Never Remembered PM Interest

[bigwriterchick]

CLOSED (Premise A woman has an interesting condition: no one remembers her for no more than a minute or two. She talks to somebody and they begin to forget how the conversation started. She walks away and it was as if she was never there. She mostly survives by stealing, it's not like she can get a job. The condition seems to affect her too, she can't remember her past at all. She's clear for the past few months, then it gets fuzzier and fuzzier. As time goes by she forgets more and more. To compensate for this she carries a journal where she writes EVERYTHING, but they only go back so far. One day everything changes when someone comes up to her and starts talking to her for no reason. She enjoys the chat. And then they say something that changes everything. 'I've seen you here before.' She has no idea why they remember her when no one else does.)

(Karen: 25, 5'5", slim because she doesn't eat that often/very well, shoulder length black hair and dark gray eyes.)



Karen scribbled furiously in her tattered notebook. She was going to have to get a new one soon. She looked around her, trying to find a decent place to sleep. She pulled her jacket tight around her slim body. It's a good thing it's warming up. She sighed, finding the tree she had adopted as her spot. She leaned against it and closed her eyes. The sun was still high enough to touch her face, and glint off her dark hair.

Hugging the notebook to her chest, the pen shoved into the wire spiral, she tried to remember. She always tried to go back as far as possible. It never mattered how hard she tried. Unless she had her other notebooks, she could only remember back about 4 months. During her exercise, she felt a shadow block the sun from her body. She opened her eyes slowly, expecting a cop.





(Looking for someone to play the person that remembers this woman. Open to men and women. I'd prefer he/she not be sleazy. PM me with a character and an intro.)

 

[Talon]

A walk in the park...

OOC: Short description - Zack; 27; short spiked dark brown hair, brown eyes, athletic build.


Zack typically spent his lunch hour walking in the city park, it helped him to collect his thoughts and allowed him to escape the frantic city life that raged on just outside its boundries. He worked for a tech support company located just a few blocks away, so the walk was short, and he usually grabbed something to eat at his desk on the way back. This particular afternoon was nondescript, just the way Zack prefered them.

Zack was a combat veteran, two years removed, and had experienced a hard time "renormalizing" himself into civilian life. He had no real friends to speak of outside of acquaintances, and he had spent the first year outside of the Army on the streets. He lucked into a job through a former military buddy and was slowly building a life on the outside.

Zack stopped and moved off the path into the grass to tie his shoes when he spotted a girl sitting beneath a tree up ahead. He studied her as he knelt and retied the laces, experiencing an odd sense of familiarity like he knew her from somewhere. Considering he hadn't really dated since civilian life the feeling left him somewhat confused. She was very attractive, and a strange feeling in his gut told him this was the perfect opportunity to make a new friend. An attractive one no less.

He approached her, attempting not to look like creepy park stalker-guy, and stopped a few feet away. The feeling in his gut morphed into fear, telling him this was a bad idea and he'd only end up embarassed, but he supressed it and stood his ground. She appeared lost in thought, so he waited for her to open her eyes before speaking. He said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm sure you get this all the time, but I've seen you here before. Care to grab some lunch?"

 

[bigwriterchick]

"I'm sure you get this all the time, but I've seen you here before. Care to grab some lunch?"

She stared at him for one fill minute. Fear, excitement, and surprise were fighting for dominance on her face. She took a deep breath. She hadn't eaten in a few days...she really couldn't afford to go much longer. She stood brushing her pants off.

"Ok." She said simply. Her eyes focused on his face, her brain still screaming at her to ask if he really recognized her. She gave him a smile, holding out her hand. "I'm Karen." She tried to force the thoughts out of her brain. It was just a line. She'd heard it probably a hundred times before. In fact, she could go back through her journals and do a tally. "I'm sorry. I'm not so good with names." She tried to make her tone apologetic. She could at least get a decent meal off him before he started to forget. Hopefully.

 

[Talon]

Zack smiled when she accepted his invitation, the smile covering a momentary look of surprise. He really should talk to people more often. She noticed his height when she stood, just over six feet, and he was dressed in the khaki pants-collared shirt mainstay of the corporate world.

He shook her hand in an easy grip. "Hi Karen, I'm Zack. Nice to meet you. And don't worry about it, I don't think we've ever really met per se, but I'm pretty sure I've seen you around the park here before. I think I'm supposed to say some suave one liner like 'I never forget a pretty face' at this point, but I'm not that much of a dork...most of the time." Zack made the witty comment with a sarcastically quirked eyebrow in his best impression of the suave giggilo look before laughing it off.

Zack gestured towards the strip of restaurants that bordered the outside of the park. "Any particular place in mind? I'm kind of a burger guy myself, but I'll leave the all-important choice of dining destinations in your hands. "

 

[bigwriterchick]

It actually startled her more when he said they'd never really met. She didn't expect passers by to even notice her at all. Even as she smiled, her hands began to tremble. She needed food, she wasn't ready to handle this kind of revelation on an empty stomach. She laughed, when he made his giggilo face, even though she wasn't really paying attention.

Her ears perked up when she heard the word burger. "Anywhere is fine. I love a good burger." As it turns out it's also one of the easiest things to steal. She followed Zack as he walked toward the restaurant. "Um...Zack? How many times have you seen me here?" She asked, biting her tongue to force the other questions back. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide what was going on. She just needed to know for sure that he really remembered her and not some random dark haired girl.

 

[Talon]

Zack scratched his chin in thought as they walked. "I couldn't give you an exact number, but I remember you scribbling in a notebook and for some reason your face seemed familiar to me. I have a habit of scanning my surroundings pretty well, and I spend most afternoons walking in the park so I would imagine that particular detail is what caused you to stick out in my head."

They arrive at a small sidewalk burger joint and get in line behind a few other people. Zack looked down at her with a curious look on his face. "You sound a little alarmed by it. I'm not a cop, if thats your worry. I mean I know undercover cops don't come out and say they're cops and all, but I work a few blocks up in an IT department. I can take you by there after lunch if thats your worry." The line moves a few feet forward.

Zack turned his attention to the menu as they were next in line. "Anything special or just a cheeseburger and fries?"

 

[bigwriterchick]

"Yea...cheeseburger and fries that fine. And a Diet Coke, please." She lowered her head slightly, trying to gather her thoughts. She ran her fingers over the wire in the notebook. What was different about him? Why did he remember her when no one else could. She tried sometimes to talk to people she had met before. It never worked. For the most part she had given up. And he came up to her. She looked up at him again, looking for anything that might give her a clue.

"I don't think you're a cop." She said matter-of-factly. "But..." She paused, her eyes focused on the counter. She let out a breath. "I need to talk to you. It's important. And I need you to listen. What I have to say won't take very long. Then you can decide if I'm crazy. If you think I am, I won't bother you again." She said softly, her eyes resting on his face again.

 

[Talon]

Zack nodded. "Ok then." He pointed to one of the unoccupied tables in the fenced in dining area around the restaurant. " Why don't you grab that table, I'll grab the food, and I'll meet you there." He ordered while she held the table, waiting for the food by the pick up counter.

With food in hand Zack manuevered his way through the other patrons to the table, sitting the tray with her food and drink in front of her. He also tossed down a few random condiment packets. "Wasn't sure what you need, so I grabbed a few of everything." He took a sip from his soda and settled into his chair. "So whats this about then?"

 

[bigwriterchick]

She took off the top off the top of the bun and spread a generous amount of ketchup and mustard before replacing the top and taking a large bite. Chewing gave her a reason not to talk. She knew she was going to sound crazy. It was a shame too, Zack seemed nice. She swallowed and took a gulp of pop before she spoke.

"You're the first person I've ever known to actually say that you've seen me before." She paused, eating a fry. "And I don't mean that's the first time I've heard that line. I mean that you're the first person I've heard it from that I really believe is telling the truth." Her hands shook, so she folded them on her lap. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't remember anything for very long. Maybe 3 or 4 months." And here she took a deep breath. "That wouldn't be so bad. But people don't remember me. Ever. Normally, you would've forgotten that you asked me to lunch before we got to the restaurant. She patted the notebook next to her on the table. "That's why I always have one of these. It's the only way I can keep track of stuff." She sighed, taking another drink of Coke. "And no, I don't have any idea why you seem to remember me." She went back to eating her burger, not wanting to look him in the eye. She was just waiting for the awkward laughter.

 

[Talon]

Zack didn't laugh, he just frowned thoughtfully. Drugs maybe? Mental illness? Tragic accident? He observed her shaking hands and decided that whatever it was, she believed what she was telling him. "I'm sorry...I'm sure you understand that I'm a little confused by this." He rested a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner. "But I believe you." He looked at her face and waited for her to return her eyes to his. "Really." He took his hand away and motioned to her burger. "Please, continue. I can tell your hungry." He took a disinterested bite of his own burger and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

"So where do you live then? I'm assuming there is no family in your life and it's probably pretty difficult to hold a job down like that. You have no memory of any point in your life?" Zack realized he was firing a barrage of questions at her and held up his hand. "Wait. I'm being an ass. Let me call my work and let them know I'll be out for the rest of the day, you can finish eating and then we'll talk."

 

[bigwriterchick]

She stared. She didn't know what to say...she didn't really know what to think. She lowered her head, eyes moving to her notebook. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. She ate slowly, trying to wrap her head about this development. He believed her? She didn't understand why. Nothing she had told him made any sense. After all but a few fries and a quarter of the Coke was left she looked him.

"Like I said before I can remember back a few months. Nothing more than that. If I want to know something else, I refer to my notebooks. I drift. I can't get a job. But it's real easy to steal when no one remembers you for more than a few minutes." She sighed, rubbing her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have said anything, but..." She shrugged. "I couldn't miss this opportunity. I assume you've been catching glances of me for a few months at least because I remember seeing you. I even made a note about you." She said, wondering if she sounded more or less weird.

 

[Talon]

Zack had left the table to call his work while she ate so he finished eating while she retold the details of her story. A note about him? He shouldn't be surprised, who wouldn't notice the guy who day by day walks the park alone. Always alone. He finished the last bite of his food and pushed the tray away.

Zack wiped his face with a napkin and tossed it onto the empty tray. "I can't imagine how frustrating this all must be for you. I've only just heard your story and I already have a million questions. Where do I even start?" He furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, looking off into the park behind Karen. He looked back to her. "I hope you know I can't let you stay in the park anymore. Not now that I know everything. I'm not trying to say you can't take care of yourself, but thats no way to live." He knew, firsthand.

"You really have no reason to trust me, but I want you to come stay at my place for a while, at least until we can find a way to help your situation."

 

[bigwriterchick]

Of course. Damsel in distress. She reread fairy tales enough to know what part she was playing. But actually sleeping under a roof sounded pretty good. And he'd probably feed her. She flipped open her notebook almost to the first page, reread her note. I've seen the same man walk around the park almost everyday for a month now. He's always alone. Sometimes I think about asking to walk with him. She looked at Zack and back at her notebook before she closed it.

"What you mean is that I don't really have a choice. I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but honestly, who would turn down a roof and food when you've gone so long without?" She drained the Coke. "And if you want to ask me anything that requires me to remember I'll have to get my notebooks first." She was guarded, but she needed to be. Nice men could always turn out to be scumbags. She sighed. She sounded like a bitch. He didn't have to help her at all. This was her own problem. "Maybe I could clean up your place a little?" She offered, blushing slightly.

 

[Talon]

"I don't mean to play the 'Knight in White' swooping in on a white horse here...lets just say that I can identify with not having a place to go. And I'm going out on a limb just as much as you. I could wake up tommorrow with an empty apartment." He smiled as if he didn't really believe that last part. "And don't worry about cleaning up, my place is pretty spartan. Just clean up after yourself and we'll be square."

Zack shook his head and let out a deep breath. He prayed everyday for something to spice up his dull civilian life, for a woman who wasn't obsessed with shoes and handbags to come into his life and make it interesting. He was a bit taken aback by the events of the last half hour, his regimented life so quickly injected with excitement by the simple action of asking a woman to lunch.

"So, lets get out of here then. My car is in a garage a few blocks up. Why don't I go get it, you can get whatever you'll need and I'll meet you back here in a few minutes?"

 

[bigwriterchick]

She nodded. "Ten minutes and I'll be back here." She didn't know what he expected her to have, but she did need to get her notebooks. She got nervous whenever she was too far from them. As she walked back toward the park, she wondered what his life had been like before this. Even in the little time she'd spent with him she noticed that he was tense. No...not tense...just...very aware of things.

She started to dig by her tree. About half a foot into the dirt, she saw the handles of the plastic bag. Her heart leapt. Quickly eying the contents, she nodded. Just notebooks and a couple odds and ends. She shook the bag to get most of the dirt off it. She was going to wreck the inside of his car. She sighed, spotting a water fountain and rising her hands as best she could. She wiped them on her hands before she headed back toward the restaurant.

She stopped right next to the table, gripping her bag. Her heart started to pound. He might be the key to it. No. He's not. Then why does he remember you? I don't know. So, maybe he is the key. No, he's fucking not. He's just a guy that's going to be saddled with me, until he gets tired of me and throws me out.

 

[Talon]

Zack's thoughts raced during the walk to the parking garage. The average guy might be thinking about ways to ditch Karen, or working out strategies to get into her pants, but Zack was far from "normal". His almost methodical attention to detail saw him running through various scenarios of what could have caused Karen's problem in his head. Problem is he wasn't a doctor, and he understood more about guns, cars and other typical guy crap than he did about the human mind. For all his time spent running over the problem in his head on the way to his car, he came up with no possible solutions.

He jumped into his car and started it up, turning off the radio. How could he possibly help this woman? Putting the car into drive he pulled out of his spot and rolled out of the parking garage. His military mind settled on the only solution he could find. A soldier depends on support from his fellow soldiers, always has a man to watch his back. He could be there for her. That would have to be enough.

He pulled up to the outside of the burger joint a few minutes after she arrived. His car was a black 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback. His only real possession of any value, it certainly wasn't show car quality but it was well taken care of. He leaned over to open the door and noticed her bags. "Just toss them in the back, don't worry about the seats."

 

[bigwriterchick]

She started to get antsy, just as he pulled up. She let out a breath, almost thought she'd been duped. She set the bag in back, afraid to jostle it around too much. Some of the notebooks were pretty old. She climbed in the car, wondering if she had written down the last time she was in one. She nodded. She must've. It would've been a big deal. She glanced at Zack and smiled to herself. Even if he didn't want to be her white knight it seemed like he was going to try to fill the role.

"Thank you. I haven't said that yet. Thank you for helping me." She wanted to keep talking, but if she spoke for to long it was going to turn into a mess. Instead, she smiled at him. "So we're headed to castle, in your steed?" She teased. Assuming Zack didn't turn out to be some kind of axe murdering rapist, she figured everything would be fine. Until, the inevitable happened and he threw her out. But for now, she could relax.

 

[Talon]

"Your welcome. And if by castle you mean one bedroom apartment on the west side and steed you mean a forty year old beast, your chariot awaits mi'lady." He flourished his hand and ducked his head in a half formal bow with a smile. Assuming she didn't remember the function of such things he reached over her and pulled down her seatbelt. "Better buckle up, I'm quite the reckless driver."

Zack pulled away from the curb with a chirp from the tires and a roar from the engine, eliciting an angrily extended honk from the car he probably rudely cut off. He smiled at her and settled into the normal flow of traffic, his practiced movements of the shifter probably alien to her.

"So Karen, in all seriousness, there is something I need to ask of you. Call it a requirement for our arrangement. I'll agree to do whatever I can to help you find a way to fix this, or better manage it in the least, and you have to agree to one thing. Always tell me the truth, no matter how hard it is or if you think I might not like it. And I'll agree to the same." Zack settled back into his seat. "Now that we've got that out in the open, any questions for me?"

 

[bigwriterchick]

Oh she had questions. She always had questions. But it was his 'condition' that brought a smile to her face. "Ok, Zack. Complete honesty. I know what a seat belt is. I don't know why I remember certain things and not others. I think it's me. People don't remember me and I don't remember things about myself. No past, no family, nothing. It's not like amnesia, it's...weird." She finished lamely. "I know general things. Basic things. I know what car is, apartment, animals, shit like that. I think it's because I see that stuff almost constantly and it's sort of hard wired into my brain. And for the rest, I write it down. So, you don't need explain things to me." She paused. "But that was cute." She smiled.

"As for any questions I have for you..." She shrugged. "I assume you don't have a girlfriend or wife, because you're always alone when I see you. That would've been question one. And from your answers I don't think you've had the easiest life, so that's probably why you're helping me. I guess the big question that's left is, why do you believe me?"

 

[Talon]

Zack smiled. "Gotcha. Well at least I won't have to housebreak you then." He laughed, pulling up to a stoplight. "I see your very intuitive, like me. I suppose you would have to be in your situation. And in the interest of total disclosure and honesty, I can't give you an exact answer as to why I believe you. The look in your eye and on your face. Your reaction to my memory of you. A combination of them all."

He studied her face periodically as they drove. She really was a beauty, if a bit downtrodden, but somehow her rough edges had made her more attractive to him. His natural protective nature had already kicked in, and he was working hard to hold it off as much as possible lest he come on too strong. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off with some macho bullshit, or make her feel like he thought she was helpless.

"And no, I don't have a girlfriend or wife. Why do you think I asked you to lunch?" He smiled and made a left turn onto the road to his apartment complex.

 

[bigwriterchick]

She smiled at his question. "You'd be surprised by the number of men that ask me to lunch or dinner with a wedding ring on their finger. And I can't imagine I look very good, so I can only assume they think I'm a hooker or something. I probably would've said no to you, except you said that you remembered me. And honestly, I was hungry." Even though her eyes stayed focused on the street, she saw him peek at her from the corner of her eye.

She wondered what he was thinking, but didn't want to ask. "Over the years, I've learned you don't have to be very intuitive to read people. All you have to do is pay attention. Example, when you told me you couldn't let me stay in the park your eyes were soft, worried. Your voice was lower, more serious." She smiled, dropping her eyes briefly. "I didn't see anything in your face that should scare me. Nothing contrived, nothing sleazy, and I figured if I refused, you'd just throw me over your shoulder and kidnap me." She chuckled.

 

[Talon]

"Probably the only situation in my life where my memory actually helped me out. Exact opposite situation in High School." Zack smiled as the pulled into the parking garage located next to his apartment building. "And I would tell you not to worry about those jackasses, but it seems like your already not worried about it." Zack parked the car in a spot towards the back of the garage, marked with his Apartment number.

He shut off the car and looked over at her. "And don't sell yourself short. You are more than merely observent, you've managed to survive all this time on your own with nothing more than a few journals. That is quite a feat. I admire survivors."

Zack exited the car, walking around the back to her door and opening it. He motioned to the bags in the backseat. He understood that when you had very little, what you did have was precious. "Can I carry those for you?"

 

[bigwriterchick]

She blushed lightly at the compliment. She wasn't used to them. She smiled slowly as he opened her car door and then offered to care her bags. So far, he was quite good at the White Knight routine.

"Hm, yea, just be careful. Some of the books are falling apart and as you might imagine it's hard for me to get the pages in order on my own. She stood, again brushing herself off. A sudden practical thought entered her head. "These are the only clothes I own. Will I be borrowing things from you?" She asked, for all she knew he had a sister that stayed over enough to leave clothes behind. But she didn't think so. He seemed, somehow, more alone than she was.

 

[Talon]

He waited for her to move out of the way before carefully collecting the bags from the backseat, closing the door with his hip. He nodded towards the apartment building next door and began walking towards it.

"I've got some shirts you can wear for now, sure, and maybe some basketball shorts with a tiestring. We'll wash the clothes your wearing tonight and tommorrow we can grab you something a bit more...feminine." They entered the lobby of his apartment building, not high class by any means, but clean and quiet. He moved to the elevator and pressed the call button. "We should probably grab some food tommorrow as well, cupboards are probably pretty bare up there." The elevator arrived and he pressed the button for the fifth floor.

He handed her the bags to fish in his pocket for his keys and unlock the door. "Your aforementioned castle, at your disposal." He pushed the door open and allowed her to walk in first, closing and locking it behind them. His apartment was clean and well kept, a small entryway leading into the main room, the kitchen to the right as you first walked in the door. The door to what she assumed was his bedroom was on the left wall of the main room, currently closed. The only wall decoration was a large plaque on the far wall directly opposite the doorway, a small flag stitched with a pair of what looked to be like crossed flintlock rifles with numbers above and below them. A futon with a black mattress served as a couch in the center of the room, a flatscreen TV mounted on the wall beside the bedroom door. Random unopened pieces of mail sat on a nondescript wooden coffee table infront of the futon.

"I told you it was spartan. Brutally bachelor-esque."

 

[bigwriterchick]

She smiled, turning around in the living room. "I like it. There's not a lot, but it's clean. By yourself, you wouldn't need that much furniture. She ran her hand over the futon and nods. She turns back to him, finally setting her bags near the 'couch'.

"Can I take a shower? I'm feeling sort of grimy in your clean apartment." And with the burger still in her stomach, food wasn't really on her mind. "If you want, you can look through my journals. The books themselves are numbered." She opened one the bags, starting to stack the books on the floor.