Excerpt: Orphaned By Choice

“Watsons said, ‘I’m calling the doctor.’ Ally started crying and screaming again. I started helping pick up the broken glass. I guess that it was something so mundane, that picking up the glass and sweeping the floor everyone calmed down. Watson got Nell to wake up and sit at the table, Ally held the dustpan and after a few minutes her hand even stopped shaking. We cleaned up everyone’s cuts, though I couldn’t remember where the first aid kit was when Watson asked me to go get it. I didn’t even know at first he was talking to me, it took me a second to remmber that when someone sai d ‘Orsen’ they meant me. I guess I’m used to the name now, respoending to it, maybe because it’s not a common name and my situation isn’t common. I’ve googled it. There aren’t many kids that have just gotten amnesia for no reason. I don’t think that anything happened to me though, I think that I’d have some kind of bruise or be shy towards something. That’s what happens to most kids, because they’re appressing something. That’s what Dr. Wren says. I don’t think I’m appressing anything. And Marilee would have told me by now if she thought something happened to me. She would have told you too, Marilee is ver honest and a good Christian, that’s what her mother says. Mrs. Dean is really excited about her family being good Christians and she says that I am too. She believe’s I’m not lying.”
“We believe you’re not lying Orsen,” Mr Hensly said. “We just have to investigate because of the situation. We don’t want to find out after you’ve been hurt that we were wrong about someone in your life and they were actually hurting you after all.”
Orsen sighed in the way only a ten year old could do, the kind of sigh that started in his toes and worked its way out with a great heave. “I’m not in danger, I’m really not. I just don’t remember. I’m not the only one, I’m sure it’s happened before. Marilee doesn’t remember being a baby, but Ally does. Marilee doesn’t remember anything before she was about four.”
“Every child is different, and Marilee’s situation is certianly different from yours. Okay Orsen, what happened next then?”
They talked for another hour, Orsen taking them through the rest of the day, through meeting with Dr. Wren and convincing him that he wasn’t faking to him no longer being allergic to peanuts. “I did’nt remember being allergic, so I took some peanut m&ms from the bowl on the doctor’s desk. I guess I’m not allergic, maybe my body forgot that.”