I woke up somewhere strange, dazed and confused. I couldn't move my arms. I made a croaking sound. What was going on? Where was I? The lights were blinding my unfocused eyes. Strange people dressed in different shades of white and blue were shining lights in my eyes. What was happening? The whole place smelled like ammonia.

They kept on murmuring, "Madelyn". Who is Madelyn? That's not my name. My name is... What is my name? I don't remember. The strange people brought a needle over to my right side and put the liquid in it into a tube. Everything got fuzzy and then the world faded away.

I woke up hours later. One of those strange people came in and wiped my face with a cold sponge. She was singing some sort of strange lullaby, I didn't recognize it. She then brought over another needle and the world was lost to me.

The next time I woke up a strange woman was standing in my room. There were two kids there as well. A boy that looked about 14 who had short brown hair and blue eyes and a girl that looked about 16 and had long jet-black hair, and had startling blue eyes. I looked around the room once more and I tried to talk but it came out as a croak.

The woman suddenly said, "Madelyn! Maddie, my poor baby, you're awake! Jace! Go get the doctor!"

The boy I took to be Jace left the room. He and the doctor soon returned. The doctor looked at me, he shone a light in my eyes.

He said, "Hello Madelyn, my name is Dr. Brown. You were in a bad car accident. You broke both of your legs, you hit your head pretty hard, and there was some glass in your right arm. Besides the bump on your head and the stitches in your arm you seem to be fine. "

Tears were streaming down my face now. I didn't know who I was, where I was, and who these people were.

Dr. Brown kept talking, "Do you remember anything?"

I shook my head.

"Do you know where you are?"

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak.

"Do you recognize any of these people in this room?"

Once again I shook my head. The woman started crying. She buried her head in her hands. I was puzzled as to why she was sad that I didn't recognize her. Obviously, I didn't know her, so why she would be upset? It didn't make any sense. She was a stranger.

Dr. Brown pulled the woman into the hallway. They must have thought they were being quiet, but I could hear every word. Dr. Brown said, "We were right. She has amnesia. We don't know if she'll recover, but you are going to have to teach her almost everything."

"Will she ever be the same again?"

"Unfortunately, we won't know for sure until later. I'm sorry. And even if she does regain her memory she won't ever be the same."

The woman just sobbed. They stayed out there for a while just talking. Finally Dr. Brown left and the strange woman was out there pacing back and forth.

The boy, Jace, cleared his throat, "Maddie? Is it true? Do you know who I am?"

I shook my head again.

The girl stood up and walked over to me. She took my bandaged hand and looked straight into my eyes. Tears then began streaming down her face. She put her head down and cried. She didn't stop for a long time, while the boy just comforted her.

The woman finally came back in. She told the boy and girl that it was time to go. They turned to me and said they would be back for me later.

That scared me. I had no clue who these people were and they were telling me that they were coming back for me? Suddenly, I felt a stabbing pain all throughout my head. Then I saw a face. A girl with red hair and brown eyes. She had freckles all over her face. I wondered who this girl was and why she was in my memory. Why I couldn't remember anything else?

The next day the strange people did not show up. Dr. Brown began telling me about my amnesia and why I couldn't remember anything. It was boring. I fell asleep. I just wanted one minute where people weren't poking and prodding at me. I dreamt of walking on the beach, swimming, and having fun. The strange thing was, was that there was nobody else with me. I was all alone.

I ate lunch at noon, but the food was not the best. It was a PB&J and pudding. Hospital food. They claim they are trying to make everybody healthy, yet they feed us this food... What the heck? Most people are just glad that it isn't poisoned...

Dr. Brown came in soon after I was finished eating. He had a clipboard in his hand.

"Madelyn, I know you must have been very confused when those people came in yesterday," he paused, "They are your family."

He handed me the clipboard that he was holding. On it, I saw pictures of myself with all of those strange people. I shook my head, not understanding.

He pointed to a man and woman, "These are your mom and dad. Sierra and Matthew. Your father died three years ago in a car accident. These two over here, " he pointed to the boy and girl, "Are your twin brother Jace, and your older sister Alexandria."

I spoke in a scratchy voice, "This isn't real, I'm dreaming, or your lying... Those people are not my family. Where is my family? Why are you doing this? I would recognize them. My mom looks like..." Why can't I remember?

"As I said before Madelyn, you have amnesia. We don't know when or even if you will regain your memory. Even if you do, it could take 5 minutes, or it could take 20 years. It is all uncertain. Either way, you will be very different after such an ordeal."

For not the first time that day, tears were running their course down my horror-stricken face. I feel like soon, they were just going to end up creating canyons in my face. I went into hysterics. The doctors brought that needle over and once again I faded into oblivion.