He woke up to the sound of a faint jingle. Unable to pry an eye open, he tried to drown the sound out. However, the deafening silence did nothing to ease his discomfort. It felt like time had stopped altogether. Suspending him in the moment of insanity. He had no idea what happened to him. No memory from the day before nor a clue on what today was. All he could feel was a dulling ache on his head and numbing on his limbs as if he hadn't used them in years.

The worst part was that he forgot who he was, what he did for a living. All he knew was his name was Colin Easton and he was from Aspen, Colorado. He shifted, presumably on a bed since he felt comfortable lying down on a soft surface, to stop the incessant sound that seemed to be drifting through the air. The source of the sound was distant but he couldn't really pinpoint where it was. With an effort, Colin tried to begrudgingly lift a hand to push himself off the bed. The room was unfamiliar to him. There were only four corners of the room and a door to his left. Everything was white, even the walls, but light inside the room was dimmed which didn't hurt his eyes too much.

Colin situated himself into a sitting position, nursing his throbbing head. He looked around but saw nothing out of place. Just that he was in a weird room with no knowledge how he got there.

Finding himself standing in front of the door, he hesitated as his hand was suspended in the air momentarily, trying to convince himself that he lived here. He opened the door and stepped out into a hallway. Looking around, he saw a few doors across the hall which led him to walk into the living room.

That familiar jingle had floated around when he stepped foot to the living room. It was unusual because he couldn't seem to find the source of the strange sound. After a few moments, it had disappeared fleetingly making him aware of his surroundings. An upholstered mustard colored couch sat at the center of the room. There was a huge flat screen television in front of it. Then, at his right was a small window that caught the scenery of the city night lights.

Did I oversleep? He thought to himself when he saw that it was already night time. Searching for a clock, he found one that was perched on a small side table near the entry way to the kitchen. Colin was about to venture into the kitchen when he heard scratching noises beyond an unexplored door. Then a sudden loud thud could be heard from the outside. He tried to remember if he either owned a cat or a dog, however, nothing came up. The whole loss of memory made him particularly curious to the situation he was in. Slowly, Colin walked over to the door and opened it. Turns out, it was only the door to his apartment when he saw a number of similar doors down a hallway. He turned his head from left to right and saw no one. The hallway also seemed pretty empty. He looked down and saw a medium sized box, that was wrapped in red, placed in front of his doorway.

Colin sat on the couch and was in deep thought about a few things. Apparently, his head was still a little messed up. He couldn't remember anything which started to give him a full blown headache. Looking up, he saw the present's shiny ribbon glinting from the light and decided to open it. Ripping the box open, his hand found a picture frame. He flipped it and was shocked to see a family picture of three that was taken in a studio. Colin studied the photo and noticed that he was in it with his evident wife on his side and a baby. The downside though was that the face of the woman and baby were cut out.

Who would send this kind of crap? Were they trying to scare me? He thought, a bit shaken from what was happening around him. Suddenly, a sound of a little girl crying echoed through the whole house. Colin was up on his feet and rushed around the apartment to find that certain girl. The doors were opened to every room and he found no one. His head started spinning, trying to grasp the reality he was in. Pounding his head with his fist, it felt that he could bring back any memory he had but didn't work. Who was it? Did that mean I wasn't alone in this apartment? The pain on his head made his knees buckle as he crouched onto the wooden floor, pulling his hair to soothe it. He wailed in agony as it hit him full force. Then, the faint jingle of a Christmas song rang in his head again. Colin wanted it all to stop.

That moment he realized that he could no longer hear anything made Colin look up from his position. The deafening silence greeted him. Everything went still for a moment, suspended in time to get a hold of himself until he heard someone whisper in distraught to his ear, "Wake up!"

With that, he shook his head and when he looked around everything was back to the way it was. Colin was still on the floor in a fetal position as he scrambled up to his feet. He had realized that he was officially hearing things in his head.

Maybe, he was going crazy. Colin was adamant to find out what was going on. Getting a cold glass of water in the kitchen, he soothed his dry throat as he drank it hungrily. A plan was needed if he wanted answers. But, how was he going to get answers when all he knew was his name and where he lived. A little addition to the mystery was that he knew he had a family. Downside was, he didn't know how they looked like. It was like a dead end for him but he needed to talk to someone, anyone.

A knock on the door disturbed his disposition. He stood straight and made his way to answer the door. A confused look was drawn on his face when he saw no one at the entrance. A few seconds later he heard the same girl crying somewhere. However, the type of cry the girl expressed only sobbed quietly, trying to hide herself from crying too loudly. He wasn't sure if this was the same girl earlier. Stepping out of the dimly lit hallway, he moved forward, eager to find this young girl. He was nearing another hallway when a small shadow quickly passed in front of him. With quick reflexes, Colin ran after it even if he couldn't see what or who it was.

It led him to a fire exit. He was sure that the person ran in here. Inhaling a deep breath, he opened the door of the fire exit and got in. With the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he was about to bolt through the flight of stairs when a figure of a small child was crouching on top of the stairway.

He was right about it being a little girl. She had short brown hair with a red bow tied on her head, wearing a dark grey coat around her small frame. He assumed that she was around eight years of age. Colin had to admit that it was kind of strange for a child to be running around these halls alone. The little girl still wasn't aware of his presence. So, he cleared his throat and willed himself to ask, "Excuse me?"

When the girl didn't answer, he asked again, "You there. Are you alright?"

She still didn't move from her spot, however, her sobbing had stopped. Sitting up straight, she was looking ahead, staring blankly into space. Colin could now make out her features, she had the most adorable button nose. Her cheeks were tinted with tears but her green eyes glinted in the poorly lit staircase. He took careful steps so as to not scare her away. Managing to sit quietly beside her, Colin waited it out a few minutes. The two didn't make any move to engage into a friendly conversation. He was rather relieved to see another living soul in this place. That meant, everything happening to him was very real. Yes, he might have lost his memories but at least he wasn't quite alone.

"What's your name?" He asked after a few minutes of eerie silence.

She turned her head to look him in the eye for the first time. Colin tried to smile a little, showing her that he didn't intend to hurt her in any way. For a few seconds, she just looked at him. It was as if she was trying to dissect him with the way she was observing him. But then, she meekly replied her name, "Lulu."

"It's short for Lucille," she added.

Colin finally gave a real smile, "I'm Colin." He said.

Lulu didn't give anything away. She still stared blankly into his eyes. Colin was now concerned with her, now that they had introduced themselves.

"Would you like me to take you back to your apartment?" He asked, hoping that she would listen to him.

She shook her head, declining his offer. "I don't live here."

Now, Colin was curious. "You don't?" He asked her with uncertainty. What was she doing here then? He questioned himself. It was odd for a little girl to be wandering around these unknown dark halls. Anything could happen to her. She could get hurt or worse.

"Then, where do you live?" He asked again.

"I don't remember. I think I'm lost."

Colin was surprised with her answer. He didn't expect that they both shared the same circumstances which made him quiet for some time. Telling her that everything was going to be fine was a full load of bullshit. Sighing in defeat, he finally admitted, "I'm lost too."

They fell back into silence. His mind full of unanswered questions. What was Colin to do now? He talked to somebody when it still didn't ease his mind over a lot of things.

"Can you remember anything in particular?" Colin turned his attention back to Lulu.

She made a face that got her into thinking. "I don't remember how I got here but I do feel that I needed to find something here in this very building. I've been running around and knocking on every door but no one seemed to answer. But, you did."

"You got me to answer the door. Now what?" He inquired.

"That's all I got for now."

Colin sighed, this was going nowhere. "Would you like me to help you find your parents?"

She shook her head again, "I don't know how we would get there. I live near Riverside Avenue."

"I could drive you or something. Come on." He lifted himself off the staircase, waiting for her to follow. She obediently hadn't objected with his plan and followed suit. Lulu wasn't scared of him. She was also relieved that she had someone to talk to. Running aimlessly through the halls of the building made her weary with no idea what her goal was through knocking from people's doors. They both exited the fire exit and tried the elevator instead. When they got out of the building, a bright light blared through his eyes out of nowhere. It reminded him of a distorted memory that made him cower away in instinct. Lulu screamed at the top of her lungs. Colin then knew that she saw it too. He grabbed her and shielded her away from the light.

There it was again – the deafening silence. He opened his eyes to see Lulu drenched in blood, noticing that the light had disappeared entirely. She had an injury on her head but there weren't any cuts that would indicate the cause of the blood flow. Lulu screamed and thrashed around his arms, terrified of the danger she was in. Colin didn't know what to do. He just held her in his arms, trying to sooth her from the horror. His hands were now smeared with blood.

Lulu then fell unconscious in his arms. In this moment, something felt familiar. There was anguish and despair around him. It puzzled him because there was no logic explanation on what was happening. Looking around frantically to cry for help but the streets were empty, he noticed. There was no sign of life. It was as if they were the only people in this world. Everybody seemed to disappear.

Colin then heard the all too familiar whisper, "Wake up!" The sound reverberated through the air and quickly disappeared. He stood up and ran down the steps of the building entrance to follow where he heard it. His eyes darted from left to right, trying to see if there were people around.

"Hello! Can anybody hear me? I need help! Please!" He shouted as loud as he could but the only reply he heard was silence.

Colin ran further into the main road to see if people were milling around at this time. He assumed that it was around the wee hours in the morning, explaining why there weren't much people around. Remembering Lulu, he turned around to get back to her. The hospital was a better option for him to get some help. When he came back, he stopped in his tracks when he saw her body had disappeared. His hands reached up to fist his hair in frustration. Colin was desperate. Tears were stinging his eyes as he was on the verge of giving up. There was no one. He felt so alone in the dark.

"Lulu! Where are you?!"

Silence.

"Please! Anybody! Answer me damn it!!!" Colin screamed at the top of his lungs to get someone to notice him. But alas, there was nobody.

A dark figure from afar was approaching him. Relieved that he finally found somebody, he ran up to him. The figure stopped and waited for him to come nearer. Colin couldn't make out his face as he wore a top hat that shadowed his features in this dark sidewalk.

"Sir, please, I'm trying to find this little girl. She was badly injured. Did you see anyone run this path?" Colin was already shaking from fear and distress.

"Are you Colin Eaton?" The strange man asked.

He took a step back from surprise, "H-how do you know my name?" He stuttered.

"It's time that you come with me. They're waiting for you." The strange man said.

That peaked his interest. He knew something and he wanted answers. The man was a bit suspicious, however, there was nothing he wanted more than anything but the truth. "Waiting for me? Who?" Colin questioned a little too eagerly.

"Your family of course." The strange man smiled but his smile was sinister, like he was plotting a devious plan for him.

Colin wanted to believe him but an unexplainable force pushed him away from this man. He held his chest as his heart started to beat rapidly. The man stood still from his position. There was no way he could have pushed him. Shaking his head, he tried to compose himself.

"Please!" The whisper from an unknown voice cried out to him once more. It was frantic, like this voice deeply cared about him. Somehow, he felt an attachment to the said voice. He turned around and tried to look for the person, getting distracted from the strange man's request.

"Colin. You need to come with me right now. Time is running out." The man called out to him again, urging Colin to follow.

"Wait, I need to find Lulu first. She needs me." Without waiting for his reply, Colin ran to the other direction, leading him to the main road. He stopped, pausing to think where a little girl could have run. She wouldn't be able to run as far with her condition. Noticing smoke rising into the night sky, he quickly ran to see what was going on. A gasp had escape from his lips when he saw two cars had collided on impact. He ran and rummaged through the first car which was turned upside down. It was a minivan. Colin saw that there was a family in there. The father drove while his wife sat on the front seat. When he got to the back to pull the last body away from the wrecked car, his body froze when he saw Lulu. The little girl he met a few hours ago was drenched in blood, unconscious. The same peaceful look as he had left her back at the sidewalk near the apartment. Colin pulled her out and sat a few meters away from the tragedy.

He couldn't understand.

What the hell was happening? Was this some kind of sick joke?

Colin checked for some pulse but there wasn't any. He shook her, praying for a miracle that everything was fine. She was still breathing when he had left her but now she wasn't.

How did she end up in a minivan anyway? Would it be possible that her parents came to pick her up?

Lulu was dead.

Even for a few hours he knew her, he had felt hope. That ray of hope which could help them figure everything out together. That for once, he hadn't felt alone.

He left her lifeless body onto the cold concrete floor alongside her family. With sullen steps, he made his way to the second car to see if the driver was okay. He noticed then that the other car was empty. Searching for an evidence about the car owner, a smashed liquor bottle was found on the passenger's side of the car. He concluded that it was a drunk driver that caused this brutal accident.

Stepping out of the scene, he then noticed that the area had changed drastically. They were now situated on a high way that were surrounded by a lot of trees. Basically, it was in the middle of nowhere. The only source of light was from the wrecked vehicles.

Colin panicked as he tried to come up with an explanation with how the scenery had changed considerably. Surrounded by dead bodies, he was at a breaking point. He no longer had the capability to distinguish between reality and a dream. This was a supernatural occurrence, he concluded.

"Merry Christmas, Colin."

He turned around to see the strange man that he saw before, wondering how he got here. Losing a step, Colin landed butt first on the ground. "You – Why are you following me?"

"I already told you what I came here for." The dark figure loomed over Colin's trembling body. He could smell the fear that radiated off of him.

"You have to help me! These people need my help!" He screamed in hysterics. Why couldn't the man see that there were more important things that needed his immediate attention.

The man had the decency to smirk, so he quizzed, "Do they? It looks like you already killed them."

"That's not true. They were already dead when I found them."

"Colin, don't you see? You were that drunk driver who killed an innocent family."

"How could you accuse me of something I didn't do!" Colin roared in anger. That man had no right to put the blame on him. He had tried to help them but everything was too late.

The man had raised his hand and spoke, "Then, I shall let you see."

It only took a few seconds for Colin to replay all the things that had happened in the years that he walked the earth. In that window of memories being played, he saw himself in a life that was vigorous and full of colors. He blinked, unable to comprehend on what he had seen. Torn between the worlds he was living in right now and the realistic episode he had seen of himself. A version that seemed to enhance how the real Colin Eaton lived his days, until that one drunken night on Christmas Eve.

He fell to his knees as it hit him that he was indeed a murderer.

It was a bad day for Colin as he just received the news that he was no longer employed a few days before Christmas. The management had downsized due to excess of manpower. Colin was one of the most valued employees in the business over the years he had worked with them. Colin grew up with the company and was a huge part of their achievements. He was confident that he wouldn't get picked because of the huge contribution he made for the success of company when it was still starting. On the night that he was supposed to go home to his wife and daughter to celebrate Christmas, Colin had too much to drink. But then, he took the risk and drove home anyway.

Colin wept in dejection, slumping in defeat on the damp concrete road.

"You've been asleep for two years, Colin. There's nothing for you out there. When you wake up, you're still a murderer." The strange man told him.

"But what about my family?"

"They'll be off the burden of waiting for you to wake up. Let's not waste any more time. We should go." He didn't try to force him to stand up. Standing there stiffly, he patiently waited for Colin to grasp that he had knock some sense into him.

Colin contemplated as he needed to make a decision. "To where exactly?" He questioned, wanting to make sure that they were going to a place he liked.

The man smiled ominously, "Wherever you wish to be."

He sniffed and tried to get up. The dark figure didn't try to help him get on his feet, rather, he just looked at him triumphantly. Colin was about to follow the strange man when suddenly he heard a woman screaming into the night. "Colin, no! Please don't leave me! Wake up!"

"Wait, who was that?" Colin turned around to see if there was someone standing behind them.

The dark man just shrugged him off, "No one important."

"Is that my family?"

"You heard nothing. Come along now."

"Maybe I should just stay here and wait." Colin hesitated and stopped walking. There was something pulling him back that told him that he wasn't ready yet.

"We're running out of time, Colin." He said, reminding him once more.

A hand suddenly gripped Colin's arm. He was startled from the contact, reflexively tugging his arm away.

"Colin, wait." It was a small girl's voice. He whirled to face the young girl and was surprised to see Lulu. She gave him a tight-lipped smile and her appearance was back to the way it was when he met her. Only now, Lulu's face was not pale. It was now tinted with life as her eyes sparkled brightly.

"Lulu?" He asked in a dumbfounded expression.

"Don't go with him." She told Colin, still clutching on his arm.

"Why not? I've done something very wrong. I apologize for everything Lulu. I didn't mean it, I swear." He broke down on his knees again and held Lulu's little hands as he groveled for her forgiveness.

"I know you're not a bad man. We forgive you." Lulu whispered soothingly as Colin cried.

Colin could not say anything to that. He couldn't thank them for he had done something grave. Killing innocent people was the last thing he had wanted in his life. It was a sin and he needed to pay.

"Do the right thing, Colin. They need you." Lulu pointed it out to him.

He watched her with gratitude, tears were still streaming down his face. Lulu just smiled to him one final time before she went back to her parents that were just standing a few feet behind her. Their silhouettes disappeared into the fog. Colin sighed in defeat. Finally, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he now knew what to do.

Ignoring the strange man, Colin sprinted the opposite direction. He forced himself to run at full speed until he could no longer breath. Now that he had his memories back, he focused his attention back to his family and how he would make it all better for them. Colin yelled for them, seeking them for his freedom. Freedom from this dark world he had been wandering around aimlessly for god knew how long. He was running out of breath but he willed himself to go on. It was until he saw a bright light ahead. Colin wasn't scared anymore so he proceeded into the light, not knowing what lay ahead.

He opened his eyes to see the same room he was in when he had woken up in a terrible nightmare. His surroundings were still white. There was that jingle again and he could now point out "Jingle Bells" was the song that had been playing all along. He felt different now as his memories were still intact but a deep sense of guilt was still lingering inside of him. This was the one chance he got from Lulu – a chance to live. A chance with his family. And a chance to do the right thing which was to face the consequences, knowing that Lulu and his family were finally at peace.

~THE END~