Winter Sparrow by Estevan Vega Page A

loss of blood. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to bear. But what I knew more deeply than that reality, what held me together, was that I was certain you would be mine. Whether you could remember me or not, my longing for you would not change.”
“It’s still a blur.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re so very precious to me. Try to remember, won’t you?”
“Remember,” Mary murmured. “The crash. It was raining. I saw a man in the street. Then I fell. So far. I hit my head and everything went black.” She paused, waiting for her subconscious to trigger more violent flashbacks. But nothing else came.
“You don’t recall the ambulance ride?” Lucas asked. “Your sister, Jamie, panicking because she thought she’d lost you? Or the several weeks you spent in physical therapy before I demanded that you be seen by only the best, here, where you’re safe? I was here, with you, loving you through it all.” 
“We got married?” She forced herself to say it. She’d read books that told her to speak things into existence; that, if you could make yourself believe it, whatever reality you believed in would come to pass. Just believe , she told herself.
“Yes. Three years ago, darling.”
“But Joshua—”
“Who?”
“Joshua. I know him. I…loved him.” Mary tried to reconcile that truth with Lucas’s truth. But they could not coexist. “He owns the mansion several miles away. The one that was close to being condemned, about ready to be torn down, I imagine. But it looks…breathtaking now. I don’t know how he did it.”
Lucas smirked and turned his back. “I had hoped…Mary, I can’t believe we’re going down this road again. I can deal with you not remembering it all. I can deal with the distance between us. I can deal with your fevers and your emotional stirs. But I refuse to indulge these ridiculous illusions anymore.”
“Illusions?” she said, tense. “I was there! I was there tonight.”
“And where is there, exactly? Does it have a real address, or is it only in your mind? This here is the only mansion out in these woods. Other houses perhaps, but nothing like this. I don’t know where it is you go all the time, but I can be certain that it isn’t to any other fantasy mansion.”
Did he realize how shortsighted he sounded? She wanted to leave this room. She needed a shower.
“You don’t believe me,” she said, defeated. “You really don’t believe me.”
He crossed his arms. “I’m sorry, but we’ve discussed your nightmares before.”
“It isn’t a nightmare. It’s real. I’d show you, but I don’t see the point.”
“You can be so defiant at times. Maybe this game feels new to you , but it isn’t to me. And, to be honest, all this talk of a Joshua has gotten old. If you’re trying to get my attention, you don’t need to invent mysterious men and ramble on about mansions that don’t exist!”
“Ramble on? Is that what you call it, dear husband?”
“Don’t take that tone with me, Mary! I’m merely expressing my frustration at the situation. It’s been hard for me…seeing you like this, watching you deteriorate.”
“Well, I apologize if my memory loss is an inconvenience for you.” Mary shoved him aside and ran toward the stairs, but Lucas stopped her short.
“What is that?”
She knew his eyes were studying her. She turned around. “What is what ?”
“That cut in your back. Below your shoulder blade. What happened to you?”
“I fell, that’s all.”
“It isn’t infected, is it?”
She ran upstairs. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

MARY WASN’T IN THE SHOWER long before Lucas knocked on the door. It was cracked open slightly, the steam creeping out as he moved in. “Is it too late to ask for forgiveness?” he asked.
No reply.
“I realize I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you. My reaction wasn’t fair.”
“No, it wasn’t.” She let the hot needles invade her body.
Lucas pulled off his shirt and unfastened his belt,