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He sat shivering in the cold rain, his head tucked under his arms as he rested on him knees.

“My name . . . what is my name?” He cried, “where is she? Who is she? I have to find her.” Empty. His mind was empty.

He sat on the cold, wet stone looking at the unfamiliar buildings that surrounded him. Everything was light despite the rain. Many dwellings were huddled together like a city. It seemed so light yet he felt out of place. Hunger tore at his stomach and lack of sleep made his eyes sting but he refused to move. All hope had abandoned him.

The rain stopped as dawn came making every leaf shine. The boy took no notice. He stared out into a distant world where he could be safe. He tried to forget that he was lost, hungry, alone, and without memory.

A figure stepped before him interrupting his blank stare. He looked up to see who has intruded on his misery. A woman tall and elegant stared down at his black eyes marked with lack of sleep. Her hair was dark an held back in a loose bun that seemed to weave about itself. The woman’s eyes long lashed were firm but seemed to bring ease to the boy. She knelt down causing her long dress to cascade around her and touched his hallowed face causing him to flinch away.

“Who are you?”

He didn’t answer.

“Where are you from?”

Silence.

“Why are you here?”

Realization came to his eyes.

“Do you know her?” He asked strained.

“Who?”

“The girl. The one I used to know! I have to find her!”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” Pain worse than his hunger appeared as his last hope was once again crushed the one thing that was keeping his alive, his purpose. “I can’t remember.”

“Do you want to remember?”

His dark eyes widened. “How? I’ll do anything.”

“Come.” She held out her hand. “If you want to have a place to live you’ll have to work for it. The maids and cooks will teach you what you need to know.”

“When will I get to remember?” He asked stumbling as he stood.

“After you eat and rest. Remembering takes a lot of time.” The woman sighed looking at child’s empty eyes. He seemed almost lifeless. “It looks like you have a lot to remember.”

He nodded gravely. “I can’t remember anything at all. Well . . . except that there was a girl. But I don’t even remember anything about her. I can’t really explain it.” The boy looked at the ground as he stumbled along slowly.

“She must have had a strong impact on your memory.”

He agreed though unsure what the woman meant.

That night the boy slept for the first time in as long as he could remember.

“Tornado.” He heard a woman’s voice coo softly. “Look he knows his name!”

“My name?” He asked himself. “My name is Tornado. That sounds right. Yes I remember now!” He forced himself to try to remember what he had seen but it was blurry. “That was my mother. Was my father there too? I can’t remember!” He threw his blankets aside and ran from his room. Tornado passed many of the servants’ rooms before entering a room with a high ceiling. He stopped dead in his tracks staring at the woman in the center of the room. She was standing in the middle of a swirling mist of color. Glimpses of animals, people, and places occasionally appeared on the mists surface before swirling into different scenes or colors.

“Go back to sleep Tornado.”

“Who are you? How are you doing this?”

“My name is Queen Mab of the Faeries of Avalon. I control dreams.”

“Why can’t I remember the memory I had?”

“That memory was from your birth. You shouldn’t expect to remember such an early memory.” She explained turning back to her dreams. “Go back to sleep. Don’t you want to remember more?”

Tornado ran back to his room anxious to get back to sleep and remember her.