She was running. Even if her heels were broken, her head was bleeding and her tears were blinding her, she was still running like mad. Even if her lips were parched, her throat dry and her feet aching, she was still running. She could not stop.

Except she did not know her destination. She only knew that her instincts were screaming at her to run as fast as she could. It was as if her life was in danger. Like someone was after her. So she ran till she felt her legs could no longer carry her and she finally fell to the ground on her knees gasping desperately for oxygen.

What the hell was happening? She was still in a state of shock and she felt even more horrified as she looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a white dress which had been torn and was pretty much in shreds. As she looked more closely, she suddenly guessed that it was a bridal attire. It was her wedding day? Who was she running from then? The groom?

But wait a minute. Who was the groom? Or more important; who was she?!! Hell, she could not even remember her own name. She had no memories of what had happened to her and why she was in such a state.  

It was not a simple matter of heart; of that she was damned sure. She could have been running because of a heartbreak or a small lover’s quarrel. Her heart was speeding as if it was in some danger and she was feeling someone after her. But she could not remember her own name; how could she remember the one who was trying to harm her?

As she squinted her eyes to remember, she felt such an excruciating pain in her head that she had to grab it with both hands to block away the pain. And then she felt her hands getting wet and with apprehension she looked at them only to see them filled with something red. Was that blood? Was all that blood hers?

But there was blood everywhere. On her dress which no longer looked white. It was brown, red and grey. She could not help feeling that all that blood was not hers. Feeling for her head again, she winced in pain and felt the source of where the blood was coming from.

She must have fallen and hit her head while she had been running and must be suffering from temporary amnesia. That was the reason why she could not remember anything. Everything would come back to her in a while. But for the time being, she had to get a grip of herself as she was getting impolite stares from the passersby and she stood up quickly.

Hell, she must be looking quite a sight. With her hair falling out of place from her coiffure and her torn dress. Thankfully, it did not even looked like a wedding dress anymore. It looked like somebody had ripped off the bottom part. Maybe herself. To be able to run faster.

She knew where she was. Manhattan. Near the “Theodore Roosevelt” park. Amazed at how well she knew this region, she felt sure that she lived nearby. And felt even more frustrated by the fact that she could remember the place she was but nothing about her own life.

But she could hardly ask anyone if they knew her. Not when her attacker was still after her. Or had she been hallucinating about that as well? For she was running in her wedding dress. There must have been something related to the wedding or something which had happened between herself and the groom for her to run like that.

By the look of it, she was sure that her life was in danger. Was he trying to kill her? For what reasons? Money most probably. Was she rich? How come she had not seen anything out of her scam of husband? She must have been pretty stupid. Or stupidly in love.

Wrinkling her nose in distaste at the kind of woman she could have been, she stopped walking as her legs were aching and sat on a bench just outside the park. When she again tried to remember who she was, she got another headache so profound that this time she had to grip the sides of the bench to brace herself from the pain. It was unbearable; as if her memory had subconsciously blocked out whatever trauma she had been through. It must have been pretty intense. And the suspense was killing her.

Casting her speculative thoughts aside, she decided to take things into control. It would lead her nowhere thinking about what had happened because the more she thought about it, the more her head was pounding. It was time she took thing in her hand. First of all, she had to change into some decent clothes but she had no money with her. Feeling for any jewelry, she found that she was wearing a small chain with a gem heart pendant. It could be gold and diamond for all she knew. She had to be very careful while selling it in case she might be tricked.

As she removed the piece of jewelry from her neck, she looked at it closely and felt a pang at the thought of separating from it. It felt as if she had been wearing it for a long time since it was precious to her. Had someone gifted it to her? Maybe her so-called groom.

Then how come she was not even wearing an engagement ring? From the mark on her middle left finger, it was there but she no longer had it. Maybe she had flung it on her fiancé’s face before breaking off the marriage. Everything was hinting that the culprit was the groom but it was hardly surprising. She could remember no one else and had only assumed there was a groom because of her wedding dress. She could be deadly wrong also.

Looking around her, she found a store and went to inquire about the price of the jewel. Thankfully, it looked a nice shop and the elderly man was impressed after examining the chain.

“This is a nice piece of jewelry you got here my lady. Where have you stolen it from?’ he asked staring at her disheveled state. And she could hardly blame him for his skepticism. Hell, she was also starting to doubt her character.

“I was wearing it. Listen, I have lost my way. Can you please give me some cash and I’ll be on my way,” she replied in an arrogant tone which made the jeweler look twice at her. She knew what he was thinking. From her voice, she sounded sophisticated and like someone who was used to command.

And everything about her was making her speculate on what type of person she was. Was she a spoilt brat? Or maybe some rich heiress whom someone had been trying to kill for the money. But that didn’t explain her wearing a wedding dress. It looked nothing like a wedding dress now. And she looked nothing like a rich spoil heiress. More like Cinderella.

Finally, the man gave her four hundred dollars; a price undervalued she knew but beggars could not be choosers, right? And that was the way she was feeling right now. Like a bloody beggar. Thanking the man graciously, she left the store and headed for another to get a decent piece of cloth.

Her taste in clothing she discovered was classy but four hundred dollars were everything she had and she could not afford to be outrageous. So she bought the cheapest pair of jeans she could find; something she could wear again and again. Along with two black top and a white t-shirt. Trying to be minimal in her expenses, she bought a pair of flat sandals and felt odd knowing instinctively that she was used to high heels.

When she was properly dressed, she went for a meal in a nearby store and bought a bottle of water to last for the day. Now all she had to do was to arrange for somewhere to sleep. By tomorrow, her memories would be back and she could even go home.

She was tired and all she wanted to do was lie die and rest before hitting the road again and find something which would lead her to her past life. But it was a luxury she could not afford as it would be night soon and she had to find a shelter.

After walking for several miles asking for directions, she finally landed up in a convent. As she walked inside, she felt weird as she was not even sure whether she was a believer or not. She could not remember anything about herself but she knew where to find food or clothes. What kind of illness was that?

She had not enough memories about amnesia but she knew that it was a very improbable disease and she could get her memory anytime. But whenever she tried to jog her memory back, she felt that excruciating pain and had given up. She feared she might aggravate her case.

Not wanting to face anyone yet, she marched towards the church and was thankfully unseen. It was peaceful inside the church and as she knelt down to pray, the words came naturally in her mind and she sent a fervent prayer to God. At least she was a Christian. She felt relieved to discover things about herself that was not too negative.

“My dear child,” she heard someone called to her when she had finished her prayers and she whirled round in fear her heart beating like it would get out of her chest.

“Father,” she whispered her initial fear subsided. She could ask for refuge in the church for the time being as when she had asked for a stay in a hotel they had told her it was hundred dollars and she could not afford to spend so much for only one night. She had nothing left to sell and she would have to take up some work soon for her survival. So she had to save the maximum.

“Can I stay here for the night?” she asked deciding to trust the pious man. It was not as if she had any choice but she was staying on her guards. It was what her instincts was telling her.

“What happened to you?” Father asked seeming to pick her trouble expression. “Have you had any problems at home?” he asked her gently.

And she decided to be frank with him, Shaking her head, she explained.

“No, I…I don’t remember anything. All I know is that I was r…running from someone who was trying to hurt me...me,” she stammered as fear settled in her heart again and try as she might, she could not shake the feeling of cold that came over her.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. You don’t remember your name?” he asked her with a frown and asked her to sit on one of the benches.

When they were both seated, she told him whatever she recalled. And how she had survived till here. Thankfully, the father seemed to believe her story. And was ready to offer her a sanctuary at least for the time being. She did not have the audacity to ask him for how long; she had to go with the flow.

“Stay here for the time being. I’m Father Christopher. I will call for Mother Katherine and Sister Margaret,” he told her and she was left alone with her thoughts.

The names mentioned by Father Christopher had rang a bell in her head but she was too tired to think of anything else. And besides she was not even sure which name it was which reminded her of something.

It was already late and all she wanted was to rest her tired mind. Tomorrow was going to be another day, she convinced herself. Who knows maybe she would get back her memories or at least part of her past and she would find out her identity.

“Oh you poor thing,” cooed a female voice and she turned round to be greeted by two bug women who looked at her like she was some lost puppy. “I am Mother Katherine,” the one who seemed eldest introduced herself and she felt another pang at the mention of the name.

Katherine. Did it mean something to her? But before she had time to ponder over the matter. The other woman advanced her extended hands to her introducing herself as Sister Margaret. They looked nice and she smiled back for their benefit.

“I’m.. sorry. I don’t even know my name,” she said and Mother Katherine winked at her.

“That’s not a problem, love. We will call you Mary until you find your real name. Now, come with us. We will show you around.”

Kate was happy to oblige and thanked Father Christopher profusely before heading for the convent rooms.

“We have a local doctor but he comes only on Sunday mornings and we had to wait for another week for his consultation,” Mother Katherine was saying and she nodded in guise of appreciation. It was more than she could have asked for. “We could call him over so that he could examine you though.

“Oh no, thank you for that. I feel a lot better already and I don’t want to burden you with my presence. I am grateful for this shelter. And I’m willing to get some work done in some guise of payment,” she told them and they both tusked in unison.

“Oh, I insist,” she quickly put in when Sister Margaret opened her mouth to protest and refuse her proposition more probably. “I hate being idle so I’d better make myself useful around,” she assured him.

“Fine. But this is God’s home. No one has to work to stay here. Come let’s arrange for your room,” he said.

It was nothing fancy. It was a small room filled with dirt as no one had used it for some time as the two women told her. But she was thankful for having a shelter to sleep and had no time to mourn about her life. She was no whimpering female who would complain at the first challenge life threw her way.

No, she was made of sterner stuff than that and she was glad of who she was turning into. It was a nice feeling discovering herself and liking her personality. She was proud of the woman she had turned out into and she believed that all the credit went to her parents who must have done a wonderful job with her.

Thanking the two women one again, she placed down her bags and decided to postpone the arrangement of the room for the next day. She hated disorder, she realized but it was too late to start cleaning up the room. She was dead tired and all she wanted to do was clean herself and get some decent sleep.

Before Mother Katherine left her, she asked if she could get a shower and was led to a small bathroom where there was no shower but a pail of water.

After having carefully washed her hair to avoid hurting herself on her wound, she wiped off herself and changed into her white t-shirt. It was long enough to cover her thighs and she had checked her room before going to the bathroom. It contained a lock and she would shut herself in the room for the nights.

It was not that she was not feeling safe. As Mother Katherine had said, she was in the house of God and had nothing to fear. But her initial fear would not fade and her instincts were telling her to be on her guard.

Sneaking back into her room, she locked herself and finally sat on the bed feeling much better. Raking a hand through her long hair, she bent her head in her hands and tried to jog her memory one more time. And along came the usual excruciating pain.

But instead of rejecting the pain like she had been doing, she welcomed it. And buckled under the force of it when her mind came up with a complete blank. She was going to give up when suddenly she had a flash of herself standing in front of a full-length mirror wearing a beautiful wedding dress. Her famous wedding dress. And she was smiling.

As quickly as it had appeared, the image was gone and when she searched her memory again, there was nothing but a blank. And her head was reeling from all the concentration. She had to stop or it will driver her crazy.

After taking some painkillers Father Christopher had given her, she rested her head against the pillow and pondered over her new discovery. She had been a happy bride. How was that possible? When her hunch was telling her that she had been running from the groom.

Well, not her hunch but every possibilities led her to believe that there might have been trouble in paradise. Maybe she had been happy for the wedding. Before discovering the truth of her fiancé most probably.

Her mind still full of those thoughts, she dozed off and suddenly she found herself in front of the mirror again; the very one she had just seen. And she could feel her heart filled with happiness. It was unmistakable the way her heart was light with bliss and she was admiring herself in front of the mirror.

When suddenly her white dress was filled with something red oozing out of her body and she looked at her reflection in shock. It was blood. Somebody had stabbed her in the back and she could do nothing about it. All she could do was stare at herself losing so much blood.

But she was not dead. She was still looking down at herself with some kind of wonder on her face. And she mouthed something. Something which sounded like “Aye” but she could not make out the whole word.

There was blood everywhere. And she heard a sadistic laughter behind her. In a daze, she could not make out whether it was male or female and when she whirled to see the person, she woke up with a start.

Beads of perspiration ran down her temple and she frantically searched for comfort but found herself alone in an unfamiliar room. Out of pure reflex, she wanted to scream but felt like someone had stuffed cotton in her mouth. And she was trembling like a leaf. Like somebody wanted to kill her.

Trying not to panic, she wiped her tears and squinted her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. There was no one around. She was alone in a small shabby room. Sagging against the pillow in relief, she realized she just had a nightmare and  remembered her misadventure and how she had landed in a convent. Calming herself down, she gripped the mattress on both her sides and tried to breathe normally.

Her heart would not stop thudding though and she replayed the nightmare in her mind over and over. Was it true or was her subconscious playing tricks on her? Had someone tried to kill her? Was that why she had run from the wedding? Or was there something else? Something more serious? Something she was refusing to see?

She tried to remember the name she had cried out during her nightmare but could not even remember the syllable. It was frustrating how one always forget the most important thing in a dream. Finally, she gave up trying to make out what happened; she had to stay strong to face whatever was waiting for her in the future. But she had to figure out what had happened before the one who was trying to hurt her found her out.

Eventually, she concluded sure that whatever had happened to her, it had something to do with blood. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see blood everywhere. And she could even smell the foul smell at the back of her mind like it was engraved or something.

Which meant that only one thing; she must have run from something very very serious. And with that thought in mind, she rushed to the bathroom throwing up all the food which she had ate earlier.