Eight-year-old Nicki Lauer wandered down the sidewalk in the back of the pack, her best friend Emily by her side. The two girls skipped along, arm in arm, in no rush as they happily sung.

"He's got the whole world in his hands,

He's got the whole wide world in his hands,

He's got the whole world in his hands,

He's got the whole world in his hands!"

They slowed when they neared the big oak tree. Emily leaped over the crack, careful not to step on it. Nicki did the same before jerking her friend’s arm, making her stop, as her gaze turned to the tree. Carefully, she let go of Emily, a curious expression on her face.

"Ma’am?" she called out. "Are you lost?"

A pair of warm, brown eyes drifted from across the street to the child in front of her. Slowly, she shook her head. "No, I don’t think so."

"My name’s Nicki," she said. "What’s your name?"

The woman frowned slightly at the question. "I’m not sure."

Nicki’s brow furrowed. "You don’t know your name?"

"No." A soft sigh escaped her lips. "I can’t remember."

"I was named after my daddy. His name is Nick, like Nicholas. Everyone thinks it’s funny, because I’m a girl and he’s a boy, but I like my name." Nicki tentatively stepped closer. "Hey! Maybe that’s your name, too!"

She shook her head. "I don’t think so."

"Maybe it’s Sam," Nicki said. "That’s my mommy’s name. It sounds more like a boy, though, but her real name is Samantha. She’s having a baby soon. His name is gonna be Sam, too, but like Samuel and not Samantha, because that’s definitely a girl’s name."

"Sam." A soft smile turned the woman’s lips as something in her chest tugged and tightened, like it recognized the word. "Samuel."

"Could that be your name? Sam?"

"Maybe," the woman said. "Although, I think it might be Sarah."

Serah.

"Nicki," Emily hissed, tugging on her friend’s arm, her face scrunched up with concern. "You know you’re not supposed to talk to strangers."

"It’s okay," Nicki insisted. "She’s not a stranger . . . not really. And besides, Mrs. Mallory said we should help people if we can, remember?"

The little girl rolled her eyes and turned around, starting to stomp away.

"So how come you don’t know your name?" Nicki asked, shrugging off her friend’s brusque departure. "Everybody knows their name, even Johnny Lee, and he doesn’t know anything. He’s such a dumb-head."

"The doctors say I have amnesia."

"My mommy has that!" Nicki declared. "She went to the doctor because she was dizzy, and they took her blood with a needle and said it was because of am-nesia. She didn’t forget her name, though."

Serah smiled softly. "I think you mean anemia."

"Oh." Nicki shrugged it off with a laugh. "How come you got amnesia?"

"I had an accident a few months ago." Serah motioned toward the busy street in front of them. "I woke up in the middle of this street, right in this spot. I had no memory of anything before that moment. My first memory is of a pair of crystal blue eyes gazing down at me from above."

"Was it when it was storming?" Nicki asked. "Because a lot of people had accidents then. Emily’s daddy got hurt, too, but he’s okay now. He still knows his name."

"Yes, I think so," Serah replied. "They said I woke up when it ended."

"Nicki!" Emily hollered down the street, her hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes. "Come on!"

Nicki sighed dramatically at her friend before turning her focus back on Serah. "Are you sure you’re not lost? I’m good with directions. I don’t even need a map!"

"I’m sure," Serah replied, turning her focus back to the community center. "I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be."

Nicki ran off to rejoin her friend, giving a brief wave goodbye, as Serah’s gaze drifted across the street. Heavy afternoon traffic flowed by, a line of school buses shielding her view of the community center. When all was clear again, her gaze fell upon the form standing outside of the building. He was dressed in all black, blue eyes intense compared to his dark hair and tanned skin. He stood in the shadows, shielded from her, darkness shrouding him. Serah stared into those piercing eyes, losing herself in them, feeling like she was floating in the clouds, literally swept off her feet. She let out a shaky breath, his name on the tip of her tongue, but it wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard she fought to remember it.

In a blink, he was gone, fading away like an apparition, a vague memory out of her reach. She saw him everywhere: sometimes when awake, sometimes when asleep. He spoke once, his lips moving, his quiet voice whispering what she believed was her name.

Sighing, she turned away and grabbed her discarded shoes from the ground, carrying them as she strolled barefoot through the school playground. She bypassed the swings, hardly giving them a look as they swayed slightly in a nonexistent breeze.

Someday she’d remember, she swore. Someday she’d know his name. Someday she’d know hers. And someday, she’d know why: why he haunted her every thought, why, when she looked into his eyes, she felt like she was home.

Because time passes, and memories fade, but a beating heart never truly forgets anything.