Where am I? As I thought to myself, I noticed I am surrounded by a lot of kids. They are all eagerly watching in my direction.
My head hurts. I looked around, and I am in a small room that doesn't have much—just a light in front of the wall and a strange light as if it's coming out of nothing. The room had only one window, which was also closed, so it felt a bit stuffy, and it was filled with a sweet smell of flowers.
"Where am I?" I asked, trying to get up from the bed.
Seeing that, a girl ran out of the room shouting, "Mama! She's awake, come fast!" The rest of them are still staring at me.
Every single one of the kids was wearing some kind of strange outfits, which I can't say for sure if they're out of place or not.
Then, I finally noticed my own outfit—it's completely different from what they are wearing. It's damaged in parts, but it feels familiar, like I know this kind of clothing, but what are they called? I'm drawing a blank.
"I'm coming, don't drag me, Mille," I started hearing a voice that was rapidly coming toward the room. Then the voice reached the door.
"Oh dear, you're awake! I was worried for you," a middle-aged woman said as she came to the door, with the child behind her.
The woman was not very tall, her hair black but thinning. Her face had a strange warm smile, which surprisingly calmed me up to a certain degree. Her face was now covered with some marks of aging. I can clearly say with confidence that she was beautiful in her younger days, though time had taken its toll.
"Where am I?" I asked, confused.
She started coming closer to me and said, "This is our home. You are safe now. We found you lying in the forest, so I cast a healing magic spell and then brought you here."
"Oh, look at me blabbering on. I am Sofia, and they are my kids," she said. At that, every one of the kids started introducing themselves to me.
Healing magic? Why does it seem so strange to me? My brain is telling me that magic is not possible, but this woman said it with a straight face. I don't think she's joking or anything.
The girl behind the woman came out from behind her and said, "I am Milly. Nice to meet you," while looking down at the ground, and then she went back to the woman once again.
"I am Rodrick," a boy said with enthusiasm.
"I am Mark," another child said.
They introduced themselves to me with quite a bit of curiosity and enthusiasm.
"What's your name?" the woman asked. "And what were you doing in the forest? Did something attack you? And where are you from? I've never seen those kinds of clothes before."
"I am…" I was about to state my name, but…what is my name? I don't remember.
I panicked and said, "I can't remember who I am or where I am from!"
"Dear, don't panic," the woman said as she put her hand on my head gently and started rubbing it.
That did calm me down a little. I don't know why, but listening to her gentle voice made me forget my worries.
"Do you remember anything about yourself?" she asked.
I thought really hard—how I came here, who I am, or where I'm from—but nothing came to me. I didn't remember anything.
"I can't remember anything," I said quietly.
"Don't worry. I think something really big must have happened to you, which made your memory a little fuzzy. I'm sure it will come back soon. For the time being, why don't you live with us in our home? I'm sure they'll love to play with you."
As she said that, I looked toward the kids. They were all looking at me with puppy-dog eyes.
"But I—"
"No ifs, no buts," she interrupted. "I've already made my decision. You're staying with us for the time being. When your memory comes back, you can leave. We won't hold you here."
The kids cheered excitedly.
"Now, you'll need a name for the time being. What should we call you?"
"Oh, oh! I know! We can call her Subaru!" Rodrick said excitedly.
"That's a boy's name, and she's a girl. We can't call her that," the woman said with a smile, looking at Rodrick. "I know you like the comic you bought, but we can't name her after the main character."
"Kathleen," Millie said softly from behind the woman.
"That's a very good suggestion! What do you say?" the woman asked, looking at me.
I nodded. It was a good name, at least compared to Subaru.
"Okay then, from today onwards, your name will be Kathleen Alise."
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