Trauma - A prelude for a story I'm writing

[Janos Biro]

Hi,

I originally posted this in the Critics' Lounge some days ago. Since I got no replies, I figure either it simply sucks or it's in the wrong place (haven't seen much about writing there, just music and visual art). In the small possibility that someone might give me some feedback on this, I'm posting here. Please, do not refrain to give some honest criticism.

“Memory. Memory is everything...
What are photographs if not crystallized pieces of memory? And who would we be without those pieces to tell us who we are? Memory encompasses the whole mental and emotional universe inside of us. Our knowledge, our identity, our affection, our love… Memory is what makes us real. It's everywhere, at every second of our lives. It's our reality. Without memory, there would be just a blank emptiness; there would be nothing but death. Memory is life.
Memory is everything. And now memory is failing me…”

Mia is an artistic photographer whose life is turned upside down when she discovers that she can erase other people's memories with a simple thought. Now, she has to learn how to control this newfound ability in order to protect her family from those who want to use it for hideous purposes, while crossing paths with a dangerous psychopath that has a special ability of his own…

Prelude: Trauma

I close my eyes and try to concentrate in my speech. The interview will start at any moment and I'm afraid everything I rehearsed yesterday will fade away the moment I present myself. I can't fail this time. Not again. I need them to accept me…
-   (Gaarder) Miss Lang? Mia Lang?
-   Me.
-   You're next. Please come in. Have a seat.
-   Thanks.
-   Make yourself comfortable. My name is William Gaarder, this is professor Tolbert and professor Fuhrmann.
-   Hi!
-   If you don't mind, we will start the interview now.
-   OK.
-   (Fuhrmann) So… It says here you want to work with photography, and your main theme is childhood memories. Is that correct?
-   That's it.
-   So start by telling us, what is memory to you?
-   Well, memory is quite a huge topic. One can dissert about memory in psychology, where you have conscious memories and those that are repressed and remain in the subconscious. Or we can speak about culture heritage, the rituals and monuments that keep our collective memory alive, our history. A philosopher can speak about how memory deceives us, how it's not trustable at all. And finally you could define memory simply as data storage, either in a human mind or a computer. But when I say “memory”, I talking about so much more. I'm talking about identity. I'm talking about knowing who you are, eventually forgetting it, and maybe remembering it. I mean memory as the pieces that constitute all of us.
-   (Gaarder) Very well. And why did you choose photography as your medium?
-   Yes, photography changed everything, that's part of my thesis. When the camera obscura was invented, it was just an optical curiosity. But then its concept helped create the monochrome, and that was a bomb! I mean, it was a revolution. Since the middle ages, rich people were the only ones who could pay for a portrait, trying to eternalize themselves in pieces of art. Photography started to change that, as portraits began to become popular in the middle classes. Photography played an important role in the cultural revolution that sprawled from the industrial revolution. And now, with digital cameras, we have a whole new kind of revolution. Anyone can take pictures, and everyone is taking pictures of everything, all the time. Many people think it's easy to be a photographer today, but they forget it's not the technology neither the technique. It's the art. A real photographer has a lot of sensibility. He senses color, light, framing, movement, moment… We have to see the world as a piece of art made of living light, and we have to be in the exactly right spot, with the exactly right configuration, to capture the most beautiful shot available, and it may happen as fast as lightning.
-   (Tolbert) Sorry my dear, this is very interesting, but how exactly does this relate with childhood memories?
-   Sorry, I get excited when I begin to talk about photography.
-   (Gaarder) That's all right, we understand.
-   So, to answer your question, miss Tolbert…
-   You can call me Micheline, my dear.
-   Micheline… OK. Photography is part of our lives now. We all have family photos, and we know how much they are important to us, how much meaning they have to us. They are somehow our link to the past. And this is a relatively new phenomenon in human history. When we look at the photos of our childhood, we start to think about who we were, how we changed, the dreams we had, the bad things that happened, and the choices we made… while childhood is an important topic both in psychology and modern art, photography provided us with an instant way to materialize the past, as a proof of what happened, a proof that we are not always the same person we used to be. A proof that a different person existed back then, and maybe it is still alive inside of us. Maybe we want to be more like this person again. It's all about redemption, you see?
-   (Tolbert) I see. It's about knowing who you were in order to change who you are, am I right?
-   Exactly. So my work will try to access how people think about themselves through photography.
-   (Gaarder) Very good. I understand that you have a passion for photography. But we would like to know why you choose this subject. Why memory? Why childhood? How did you found this subject?
-   Er… That's a very long story…
-   Don't worry, we have plenty of time.
-   Are you sure you want to listen?
-   (Fuhrmann) Miss Lang, we are in fact obliged to hear, as knowing the candidate personal trajectory is part of the selection process to have your project approved in this institution.
-   Ah, OK. Well, then I have to talk about how I began to think about it, I guess. I was always fascinated with memory, and the lack of it, mostly because of, you know… Things, in my life.
-   (Fuhrmann) Can you be more specific?
-   Well, I had some odd experiences with memory lapses, if you can call that.
-   (Gaarder) Are you talking about amnesia or something like that?
-   Sort of. Well, let me put it this way: I met some guys that had pretty strange tendencies to forget about things they shouldn't.
-   (Tolbert) Pardon. I don't follow…
-   *Sigh* All right, it's about boys… All the boys I hang out with seem to have some… memory problems. It's like a curse or something.
-   (Gaarder) I see… *tries not to laugh* *Tolbert smiles* *Fuhrmann raises his eyebrow*
-   No, really! Can you believe I had four different boyfriends who simply forgot my first name? Can you think of a simpler name than Mia?
-   (Gaarder) Wow. That's quite a lot of boyfriends you must have had, don't you think?
-   OhmyGod, I so totally screwed this up…
-   (Tolbert) Not at all, my dear. We are not here to judge your personal life. Simply state your influences, and that's all.
-   (Gaarder) Yeah, sorry about my comment. I didn't mean to judge you; I simply didn't have a great social life when I was young.
-   I'm so embarrassed. I wish I could control my big mouth sometimes…

She closes her eyes and her fists for a second, wishing they could just forget what she said. And when she opens her eyes, they are staring at her, expecting her to say something. She is confused. Eventually, Gaarder intervenes.

-   Miss Lang? We are waiting you to answer professor Fuhrmann's question. Are you having some problem to define what memory is to you?

Her eyes widen in disbelief, her hands begin to tremble. She is in shock.

-   (Tolbert) Dear, are you all right? You look pale.
-   (Gaarder) Maybe we should give her 15 minutes to recompose, she's probably nervous with the interview.
-   (Fuhrmann) Agree.
-   (Gaarder) Miss Lang, you have 15 minutes. Don't be late or we may not be so kind.
-   (Fuhrmann) *Looking at the clock* My God, time flew today!

She stands up, without saying a word, goes directly to the toilet, and then throws up. She washes her face, then looks at the mirror, thinking:
What the hell happened back there? It's like they… they forgot everything I said! How is this possible? I can't… I can't go back there. I have to go home. Mom will tell me what to do. She always does. Damn! I wanted so much to have my project approved…

Chapter One: Safety

...

[Khris]

Sorry, that's called cross-posting and is frowned upon. Muchly.

It was in the right place, but if nobody reacts, that's just tough luck. You could wait for a few more days, then bump it with a double-post (also not exactly encouraged by the rules).
Frankly, I'm not going to read all that, but others might, given enough time. Just be patient.

[Snarky]

Yeah, I'm going to close this thread as a dupe.