Page 17 of Howl For Me
Damara opened her eyes and stretched. That had to be the best sleep she’d had in a while. She relaxed back against the pillows and realized she no longer felt comfortable with the name Brianna. As much as she’d liked it when she’d picked it, she knew it wasn’t her. She didn’t know who she was, but she knew she was Damara Jackson, no longer Brianna Wolfe.
She rolled over, and her ears tuned in to the music blaring from downstairs. She smiled, remembering hearing music on Saturdays when she was growing up. She laughed at the memories of her going downstairs and finding her parents dancing together in the living room.
She sat up in the bed, shocked.
A memory!
Excited, she rushed from the bed and jumped in place. It was a small memory, but it was a breakthrough.
She flew into the attached bathroom. She was on cloud nine with the thought that she’d had flash of a memory. She was sure it was the real deal and not anything her brain had made up.
She flipped on the shower and danced around the room as she waited for the water to heat up. She glanced at herself in the mirror and saw the silly grin plastered on her face. It was the first time she had seen herself so happy.
Damara turned and grabbed the shower cap that hung on the back of the bathroom door and stuffed her braids underneath it.
Damara jumped into the shower and quickly washed her body. She wanted to share the information with someone or she would explode from excitement.
Ten minutes later, she crept down the stairs, having found a pair of leggings and a long shirt to put on. It felt a little loose, but it was hers. She stopped midway down the stairs, and like in her memory, her parents were dancing in the middle of the living room.
Music was something that had always comforted her. Music was always in her soul. Even in California, she’d found herself singing away.
Her parents, Irvin and Elizabeth, were a beautiful couple and complemented each other well. Her father was tall while her mother was as short as she was. Her father could rest his chin on the top of her mother’s head while they danced to the rich baritone voice wooing them from the speakers.
Her feet carried her down the rest of the stairs. She silently made her way to them.
“May I cut in?” she asked with a smile.
Her mother gasped as she turned. “Of course you may.” Elizabeth smiled through the tears that gathered in her eyes.
A smile spread across her father’s face, and he opened his arms wide. She moved into his familiar, waiting arms. He twirled her around before bringing him back to her.
“Do you remember dancing with me like this when you were a little girl?” he asked, staring down at her.
Too choked up with emotions, she nodded.
Yes, I remember.
“I remember stepping on your toes and you acting as if I were hurting you,” she sniffled. The memory of her father hopping around on one foot, pretending she’d hurt him, brought a smile to her lips.
I will not cry. I will not cry.
Irvin’s eyes misted over with tears as he chuckled. “I always knew that you would grow up with two left feet, but you didn’t.”
She barked a laugh, and he pulled her in for a strong hug. She breathed in his familiar scent and leaned her head against his strong chest.
This was her father.
The man who’d raised her.
“Okay. I’ve done enough crying to last us all a lifetime. Let’s go eat breakfast.” Her mother laughed, brushing the tears from her cheeks. “Damara— Brianna, we were—”
“It’s Damara,” she announced, cutting her mother off.
Her parents paused and looked at each other before turning back to her.
“Brianna was a name I chose when I didn’t know my own name. But Damara was my birth name, a name given to me by my parents. It’s me. I feel like I’m getting to know myself again, and if I’m to do that then I should go by my given name.”
“That means so much to us, darling.” Her mother nodded, reaching for her hand. “We are willing to help you in any way we can to help you get your memory back. Let’s go eat breakfast first.”
