Author Information
Remember Remember
Green light, bird sounds, a child’s cry, car horn, “to be or not to be”, Jackie’s hair, the smell of milk, his father’s first words spoken to him, the king of hearts, the 62 presidents of Mexico, all the countries in the world, his first taste of food, the sound a person makes when drinking water, church bells and a sneeze. This list could go on and on and on, since Michael could remember absolutely everything since the day he was born. It was his blessing and his curse.
As he grew up, Michael was very thankful of his genetic mutation. He could remember everything taught in the classroom and therefore always got straight A’s in his report card. He never lost a single jacket, always remembered to do his chores and every book or movie he read or watched, he would always remember. It was only natural that such a gift had to be shared to the rest of the world, so it became regular for Michael to appear on talk show’s all around. “Michael, remember to be careful, once you see something you will remember it for the rest of your life” his mother told him. “I know mom!” As Michael was leaving his house, he could not help but think about this. This was his biggest dear since he could remember. Actually, Michael could remember anything so this was his biggest fear since the day he was born.
Yes, his accidental gift had many perks, but many drawbacks as well. “Not now, Not now!” Michael shouted, siting in the subway station waiting to catch a train to yet another talk show, this time it was The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon or something like that. An old lady, worried about Michael’s shouting asked. “Kid, are you alright?” You could clearly see Michael was suffering. “I’m fine, just leave me alone!” he grunted back trying his best to hide the incredible pain he was experiencing. Michael was not fine, in fact, since he had broken his left arm playing soccer about 3 years ago, he suffered from constant pain in the arm. Even though he was completely healed, he could remember the pain of his broken arm so well that he relived it in his mind!
Michael finally boarded the train and was on his way to downtown Ney York. He had noticed that his condition was becoming worst as time passed, as if his brain was saturated with information and could no longer hold any more data. Pore often headaches and painful memories where driving him mad, but he made his best to hide it. After all, he wanted to fit in, to seem normal.
The train made a stop, following the usual predetermined route. It was one of the few busses that still operated late. Of course, Michael knew every single subway station and every single stop in all of the New York metropolitan area. An old, almost homeless looking man stepped on board and sat besides Michael. Michael felt uncomfortable; he could remember almost anybody in New York, but not this guy. He decided to remain silent and wait for his stop.
Suddenly the old man said, with a rough, worn out voice; “Hey kid, I bet you can’t remember me he he he” and began to laugh. Michael, confused and scared, answered nervously. “Should I?” “You should, in another shape or form” the old man answered. Michael was getting irritated, it was the first time in his life his mind was failing him. “Ohhh I remember” Michael lied. “Michael, why would you lie to me?” “I know everything.”
Suddenly Michael felt powerless, who was this old man? He considered exiting the subway and walking the rest of the way to the studio, but knew that if he did, he would arrive late to the show. After about 10 minutes of silence the old man stood up and faced Michael. “Do you want it to end? Do you want to be able to forget?” the old man asked. “Can you do that?” he answered quickly. “Yes, but you have to want it more than anything in the world, more than anything” the old man answered back. “ I do.” “Fine then.”
The train stopped and the old man left, Only Michael remained in the train. The train began to move foreword again, faster and faster. It was unusual, the train was not supposed to go that fast. Suddenly the train came to a loud stop and Michael, loosing balance due to the fast stop, and hit his head hard against a support post. Time passed fast and Michal was passed out. The subway driver rushed to Michael to check if he was fine. “Kid are you ok? What’s you name? Who should I call?” the driver said. Michael barely regaining conscience tried to answer, but couldn’t. “I-I-I don’t know!” answered. Realizing he could not remember his name, he smiled, closed his eyes in relief, and never opened them again.
