Forget-me-not

Cynthia

A/N: Trigger warning for descriptions of PTSD and a panic attack

_ _ _

Every day was the exact same; Flora left for work, Cynthia woke up, and then Cynthia grew bored. She had all the time in the world and she could do anything she pleased, but only if she stayed locked in the apartment. There were only a few small stipulations from Flora.

Cynthia wasn't allowed to leave the apartment unless the fire alarm went off. She wasn't allowed to use the stove either. Flora's room was locked, so she couldn't enter it. It's not like she wanted to be in Flora's room, but she was curious about what lay behind the wooden door.

Trapped like Rapunzel in her tower, she paced. She talked to herself trying to keep her sanity. She read the books that Flora gave her and she watched TV. There was only so much she could do before she grew bored. Watching TV was entertaining until she realized she was just staring at a bright colored screen.

Her attention span was short and she craved fresh air. Sometimes Flora would take her on walks, but she was restless all the time and Flora didn't want to walk that far. She was afraid Cynthia might struggle in the cold. Cynthia couldn't help, but resent Flora a little.

She felt bad about it, but she couldn't help it. She was so cooped up and wanted to breathe. Flora was constantly right on her heels when they were outside. The only time Cynthia could catch a break was when Cynthia was taken to her occupational therapy appointments. Flora had to wait for her in the waiting room.

Cynthia chewed another bite of banana into mush. She swallowed the last bite, tossed the peel into the trash, and slipped back into her bedroom. Her hands reached out for the window. She jerked a latch and pushed up on the glass panel. A burst of cold air hit her face.

The winter breeze seeped through the screen and caressed her face. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When she let it out, the tendrils of her breath slipped out into the dreary skies. There hadn't been much sunshine in Seoul lately.

The days passed by and January inched closer to February. Flora kept talking about spring and that made Cynthia hopeful. She wanted to experience the warmth and the green grass too. The influx of wild animals, plants, and the earth coming back around from freezing.

She glanced down at the traffic below the apartment building. It was a little later than she usually woke up. Most of the traffic had disappeared. Only a few cars were scattered here and there. Her eyes drifted over to the buildings on the other side of the street.

A few clothing stores, a restaurant, and a cafe lined the sidewalk. The cafe had a sign out announcing the latest drinks and deals. Most of the clothing stores had mannequins in the windows. One of them was a bridal store with multiple beautiful white dresses in the windows.

It was hard to see them from above. Cynthia wished she could go down and view them up close. She wasn't sure if she could talk Flora into viewing them later. Flora hated the cold weather and she wasn't afraid to let Cynthia know.

A sharp squealing drew Cynthia's eyes back to the middle of the street. A car was swerving out of control. Cynthia's eyes widened at the sight of it. It veered into the opposite lane, tugged back into its own lane, and then it shifted back to the other lane again. The car in the other lane honked trying to deter the driver from its path until-

Bang!

The two cars collided and a windshield cracked. Metal warped and traffic came to a complete stop. The two cars blocked both lanes now. A man rushed out of one car and a woman stumbled out of the other. Disbelief sat on both of their faces.

Glass shattered and rained down on Cynthia's face. Echoes of her screams filled her ears. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Flying through the air, she was weightless. Small pin-pricks of snow speckled her bare face. With her breath caught in her lungs, she couldn't breathe.

The sky was a muted gray and there was yelling in the distance. She opened her mouth trying to breathe, but her lungs wouldn't cooperate. Her eyes squeezed shut and her fists clenched together. A strangled cry caught in her throat.

When she reopened them, she was on the ground in her bedroom. On her back, she was facing the large rectangular window. Sleet poured in through the opened window and hit her face. She attempted to take a breath, but her lungs still wouldn't work.

She scrambled away from the window and over to her phone. With shaking hands, she unlocked it and found Flora's contact. She pressed the dial button with tears filling her eyes. Her lungs wouldn't inflate properly. Flora's voice filled her ears on the third ring.

"Cynthia?"

"C-Can't breathe." The phone screen blurred from her tears. She opened her mouth and gasped like a fish out of water. "I-I can't."

Muffled cursing came from the other end of the phone. There was shuffling and Cynthia squeezed her eyes shut again. The lack of air made her head feel woozy. She tried to take in another breath, but it felt like breathing through a bent straw; there was never enough air.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, just hold on." Flora grabbed her car keys and dashed out the door of her office. "Did you eat something that caused this?"

"Cars crashed."

Flora kept running despite her confusion. She jumped into her car and started it. "I'm on my way home. Stay on the phone and don't hang up."

Cynthia struggled over to her bed. She pulled the puppy plush from her bed and wrapped herself around it. In the process, she slipped and hit the floor. The sound terrified Flora. "Are you okay? Did you just fall?" When she didn't get a response, she tried again. "Cynthia? Talk to me!"

The only sound she received back was a choked sob.