'...' thoughts

dreams

memory

xoxoxox

Something touched Mina's shoulders, and she screamed. Her throat felt raw and her lungs ached. Rough hands spun her around, and her eyes opened. Her screaming stopped, and as tears poured out of her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks, she stared into the eyes of a boy. No, not a boy, her husband.

Mina sat there in shock. Her mind was spinning with confusion, and she had lost what little sense of her life she had learned about earlier. She heard voices in the distant, but all she could see was the person kneeling before her. He was her husband, or so she had been told.

Thumbs brushed away the tears which stained her pale cheeks, and she didn't move. She sat like a statue, hypnotized by just watching him move. His eyes looked at her with concern, and he gently pulled her up from her knees and onto her feet. Her legs felt like jello, and she stumbled forward, right into his arms.

Her face was in the crook of his neck, and she breathed in deeply, as she just stayed in his arms. He smelled like roses. His arms were wrapped gently around her waist, and it took her a moment to realize what position she was in with him. Husband or not, he was a stranger to her! Pushing back from him, she stumbled back, and before she could fall back onto the ground, he grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up.

The voices were louder, and the boy let go of her, as the others came to where they were. The blonde boy, Quatre, rushed to her side, and instantly wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her, and keeping her from stumbling about. The others watched on in concern, as Quatre guided Mina away from the tree.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, as he helped her into a chair, and kneeled before her, looking her over.

Her lip had split open again, and blood was once more trickling down her lip and onto her chin. The pale skin on her face was light pink from where she had clawed at it earlier. Her knees were brown with dirt, and her hands were both pink and brown.

Nodding, she just stared down at her hands, not really feeling up to talking, even if it was with her brother. She could feel the eyes of the other boys on her, and she didn't want to look up and see what they thought of her. Her life was so confusing, and the last thing she needed, was for people to make it even more so.

"Here, I'll take you to your room." Quatre helped her to her feet, and she began to shuffle towards the backdoor, with the boys surrounding her.

At that moment, what she wanted more then anything was to be alone. She felt nervous around these people. It was like they were protecting her from something. It was highly doubtful that they'd let her return to her room alone.

It wasn't until they reached the top of the stairs that Quatre hesitated for a minute, before turning right, and leading Mina down a different hallway. Glancing back once, all she saw was one of the boys, and behind him, was nothing but darkness.

Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself, and continued to follow Quatre down the hallway. They turned down another hallway, and unlike the one before, which had doors on either side, this one had none. The only light was that of the lamps on either side of them, and at the end of the hallway, was one door.

Pulling a key out of his pocket, Quatre unlocked the bedroom door, before opening it and stepping aside. Blinking, Mina realized that he meant for her to go in first. Doing just that, she stepped into the room and looked around. The curtains were all closed, causing the room to be almost completely dark. Not knowing what made her do it, she stepped into the room, and headed over to the first window. Pulling back the curtains, moonlight instantly lit up the room. Tying them back, she went over to the next window and did the same.

"There are clothes in the dresser and if you need anything, just ask." Quatre said as he watched her open the top drawer and look inside. "Good night Mina." With the small click announcing the closing of the door, Mina stripped off her hospital gown and pulled on a t-shirt and shorts that had been in the dresser.

Going over to the bed, she pulled back the covers and climbed in, snuggling down in them for warmth. The room was silent, her breathing the only sound she could hear. Pulling the covers closer, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

xoxoxoxox

"You do know staring at a bright screen in a dark room isn't good for your eyes, right?" A female voice chirped, causing a young man to jump up and turn to face her.

"Who are you?" The male demanded as his eyes quickly searched her over, trained to look for any possible threat.

"Minako, it's a pleasure to meet you." Hand held out, she frowned when he didn't take it, and let it drop down to her side. "You sure are rude."

Sitting back down, he went back to typing on the laptop, doing his best to ignore the blonde girl watching him. Pulling out the chair next to him, she plopped down on it, head propped up on her palm and watched him type. Minutes passed by in silence, minus the clicking of keys on the laptop.

"How much longer are you going to be?" Stretching her arms above her head, she let out a yawn and leaned back in her chair.

"Go away." The male said with a grunt, not taking his eyes off the screen to even glance at her.

"Sorry, no can do." The smile she gave him was sweet. "I have a message for you, do you wish to hear it?"

His fingers paused above the keyboard and he turned to look at her, trying not to show anger at the fact that this girl couldn't take a hint. "What?"

"I'll tell you if you buy me a drink, I'm really thirsty." Another smile; he turned his head and went back to typing, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Go away."

"Hmm...If I guess your name will you tell me?"

"..."

"Ok! I know what it is, so you better get your money out. It's..."

xoxoxox

The bright sun shining in her eyes woke Mina up late the next day. Getting out of bed, she shivered as a cool breeze from an open window greeted her. Pulling a blanket off the bed and wrapping it around herself, she left the room and went down the hallway, surprised that there was no one waiting for her. The blanket trailed behind her on the ground as she went down the stairs that lead to the front door. Her stomach rumbled lightly and she turned a corner at the bottom of the stairs, going off in search of the kitchen. She passed servants who bowed and murmured her name softly. Pulling the blanket over her head she continued down the hallway, following the smell of cinnamon buns. The kitchen was large and surprisingly empty. A plate of hot cinnamon buns sat on the table and Mina pulled out a chair and sat down, grabbing one as she did. Mouth watering, she took a big bite and closed her eyes, savoring the flavor. Minutes passed before a shadow caught her attention, causing her to turn her head and see a boy with black hair.

Grabbing a cinnamon bun, he put it in his mouth while going over to the fridge, opened the door, and pulled out a carton of milk. Picking up another bun, she watched him, and he tilted the carton in her direction, asking a silent question to which she nodded in reply. Filling two glasses with milk, he put one down in front of her which she drank greedily. Going for a third roll, she squirmed a bit in her chair, nervous at seeing another boy enter the kitchen. Licking the frosting from her fingers, she pulled the blanket closer, trying to hide in it.

"Hey Wu-man!" The young male greeted the first in a cheerful voice. Sitting down on the table next to Mina, he grabbed a bun and the half-empty glass of milk that sat in front of Mina. Devouring the bun, he chugged the milk before realizing exactly where he got it from. "Oops, sorry Mina." Jumping up he went and got another glass, filled it with milk and placed it back in front of her.

"You idiot." The first boy murmured around a mouthful of cinnamon bun.

Standing up and moving over to the sliding glass door, she opened it slowly before stepping outside. The wind greeted her, whipping her blanket about her legs, while the sun shined down on her, chasing away the cold she previously felt. The table was empty and beyond that was a weeping willow tree and a tire swing on one of the branches. Crossing the deck, she stepped off and into the cool grass and headed towards the tree. Branches seemed to part as she got closer, and she stopped in front of the swing. A cool breeze caused her to shiver and pull the blanket closer. About to turn and leave, she caught sight of a small lake nearby. Ducks were swimming about in it, diving for food, splashing about, and just enjoying the nice summer day.

"Here." A voice said quietly from behind Mina, causing her to jump and turn to see the boy with black hair from earlier. In his hand was a bag of bread which he offered to her, while nodding towards the lake.

Smiling at him, she took the bag as her blanket slid off her head down to her shoulders, and the two of them walked over to the lake. Kneeling down in the grass and opening the bag, she took out a slice and ripped part of it off, throwing it towards the ducks in the lake. Immediately they raced after the piece of bread, each one fighting to get it first. Taking another piece of bread out of the bag, she offered it to the boy, watching him with her head tilted to the side.

"What's your name?" He took the bread and began to pull bits of it off, throwing it at the hungry ducks. Staring down at the bread in her hands, she tore it up as well and went back to feeding the ducks.

"Wufei." His reply was simple, and she nodded half to herself, letting the silence grow between them once more.

Time passed and the bag emptied quickly, Wufei had left saying he had something to take care of, leaving Mina alone with the ducks who soon abandoned her after it became apparent there was no more bread. Picking up the blanket which she had shed because of the warmth from the sun, she turned to leave and couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at the lake. It seemed like there was something about it that she should have remembered, like it was on the tip of being discovered, but it wouldn't surface.

Going back inside, she asked a maid where the bathroom was, and took a hot shower and got changed into a pale orange sundress. The bandages around her wrists were wet and the cuts stung faintly from the soap that had gotten in them. Heading down the hallway she came across a painting of a beautiful woman with short blonde hair and piercing green eyes. On either side of her were two children, a boy and a girl. 'Me and my brother.' Placing one hand on the portrait, she continued to stare at the three, taking in every detail of the painting. They looked happy.

xoxoxox

"Mommy why are we being painted?" Quatre asked as a woman knelt in front of him to fix his hair one last time.

"It's so your father will remember us." His mother replied, smiling warmly at him.

"Remember us?" Mina asked from her mom's other side.

"Are we going somewhere?" Quatre and Mina looked up at their mother, confusion on their faces.

"You'll see my darlings, you'll see."

xoxoxox

Letting her hand drop from the painting, she took a step back, her confused eyes looking at the painting in a new light. She didn't notice that she wasn't alone, not until she turned and bumped into someone.

"Oh.." Her eyes locked with his and she didn't know what to do. What do you say to a husband you don't remember?