“I, I, do not speak French,” I said nervously. “I just asked if you would like a muffin?,” she said so nicely. “Um, I, do not have any money,” I said, embarrassed. “Do not worry, it is from me, eat, please,” she said, “you look hungry.” “Yes, I am,” I said slowly. I took the muffin and she told me to sit at one of the small tables. I ate the muffin rather quickly and she brought me another. “For you,” she said, “please take it.” I did and again ate very quickly. She came out again and sat down with me. “My name is Carine Blanchet,” she said with such a nice soft voice, “what is your name?”

“I…really don’t know who I am,” I said very slowly, “I cannot remember a thing really. My head hurts terribly, I have no money, no ID, nothing. A friend of mine, at least I think he was a friend, dropped me off and told me some people were chasing me and wanted to kill me, plus, the police are after me, but I do not know why.” “Where did you sleep last night?”, she asked. I had to trust someone, and she seemed to be so nice. So I told her about the last couple of days.

“Come with me,” she said as she stood up and held out her hand to me. “Where?”, I asked as I stood up, ready to run away. “Do not be afraid, I will help you,” she said, “you come with me to my flat and get cleaned up and I will make you a nice meal.” She smiled so beautifully, so I took her hand and we walked to her flat. “You need to clean up, have a nice hot shower,” she said, “here is everything you need.” “I, I, don’t know if these clothes can be cleaned,” I said, embarrassed again. “Do not worry, we toss those and I get you some different clothes,” she said and disappeared into the next room.

“Here, these were my brother’s clothes,” she said, “he lived with me for a time, you are the same size so they should fit you.” She set the clothes in the bathroom for me, then she went off to the kitchen. It certainly felt good to get cleaned up again. I came out and went into the kitchen. “Oh, that is so much better,” she said smiling, “now you look handsome again.” “Thank you,” I said, “but, why are you helping me like this when you do not even know who I am. Maybe I am a murderer or something.”

She smiled again, “I do not think you are a bad man, but if you are, maybe you would like to change? I used to be a bad girl, mixed up in a terrible life, but I wanted out and I did it, I changed. Now I live a normal life. My brother, my only living relative, he helped me get out of that bad life. I see you, and I think, you need some help too, so I decide to help you.” “But I don’t even know who I am, or anything about myself,” I said, “I honestly cannot remember anything about my past.”

“Do you remember being married, or have a girlfriend maybe?”, she asked, “I do not see a ring on you. But perhaps this ‘friend’ you mentioned, maybe he is not a friend, maybe he knock you out and steal from you.” “I was thinking that too,” I said slowly, “and I don’t remember being married or having a girlfriend. But when you said muffin, right away I thought of a cat, a gray cat, but I don’t know why.” “Hmm, maybe you own a gray cat and her name is Muffin?”, she asked. “I really don’t know,” I said, “but now I can’t even see the cat when I think of a muffin, so maybe it was not real after all.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but it is something,” she said so kindly, so gently. She made me feel so good, so comfortable, that I was no longer afraid. We had a wonderful meal and talked all evening. “You will sleep in my bed,” she said, “I will sleep on the couch.” “Oh no,” I said, “I sleep on the couch, no arguing about that!” She laughed, such a beautiful laugh, for a brief moment a woman’s face came to mind, but she was blond, Carine had light brown hair. Because she worked at a bakery, she had to be up and at work very early.

“What is wrong with your back?”, she asked before leaving. “I don’t know,” I said, “it is just paining a lot right here.” “Let me see,” and she looked, “you have had surgery on your back, and you sleep on terrible couch. I want you to make 3 promises before I go to work,” she said with that beautiful smile. “Okay, what are they?”, I asked. “One, you go lie down on my bed and sleep as long as you like. Two, you do not open this door for anyone. Three, you stay here and wait for me, you don’t run away,” she said and smiled again, “you promise.” “Okay, I promise,” I said. She gave me a kiss and left. But…who am I?

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.