'

I didn't say anything as I sat down on the soft sitting place. It was as soft as the sleeping place upstairs.

'Marilla, this is your doing, what did you say to your sister?'

Marilla looked surprised for a moment then she rolled her eyes. 'C’mon, Mom. I only went to wake her up. Apparently, she thought it was a form of greeting, how is that my fault?'

I put my hands in my laps and looked down. I'd mistaken what she'd said for a form of greeting. Now, I felt more embarrassed.

The older man cleared his throat making me look up. 'Marilla, that's okay,' he said to Marilla then turned to me. 'Tatiana, you want anything special for breakfast?'

I shook my head, looking away. What was breakfast again? Weren't we supposed to eat? Suddenly, I my skin started to crawl there and the sitting place seemed to be more sore to my buttt. They spoke so many things I didn't understand. Sometimes later, I began to wonder if it was really the language I understood ( It's English, said the older man) that they spoke.

To my relief, they removed the cover of their eating utensils and I followed suit.

My meal was some mushy stuff that tasted great, I didn't even comment on the fact that their own meals were way different from mine. What shocked me was that they all had this sharp prongy tool on their meals.

'Marilla, when are you gon' be home?' the older man asked.

Marilla shrugged and to my horror, stuck that sharp tool into her mouth. She didn't look to be any pain from it though, because she did her beautiful eye roll again and dropped the prongs back to the eating utensil.

'Dad, why do you bother? Anyways, today is Geometry exams.'

'And I've got Chemistry, too. And Construction.' Howard piped in.

'I didn't know you still took Construction classes,'  the older woman said.

'Hey, I'm studying to be an architect!'

'Yah boo,' Marilla murmured.

Just as I was starting to feel out of place, the older woman called for decorum.

'Table manner, kids!'

'I'm not a kid.' Marilla looked disgusted. She pushed out of her sitting place and went the path of the steps.

Her departure was greeted with silence for a while, before the older woman came over to me.

'I shoulda found you something but you weren't fully convalesced, so what'd you like to do today?'

'Anything.' As if I even knew anything.

'You used to love Netflixing a lot,' the older man said.

'Thanks . . . Dad,' I said even if I didn't understand what he just said.

'So, Netflix we shall,' said the other woman and pat my head.

I repressed a shudder. Oh, how I do wish she'd quit touching my head.

Foot falls behind made me turn to see Marilla. She'd put on another layer of top, the colour of her leghuggers. She had a bunch of assorted sharp tools on a finger that jingled at every movement. I didn't like the sound it made.

She had a funny-looking large piece of cloth straddling her back.

'I'm off to school,' she said. 'Want a ride, Howie?'

'No thanks, I'm good. Dad is dropping me.'

She shrugged (a movement which preceded further jingling of the tools) and started to walk towards the Big Cover. She paused on the way to put her lips on my cheek.

'See ya later, sis. Stay safe, okay.'

I smiled and watched her go. I touched my cheek, I liked the way she'd placed her lips on it. I heard the Big Cover open and close.

'Can I go into the out, too?' I said.

'Nuh uh, later, but not now,' the older woman said. 'Come, let me get you something else to wear before the others leave.'

I let her pull me up and lead me to the path of the steps.

'Where did she go?' I asked.

'School, where you learn stuff.'

'I used to go to school too, no?'

'Yeah, but they've been sent the sick note, so you're gonna be at home for as long as it takes you to recover your memory.'

My heart felt weighted with lead and then sank to the bottom. Put differently, I wasn't going into the out anytime soon.

I really need my memories to come back.