Awakening

The weight lifted from her chest. The woman lit a candle to reveal a pale face with emerald eyes that seemed familiar somehow. The room around her was made of rough wooden planks. She sat on a straw pallet with a white sheet thrown over it. A stool rested next to the bed with a clay mug half-filled with clear liquid. She reached out for the mug; the water tasted warm and sour. The woman sat on another stool, the candlelight bringing out the red of her hair. She squinted, trying to remember where she had seen this woman before.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in Eternity, dear."

"Eternity? Am I dead?"

"No, dear, I guarantee you are quite alive. Mr. Pryde found you on the beach three nights ago. Do you remember how you got here?"

"No." She put a hand to her head, trying to remember. When she closed her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness. "I don't remember anything," she said.

"Nothing at all? Not even your name?"

"No."

"Oh dear. We shall have to give you a name then until you can think of your own." The woman thought for a moment. "We'll call you Samantha. Samantha Young."

"Samantha Young?"

"If you don't like it, we can change it to something else."