Hue
I don't know why he was there or how, but I had to put those questions aside. Mina and her group were on their way to that place again, and I just followed behind. They suddenly stopped, staring in front of them with the intensity of a thousand suns.
"The flowers. Oh my god, the flowers." Mina cried out.
The flowers?
I approached; my heart sank as I saw them staring at the sad, wilted corpses of the wildflowers. Inside, a boy our age walked past the window slowly as if in a trance. He stopped by the front door, just as shocked as Mina and I. He looked at the group of four while Mina screamed. The boys approached him, and then! Boom. He collapsed to the ground. Nobody had touched him. I raced out from hiding towards his lifeless body and found he was barely breathing.
The boys ran after Mina, who was already halfway back to the city, tears streaming down her face.
I put him on my back, running as fast as possible to anyone who could help.
You may ask why. I didn't know this boy, and he didn't know me, but I couldn't bare to watch the color drain from his face.
There was something strange about him. Something special yet so strange you couldn't put your finger on it.
I stumbled into the hospital, greeted by smiles that soon turned to panic and shock.
"Please help. He just collapsed. His pulse is barely there. I didn't know what to do. I came as fast as I could.."
"Calm down, Hue. It's going to be okay."
But I could tell by the look on her face that even she didn't trust her own words.
"Do you know his name, age, or if he has any medical history?" The nurse asked.
"No, I don't even know who he is."
I shook my head in disbelief.
"I've never seen him before. I think he was living in the cottage..."
The nurses rushed away.
I sat for an hour waiting for any news, any sign that this strange boy was okay. Finally, my dad came out of the room.
"He's fine, but we can't be sure until he wakes up, and I'm not sure when he will."
"Thank god."
"Hue. How do you know him? I don't think I've seen him before. He looks your age. Is he a classmate?"
"No, I don't know who he is. I think he was living in the cottage on the hill. Do you know the one surrounded by flowers?"
"I told you never to go there again." He wasn't looking at me.
"I know. But I saw Mina and her guys going up, and I just wanted to make sure they wouldn't touch it."
"Nobody in their right mind would touch it. That place needs to be left alone to rot. Why was this kid there?"
"I don't know, but he seemed very shocked. The flowers. The flowers were all dead."
Dad held his breath
"That's enough. I don't need to know anymore."
I've never heard my father talk in that voice. His syllables hung in the air like someone was holding them, stressing the importance of every word.
I walked into the room to see the boy, pale and motionless. The night fell as I lay on the guest bed, drifting off to sleep.
I woke up the next morning and peered at the boy's hospital bed.
He looked peaceful.
"Looks much better than yesterday. His color is back to normal," I said to the nurse taking his blood.
"Yes. The poor thing was in bad shape yesterday, but I think he will pull through."
She smiled and left as I stared intently at his face.
In my head, I thought over and over about who he may be, where he was from, and how old he was. My stomach growled as I rummaged through my pocket for spare change. I grabbed a bag of chips from the machine and went to the boy's room again. I sat down, humming to myself.
"Could you be quiet?"
I probably jumped five feet in the air.
"When, how, why did you, when did you, how?"
He stared, puzzled. Not even I knew what I was saying.
"Where am I, and who are you." He asked.
"I should be asking who YOU are."
"June."
"What?"
"June. My name is June."
What a unique name for a boy.
"Oh. I'm Hue. Nice to meet you." I replied.
"Ok, Hue, when can I leave."
"What do you mean? You almost died."
"I think you're exaggerating a bit. I'm fine, see?" He stood with no expression, waving his arms, and sat back on the bed.
A nurse came in.
"No, no, no, you need to lay down. Hold on. I'll get the doctor." She scrambled like she had just seen a dead man come back to life.
June looked at me with further unamusement. Skillfully, he took out the IV and stared at me while I sat there, speechless.
"What."
"What?? You're asking me 'what'? Are you insane?"
"Maybe." He was emotionless. "Now, where are my shoes? And my clothes? Oh, and I also need to know where I am and how to get to Lyle."
"Lyle? What is that?" Maybe he had amnesia.
"Hand me a map."
I happen to have one with me.
"Righhhttt there." He pointed to an area deep in the woods and looked at me.
"You live in the woods?"
"Are you an idiot? Lyle isn't in the woods, it-"
He trails off.
"It should be right there. My neighborhood is right there. It was just there the other day! I walked down the street in the rain, I remember!"
"There's nothing over that way. Are you okay? You aren't okay."
"No. I'm okay. I need to go home, so stop messing with me." He fell back into his bed in frustration.
"I'm not messing with you. It hasn't rained in weeks either; what are you even talking about."
My dad came in and examined June.
"All your levels are right where they should be. I don't know how or why, but you are very lucky. We need to keep you here still. There's no saying what will happen if you leave. We still don't know the cause. Rest up." He left.
"I'm telling you that Lyle isn't a place. I'm going to talk to my dad because you are not okay." I stood up.
"What's the date? How long was I gone."
"Um August 17th, 2017"
He scoffed
"Are you joking? I wasn't even born yet; looks as if you weren't either."
He paused and looked at me as fear came across his face.
"That was 20 years ago."