18.

In the lobby of the Mulberry Hotel and from her position at the reception desk, Siobhan, a member of staff at the hotel, can see Bonnie wandering around the area as if she were both lost and full of anxiety. Now, Siobhan has no idea as to what this lady's name is nor does she know that this lady doesn't even know for sure her own name, nor could the receptionist know of a fear of crowds, though Siobhan knows something is not quite right. This is clear and obvious.

The fellow she had previously been talking to, Henry as he said his name was, does seem protective of this lady, so maybe she shouldn't be left to her own devices but what really does Siobhan know? Next to nothing really but still, if this other lady should not be left to her own devices, then maybe Siobhan should step in and do something.

Sure, Siobhan has seen that Henry has reason to be distracted, so maybe Henry is unaware that his lady friend is down here wandering around by herself. Figuring that she is doing the right thing, Siobhan excuses herself from the reception desk, stating that she will be back in a moment then moves cautiously towards this other lady.

'Hello Miss ...' Siobhan says with as friendly a tone as she can put on. 'Is there anything I can get for you or help you with?'

'No ... thank you' Bonnie simply replies while attempting not to make eye contact while also beginning to move away.

'Will your friend ... will Henry be joining you?' Siobhan follows slowly in an effort not to upset the lady before her.

'No, I don't think so.'

'Maybe we should give him a call ... what do you say?'

Back in room 211, Henry has finished looking after his patient when he notices for the first time that Bonnie is not in the room.

'Bonnie ...' he calls out.

She is definitely not in the room or the room's bathroom so he takes the keycard and immediately goes in search for Bonnie fearing that either something terrible has happened or will happen. As soon as he is down in the lobby, he hears a ruckus and immediately fears the worst. A couple other members of staff have joined Siobhan and the close proximity of these three people is having an adverse effect on Bonnie.

Siobhan attempts to tell her coworkers that all is fine and does not have much luck in getting to move them on and Bonnie is not reacting well to any of this. To her this feels as if everything is closing in on itself. As it is and before things escalate too far, Bonnie spies Henry entering the lobby and straight away makes her way towards him, moving on to hide behind him.

'It's alright' he tells her. 'We are safe here'. He turns to the hotel staff, 'I apologize for that, I hope everything is alright?'

'No damage done, and it is we who should apologize' nods Siobhan as she begins to lead her coworkers away, quietly explaining to them her situation.

Henry most certainly is most grateful for Siobhan and all with which she is doing. An understanding appears to exist despite nothing being properly discussed. He has no time to consider any possibilities as to what, if any, her motives may be. She could indeed just be a good Samaritan with only a want to aid others though who knows? Still, he would like to have a proper conversation with her, the sooner the better.

For now, there is someone back in room 211 Henry would like to get back to, no matter if that person is currently resting. So, with nothing further in the here and now occurring or needing attention here in the hotel lobby, a return to the room is made.

At the hospital, Archer perhaps is discovering something about himself. He has no idea what to be saying to this Sander fellow. It is quite possible that prior to memory loss, Archer probably was not much of a conversationalist and maybe such a thing is translating to the here and now.

Sander, on the other hand, is taking some kind of friendly sadistic joy in watching how uncomfortable Archer seems to be in the chair next to Sander's bed. For Sander, it is good to have interaction. Total memory loss like what he has leaves him not knowing anyone including himself so having others to converse with who are not hospital staff certainly is a good thing. Of course, Mandy can't be around all the time. She does have her own life and job to get on with though as it so happens to be, she does want to spend what time she has got free in his company.

'I guess you want an update' Sander says with a smile growing on his mug.

'That would be nice.'

'I had an MRI done.'

'And ...'

'There is a small mass on the left side of my brain.'

'What? Really?'

'Yeah, they think it is some sort of implant the likes they have never seen before only they have no idea as to how it could have got there. There is no apparent sign of surgery, so it appears as if they are stumped. Thing is ... if I have one of these then it is quite likely we all do.'

'Left side you say.'

'Yes.'

Archer begins to feel around his head, looking for any evidence of scarring. His search finds nothing and just touching his head does nothing as in, it does not cause him any discomfort so if there is something in his head then he certainly cannot tell.

'I don't feel anything odd or off.'

'Neither do I. A headache did come with your memory loss, right? It's there, I'd bet it is.'

19.

Working away while being distracted, Mandy is not her usual self. Within the Open House Coffee House store, within which she is employed, she is counting the minutes until the end of her shift comes. Nothing and no one have ever grabbed her attention like this Sander fellow has. The time they have spent together has been ever so brief and in no way has been recreational. Such a strange situation and how odd it is too that she probably knows as much about him as he does about himself.

She may not be a nurse though as it is it would seem like a Florence Nightingale effect has settled in. How sad she felt when she thought he had a wife and kids, how relieved she was to find out he didn't. Perhaps he does have a wife and kids, who can know for sure? All she does know is indeed all that she knows.

A surprise does come, minutes before her shift does end. A visitor who had paid a visit to Sander is now paying Mandy a visit. He introduces himself as Archer and Mandy knows that this fellow has the same condition as what Sander has, and in this moment this Archer guy has one thing to ask of Mandy.

He hands her a card with his phone number handwritten on it and asks her to ring him at that number if she gets wind of any plan the hospital might make a decision on to possibly perform any kind of surgery or anything that could be considered intrusive on Sander. He says that this is very important and then he says no more and leaves. Mandy, to say the least, is lost for words.

In room 211 of The Mulberry Hotel, the newest member of the forgotten awakes.

'Where am I?' she asks.

'It's alright' says Henry. 'You are safe in a suite at The Mulberry Hotel.'

'The where?' she sits up a little.

'You are safe, don't worry. We all are in the same boat here. All our memories are shot, and we do not want to add to your troubles, thing is for the moment at least, we need a name for you. Do you have any preferences?'

'Err ... I don't know ... this is all a bit sudden ... err ... Sue maybe.'

'Sounds good to me, how are the feet feeling?'

'Sore. You wouldn't happen to have any pain killers, would you?'

'We do. Guess there is no point in asking as to if you are allergic to anything.'

'Jeez, I hope not.'

There is something about Henry, he seems to be a people person, a leader, someone who can take charge and keep a level head when others are losing theirs all around though there is that element of holding back too and of course there is no way of knowing if any of these things about himself come from a time before identities were lost.

On his return to, and just outside the main entrance of, The Mulberry Hotel, Archer is confronted by a thin man who maybe is in his late twenties or early thirties. This stranger is more than a little grubby looking, been through a war of sorts with his overgrown bush-like hair tossed to a left side and a glare which seems to look right through Archer.

This man, his clothing a light blue jacket, a white vest, with light blue slacks, simply stands a few feet in front of Archer, blocking his way into the hotel. The white vest appears to have a few drops of what could be blood upon it, and the sight of this coloration could be of some concern for Archer.

Archer steps to the right so he can move right on by, but the stranger also moves, and this move continues to block the way into the hotel. Archer then attempts a swift move forward and to the left in an attempt to get by with a minimal amount of effort and hassle though his path is once again blocked.

'Excuse me please' Archer speaks with determination, not being interested in anything this man before him may want.

There is no movement out of the way. The path forward is still blocked. Archer steps back a little and looks at this guy properly for the first time in an effort to take him in, get an opinion of him. Is this man crazy? Has he got a problem? Perhaps he is someone from Archer's regular life though Archer cannot attain that just by looking at the man.

'I know you ...' speaks the man blocking the way, his eyes almost speaking before the words come out and a finger from his right hand raises and points with every word as those words do come out, as if to emphasize those spoken words.

'I don't think so, now if can please excuse me.'

Archer attempts to move forwards once again and once again his path is blocked.

'No, no ... I am pretty sure I do know you but for the life of me I do not know where from.'

'Well, when you figure it out you are free to come find me.'

Something Archer cannot know is that this confrontation does not come with a complete truth or any kind of honesty. The visitor is goading the man before him in an attempt to get information. Something is known but not quite what. There is evidence to something, and the confrontation is fishing for that something.

A new attempt to get by is made and this time it is successful. Having indeed passed this fellow, someone Archer does feel as if he had some sort of dealings with somewhere in the past have occurred, dealings which may have been somewhat shady. Archer turns his head backward while he moves forwards in order to briefly keep an eye on his visitor and in hope that he will not be coming in after him.

Indeed, looking backwards and not seeing what lies ahead of him, Archer collides with someone else. He hardly manages to get out an oh I am sorry ... please forgive me, when something else hits him and for a moment, Archer is completely stumped. The guy he had collided with is the ... the guy he had only just passed?

This is not right, impossible, or maybe not quite so impossible. Like previously, this fellow is a thin man who maybe is in his late twenties or early thirties, this stranger, no matter the slight familiarity in being a stranger, is more than a little grubby, his overgrown bush like hair tossed to a right side and he has an apparent glare which seems to look right through Archer.

This man, his clothing is that of a red wine coloured jacket, a white vest with red wine-coloured slacks. Archer is caught for a moment in exchanging glances between this fellow and back towards the hotel's main entrance which is no more than a few short steps away.

'No damage done' speaks this fellow with red wine coloured clothing and fairly soon Archer and this fellow are joined by the fellow who had been blocking the hotel entrance.

Twins ... menacing looking twins ... one in red and one in blue. This cannot be good is Archers initial impression of the situation he has come to be in. As to what he can do about this situation, Archer feels it is beyond his control.