Riverton

Levi sat glancing around the office as he waiting for Imani's dad to walk in. He felt weird being in the therapists office without the therapist being here, but Imani insisted.

He felt a little uncomfortable sitting here on the couch. Everywhere he looked was some sort of skull. Either in the pictures of skeletons dressed as they were living or from the skulls lying on tables and filing cabinets. The smell of lilac was strong. Probably from the numerous candles he had in here. Levi sank down on the couch and closed his eyes has he waited no longer wanting to look at this place.

Just as he sank down, the doorknob began to turn. He sat up straight just as a middle-aged man walked in. He looked just like his daughter. He was dark like her and wore a red shirt with a purple suit jacket.

His eyes locked onto Levi and he smiled. "You must be Imani's friend."

Levi nodded. "Levi." He pushed himself up on the couch getting ready to stand in greeting when Imani's Dad gestured for him to remain seated.

"Please. Don't get up just for me." He took off his jacket placing it on a coat rack and picked up a clip board as he sat down in the red chair to Levi's left.

This family must really like red. This family acted a little dark to him. With the skulls, the red outfits and decor like the color of blood. Therapist didn't really seem to fit this man.

Imani's Dad reached out his hand to greet Levi. "I'm Dr. Bones."

Levi gave him an uneasy smile. How fitting. "Nice to meet you."

Dr. Bones leaned back in his seat. "Imani's told me so much about you already. When she called me on the phone seeing if I could fit you in, she told me you had gotten amnesia."

Levi nodded slowly. "That's right. It's been driving me crazy being unable to figure out who I am and where I came from. I already feel like so many people around here know more about myself then I know."

Dr. Bones nodded. "That is typical with a case like amnesia. At least those people are trying to help you. Them knowing things about you might help jumpstart something you already knew."

Levi shrugged. "But how? I've been told my name was Levi, that I visited that troll bridge often, that I've know Imani for three months, and nothing has brought back even the slightest memory."

Dr. Bones nodded his head, and stared at Levi like he was thinking of something. "I want you to try something." He stood up and stepped over toward Levi. He picked his feet up and twirled Levi around until his feet were on the couch and his back resting against the arm rest. "This has happened some of my other patients remember bits and pieces of who they are."

He gently pushed a hand on Levi's shoulder making him lie down. Once Levi was laying, he stepped back over to his chair and grabbed his clip board.

Levi stared at the ceiling. What was he doing? How was this going to help him with his memory? Therapists did this to patients in movies, but did it actually work?

He turned his head to the side as Dr. Bones lit a candle on the coffee table in front of the couch, placing it beside Levi. The smell from of lavender began flooding his nostrils.

"Now, the lavender should help. This is a technique I learned all on my own," Dr. Bones said. "I want you to close your eyes, and let your mind wander to the memory it wants you to have. Your memories are in there somewhere. They're not completely gone. Let your mind unlock itself. Once you have closed your eyes, I will begin humming a song that is going to put you into a trance. It's worked multiple times. You have nothing to fear."

Levi nodded his head before sighing and closing his eyes. As soon as he closed them, Dr. Bones deep voice filled his ears in a low, rhythmic hum. It wasn't like a song, just notes.

He did as Dr. Bones had said and relaxed waiting for his mind to unlock itself.

Levi opened his eyes and glanced around an open field. He ran up to a nearby fence and climbed the first wooden bar not yet tall enough to see completely over the fence. He watched as horses pranced in the pasture, their hair blowing with the wind. How he wished he could be out there with them. Running wild and free. Away from his home. Away from the torment he endured.

"Levi! Where are you?"

Levi gulped. He knew that voice. Knew it too well. Snow. And she didn't sound too happy. What did she want now?

He stepped off the wooden bar and turned toward the palace gates. This place was huge! How could she have found him so easily? He continued to stare at the gates until a young lady dressed in a blue gown, her dark hair blowing behind her stomped through.

His heart quickened and he ducked low. Had she seen him? He closed his eyes as he felt tears prick the corner of his eyes. He looked down noticing all the bruises and burns that traced his arms. What was she going to do next?

"There you are!"

Levi jerked his head upward as Snow began to race toward him. He sprang to his feet and took off running in the other direction.

"Get back here!"

"Wait, Snow! Please!" His voice was high pitched and squeaked. He couldn't have been any older then ten.

Snow White was older, stronger, and faster. He couldn't outrun her. As he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him, he felt himself face plant the ground as someone jumped on top of him.

His head ached as he was rolled over to his back. "Snow, please," his voice sounded weak as his vision blurred from the bump on his head.

Snow stared down at him, fire burning in her eyes. She stood to her feet and balled her hands into fists. "You think it's okay to learn magic? I am the one with magic! Not you! After everything your family has done to mine, you don't deserve to get that privilege. You probably want to learn it just you can take me down someday. Think you're better than me!"

Levi shook his head. "No, Snow. I just thought it looked fun."

"Don't speak when I'm speaking!" She thrust her hand forward making a cupped hand.

He suddenly felt the oxygen in his lungs leave. He gasped for air, but no air came to relieve him. "Snow," he choked out. "Snow, please."

He reached up for his neck trying to remove the hand that crushed his neck, but couldn't find anything to remove. He scratched at his throat begging for oxygen. Just a taste of it. "Please."

His strength left him as his hand fell to the grass. His vision began to darken as his lungs burned.

Snow laughed triumphantly. "Now, I no longer have to worry about you getting in my way!"

All of a sudden, someone tackled Snow knocking her off her feet.

Levi gasped for air and coughed several times, but still could not find the relief he needed. His head rolled to the side, and through his darkening vision, a blonde girl wrestled with Snow White on the ground. They both threw punches and pulled each other's hair, but he couldn't keep his eyes opened long enough to see the outcome. Eventually, the darkness won.

"Levi, wake up!"

Levi bolted upright and gasped for air. He coughed several times, bending over as he rubbed his neck. Dr. Bones knelt beside him rubbing his back.

"What in the world... just happened... to me?" He couldn't stop himself from coughing.

Dr. Bones grabbed a glass from the coffee table, filled it with water from a pitcher, and handed it to Levi.

Levi grabbed the glass and chugged the water hoping to stop his coughing. It was then he realized how damp his clothes were from sweat.

Dr. Bones sighed in what sounded like relief. "What happened in there, Levi? You sounded as if you were dying, and from out here, it looked like it too."

Levi lowered the glass and stared into space as he reflected on the memory. He shook his head. "I don't know what it means. I was a young boy, maybe ten. Someone was trying to kill me." He turned and looked at the doctor with a confused face. "It was Snow White. She was choking me. Trying to kill me. But that's not all, I had bruises and burns on my arms. What does it mean?"

Dr. Bones shook his head. "Oh, you poor boy." He stood up and walked back over to his chair. "It means you suffered much very young. This Snow White must've been made up. Someone your mind created to hide their true identity. Either a mother or sister."

Levi shook his head. "But it seemed so real. Why would my mind twist a memory into a fairytale?"

Dr. Bones twirled a pen in his hand. "I can't say for sure. Perhaps you had a certain fear of fairytales growing up, and your mind made Snow White the villain in place of the real person."

Levi thought for a moment before his eyes popped open. "I remember. Growing up, I used to think fairytales were wrong. That the hero's were never the hero's. I used to think that Snow White was the true villain, and that she had been the one who had slaughtered her father. Not the Evil Queen."

Dr. Bones furrowed his brow. "What fairytale books did you read?"

Levi shrugged. "I don't know, but I just remember that being the true story. I used to read it all the time as a kid along with others. Not the happily ever after stories Walt Disney made up."

He sighed as he placed his feet back down on the floor, and wiped his sweat with his shirt. He jumped up and smiled at Dr. Bones. "Thank you! I may not still know who I am, but it's a start."

He took off dashing out of the room, excited to tell Daniel what he had remembered.