Memory

She was tall and thin with thick brown hair, and a personality that always fit that of the famous wild family member who could never seem to settle down.

She always had a way with words, talking in extreme colorful language, charged with fear and confusion, laced with pain and grief. She could not handle being such a target, not many people could, and she did not have a forgettable look or personality which made her the eye of more than a few. This set her up for failure, and prestige at a young age.

One day she began to lose sight of herself, she could no longer manage the small daily details with ease, she could no longer get angry or upset about the mundane or small issues of a normal household. The awareness of the illusion was too great, too large for her to ignore.

The reality so large, and her words so loud, she eventually caught the eye of a government official, who decided it was her turn to live under a spell. Perhaps he was a naval officer, we will never know, but the spell he put her under was quite an overwhelming one.

She began to lose her memory, her hair began to fall out, she began to lose weight, even when she ate. She began to turn slightly yellowish, with dry and cracked skin. She could not help but turn around whenever she heard the words “kauai”, or “water”.

She did not mind the spell too much anymore, mostly because the pain that others felt, in other parts of the world, seemed much more great.

This suffering she manifested, somehow seemed to create a balance in the world for her. She lost sight, and understanding of how to love romantically, and with kindness. This spell, was the spell of war. A type of pain, and awareness a person can never leave. An existence that is much too close to the truth for only half.

She began to steal without knowing, she even began to steal from herself. She was robbed so many times, it no longer made sense anymore. To be accused of a robbery as the victim? This could never make sense to her. To be the criminal as the victim, something she deeply was not able to resolve. Her heart was too broken, her idea of life was too shattered for her to remember anything material anymore. All material importance had been far forgotten.

Doctors, friends, family, lawyers, did not know how to help her from this so called “spell.” One friend suggested, “Perhaps it is repressed pain, or a memory that is beginning to take your mind.”

To this day she has not broken from the spell, and there is no way to tell when it will end. One thing for sure is, that it seems to be rooted in shame, guilt, and blame for pain passed down through generations. Maybe we will just have to cough it up to, island fever.