Forgotten

While the names have been changed and the details have been embellished, Forgotten is based on actual events from my childhood from July 1987. The truest parts of this story may sound as though they came from a Telenovela. They did not. As I was only six, I rely heavily on the stories my father used to recount from that fateful day to supplement my own fragmented memories and filled in a lot of gaps with my imagination. I would ask my mother, but...well, if you read the stories you'll understand why that would be pointless.

So far I have ten parts written and plan to edit and publish one every few days. Hopefully by the time I get to number ten, I'll have a chance to write the last few.

Part One: Waiting

Forgotten: Carla's Phone Call

Fun Fact: The five little girls playing outside in the pool are featured in several of my pieces. Any story that features five little girls is likely another story inspired by a childhood memory.

Part Two: Worrying

Forgotten: Roger's Dilemma

Fun Fact: The photo in the windowsill is an actual picture from one of our favorite childhood camping trips.

Part Three: Wobbling

Forgotten: Helen's Appointment

Fun Fact: This illustration was created by Gemini using an old photo of my mother who really wore her hair like that, owned that shirt, and loved her rainbow flipflops (which she always called thongs) in the 80's. This doesn't quite look like my mom, she was much more stunning. She still is, actually.

Part Four: Wrestling

Forgotten: Roger's Frustrations

Coming soon...

Fun Fact: My father had no idea how bad things were when he got to the doctor's office. All he had been told was that his wife had passed out and they didn't think she should drive herself home. The way he tells the story, "I walked in and she looked at me and said, 'Hey, I know you!' and that's all she knew."

Part Five: Wincing

Forgotten: Carla's Answer

Coming soonish....

Fun Fact: Ava's adorable(?) speech imediment is not a work of fiction. When my parents were expecting their second child, they made sure my older sister could say my name. Unfortunately, unlike my sister, I struggled to say my "r's" correctly. Doubly unfortunate, my real first name, and my maiden name, both have r's. Until I was eight, I could not pronounce my own name properly and I have never outgrown the nickname I was given as a result. Maybe that's why I use my initials as my pen name.

Part Six: Welcoming

Forgotten: Melody's Understanding

Coming before too long...

Part Seven: Weeping

Forgotten: Ava's Eavesdropping

Coming around the corner...

Part Eight: Wavering

Forgotten: Evelyn's Decision

Coming some day...

Part Nine: Waking

Forgotten: Helen's Confusion

Coming eventually...

Part Ten: Withering

Forgotten: Roger's Confession

This is last I have written so far, but it isn't the end of the story. I guess I better get to work with more of this tale.

Happy Reading

So there you have it, a bit of my personal history, mingled with a bit of my imagination. I think this is a perfectly good argument for why July of 1987 was a bit traumatic for a six-year old girl and her nine-year old sister. But maybe my mother is correct and I am a bit melodramatic.