The Weakest Magic: Water

My head throbbed with a dull ache, a feeling like I’d been struck by something hard.

Disoriented, I scanned the unfamiliar room around me. Elegant but not overly lavish furniture, sunlight streaming through large windows… I had no idea where I was.

Just then, a woman in a maid's outfit burst in.

"Oh my goodness, Madam Angeline!! Miss Maria is awake!" she shrieked, her voice filled with relief and panic. Miss Maria? Who the heck was that? My name was Hirokawa Satou, and I was definitely a man.

Before I could process this bizarre declaration, another woman entered and enveloped me in a crushing hug. Tears streamed down her face.

"Are you crazy, Maria Valentina von Fernard?" she cried, her voice thick with anguish. "Do you wish me to have a heart attack when you suddenly fall from that high tree I forbade you to play with?"

Maria Valentina von Fernard? That name meant nothing to me. As I stared at her, bewildered, the maid nervously chimed in, "Madam Angeline, is Miss Maria having amnesia from the fall?"

"Oh my god," the woman holding me sobbed, tightening her embrace. "After all of that, and she has amnesia? Maybe it's better for her to forget and start fresh…"

What event should I forget? My head spun with questions, none of which she answered, simply hugging me tighter. "It's nothing at all, and you don't need to force yourself to remember, my dear Maria. Why don't you sleep so you can wake up early tomorrow?"

I was utterly confused, but exhaustion and the strange familiarity in her eyes made me respond. "Ok. Uhm… before that… good night, my dear mother."

Her eyes widened in shock for a moment, then softened into a gentle smile. "Good night, my dear." she replied.

As I drifted back to sleep, I hoped someone, somewhere, could explain just what was happening to me.