"You dozed off again.
Do you know who I am?"
==>
[["Yes."->Yes1]]
[["No."->No1]]"That's wonderful, sweetheart. The doctor said to expect some memory loss from the accident. You keep resetting every minute or so, but maybe we’re through the worst.
I want to hear you say it, though. Say I'm your husband."
==>
[["Accident?"->Accident]]"That’s okay, sweetheart. The doctor said to expect some memory loss from the accident. You keep resetting every minute or so.
I’m your husband."
==>
[["Accident?"->Accident]]“We were all out on the water. There was a storm. You hit your head and fell overboard.
For a while you weren't speaking right. I’m supposed to keep practicing with you.”
<div class="twocolumn">
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/9wvmbelb5ysipt7/ring.png?dl=0" width="300" height="300">
"Do you know what this is?"
==>
[["Ring."->Ring]]
[["Siren."->Siren]]
</div>"That’s right, my dear. You gave this to me forty-three years ago on our wedding day. Father Patrick married us on the beach. Remember? //Heh//, we had so much sand in our hair."
==>
[["I remember water."->Water]]"No sirens here my little prisoner. This is a //ring//. You gave it to me forty-three years ago on our wedding day. Father Patrick married us on the beach. Remember? //Heh//, we had so much sand in our hair."
==>
[["I remember water."->Water]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You remember holding your breath. Diving for shells. Abelone. Conch. This stranger in front of you — his fingers must swell terribly. That ring barely fits him now.//</span>
<span style="color: steelblue">//Ill-fitting ring. A warning siren. You used to be able to hold your breath for ages. Now you hold your breath whenever this man gets near you. Out of what…hope? Fear?//</span>
<span style="color: steelblue">//It’s hard to say. Right now, your breath lasts longer than your memory.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset1]]"You dozed off again.
Do you know who I am?"
==>
[["Yes."->Yes2]]
[["No."->No2]]"That's wonderful, sweetheart.
I want to hear you say it. Say I'm your husband."
==>
[["Can I have a glass of water?"->Errand]]
[["Can you give me a minute?"->Anger]]"That’s okay, sweetheart. The doctor said to expect some memory loss from the accident. You keep resetting every minute or so.
I’m your husband."
==>
[["Can I have a glass of water?"->Errand]]
[["Can you give me a minute?"->Anger]]"Of course! Your loving spouse will be right back.
...don't move."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He leaves and you look around the room. Your brain is a dull stone rolling in a relentless tide. Beside your bed is a dresser and a cordless phone.//</span>
==>
[[Open the dresser drawer->Drawer]]
[[Pick up the phone->Phone]]"A minute for what? You keep asking for a minute!
Sorry, it’s just we’ve gone down this path so many times already.
I’ll go cool off downstairs, and you...
You’ll forget I ever said this."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He leaves and you look around the room. Your brain is a dull stone rolling in a relentless tide. Beside your bed is a dresser and a cordless phone.//</span>
==>
[[Open the dresser drawer->Drawer]]
[[Pick up the phone->Phone]]<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vue265lb4e3wmjq/dresser.png?dl=0" width="400" height="255">
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//The drawer is full of small vials of medicine that shimmer like sunlight on water. But below the soft tinkling is a strange, papery rasp. There’s something stuck underneath the drawer.//</span>
<span style="color: steelblue">//You hear him climbing back up the stairs, humming a familiar song.
You stick your hand under the drawer and pull out a wrinkled photograph. There’s no time to look at it. He’s almost here.//</span>
==>
[[Put the photo in the drawer->PhotoDrawer]]
[[Hide the photo under your pillow->PhotoPillow]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//There’s a button that says “History,” which is exactly what you’re missing. You press the button and two numbers appear.//</span>
==>
[[911->Call]]
[[Cyrus->Call]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You put the photo in the drawer and lie back in bed.
As you wait for him to appear, you wonder if you'll remember how to find the photo again.
And just before your memory slips, you wonder why it was hidden in the first place.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset2]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You put the photo under your pillow and lie back in bed.
As you wait for him to appear, you wonder if you'll remember how to find the photo again.
And just before your memory slips, you wonder why it was hidden in the first place.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset2]]"You dozed off again.
Do you know who I am?"
==>
[["Yes."->Yes3]]
[["No."->No3]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You’re about to dial when you hear him climbing the stairs, humming a familiar song. You hang up and lie still, waiting for his face to appear in the doorway.
As it does, you feel your mind slip and a black tide rushes in.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset2]]"Well then, how about a kiss?"
==>
[["Can I have a glass of water?"->Errand2]]"That’s okay, sweetheart. The doctor said to expect some memory loss from the accident. You keep resetting every minute or so.
I’m your husband."
==>
[["Can I have a glass of water?"->Errand2]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He frowns.//</span>
<==
“I just gave you a glass of water.
You drank the whole thing. Don’t you remember?”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You can't tell if he's joking or not. You can't tell if that look on his acne-scarred face is a smile or a grimace. When he speaks again, it sounds like genuine concern.//</span>
<==
“You’re not getting better. I'm calling the doctor.”
==>
[[Reach for the phone by the bed->Phone1]]
[[Lie back down->Bedridden]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//There’s a button on the phone that says “History,” which is exactly what you’re missing. You press it, but no numbers appear.
When you look up he’s watching you closely, his face unreadable. You consider pushing “Redial” but before you do, the phone rings, and he grabs it from you to answer.
You can't hear the voice on the other end. Your ears are filled with the rush of ocean.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset3]](if: (history:) contains "PhotoPillow")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You lie back as he begins to pace the room. There’s a crinkle underneath your pillow. Like a warning. A siren. Something’s under there. Something’s on the tip of your tongue. The phone by the bed rings and he quickly grabs it.
You can't hear the voice on the other end. Your ears are filled with the rush of ocean.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset3]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "PhotoDrawer")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You lie back as he begins to pace the room. His eyes never leave you. The phone by the bed rings and he quickly grabs it.
You can't hear the voice on the other end. Your ears are filled with the rush of ocean.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset3]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "Call")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You lie back as he begins to pace the room. His eyes never leave you. The phone by the bed rings and he quickly grabs it.
You can't hear the voice on the other end. Your ears are filled with the rush of ocean.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset3]]
]
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You must have dozed off again.
You're in an empty bedroom.//</span>
<span style="color: steelblue">//Through the open door you hear a man’s voice rising in waves. He sounds worried. Angry. Beside you is a dresser with a syringe on it.//</span>
==>
[[Open the dresser drawer->PhotoDrawer1]]
[[Grab the syringe->Syringe]](if: (history:) contains "PhotoPillow")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//As you move to open the drawer your pillow gives a faint crackle. Like a warning. Siren ring. Something is under there.//</span>
==>
[[Look under your pillow->UnderPillow]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "PhotoDrawer")[<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v4auq6hza4so9o9/picture.png?dl=0" width="300" height="300">
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//There’s a photo sitting on top of a stack of small vials. It’s a picture of you standing next to a handsome stranger. In the background is the faint wash of ocean. You don’t know his face but something about it warms you from the inside. You can almost feel the comforting weight of his arm. You can almost hear the waves crashing.
Not waves. Steps of someone coming up the stairs.//</span>
==>
[[Put the picture back in the drawer->OptionA]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "Call")[<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v4auq6hza4so9o9/picture.png?dl=0" width="300" height="300">
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//The drawer is full of small vials of medicine that shimmer like sunlight on water. But below the soft tinkling is a strange, papery rasp. There’s something stuck underneath the drawer.
You stick your hand under and pull out a wrinkled photograph. You’re standing next to a man. In the background is the faint wash of ocean. You don’t know his face but something about it warms you from the inside. You can almost feel the comforting weight of his arm. You can almost hear the waves crashing.
Not waves. Steps of someone coming up the stairs.//</span>
==>
[[Put the picture in the drawer->OptionA]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "PhotoPillow")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//As you move to grab the syringe, your pillow gives a faint crackle. Like a warning. Siren ring. Something is under there.//</span>
==>
[[Look under your pillow->UnderPillow]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "PhotoDrawer")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You bring the syringe close to your face. It smells like saltwater. A memory is drowning somewhere inside you. You press the plunger and a bit of liquid dribbles onto the carpet.
The saltwater smell is stronger now and you see the face of your husband. You can feel the rock of a boat. Outside the room you hear the man’s voice getting closer.//</span>
==>
[[You cry out. It almost sounds like a name.->OptionB]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "Call")[
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You bring the syringe close to your face. It smells like saltwater. A memory is drowning somewhere inside you. You press the plunger and a bit of liquid dribbles onto the carpet.
The saltwater smell is stronger now and you see the face of your husband. You can feel the rock of a boat. Outside the room you hear the man’s voice getting closer.//</span>
==>
[[You cry out. It almost sounds like a name.->OptionB]]
]<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/v4auq6hza4so9o9/picture.png?dl=0" width="300" height="300">
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You find a photo of you and a handsome stranger. In the background is the faint wash of ocean. You don’t know his face but something about it warms you from the inside. You can almost feel the comforting weight of his arm. You can almost hear the waves crashing.
Not waves. Steps of someone coming up the stairs.//</span>
==>
[[Put the photo back under the pillow->OptionC]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//A man appears in the doorway.//</span>
<==
“Did I wake you? I usually leave the phone downstairs in case it rings.”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//The word “ring” is familiar. His face isn’t.//</span>
<span style="color: steelblue">//It’s the one thing you know for certain: this isn’t the man from the photograph.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset4]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//A man appears in the doorway.//</span>
<==
“Did I wake you? I usually leave the phone downstairs in case it rings.”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//The word “ring” is familiar. His face isn’t. The room smells like the ocean. You clutch the syringe like you’re drowning.
The face of your husband floats in front of you. It's not the same man you see now.
Your breath quickens as you drop beneath the waves.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset4]]“That’s right. Come on, sweetheart. I’m your husband. I’ve been caring for you ever since the accident. You need to take your medicine.”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You pull the plunger back and fill the needle with air. His body wavers. He looks old. His hands, arms, and neck are covered in whispery blue veins. Have you held those hands? Have you buried your face in that neck? Have you spent years tracing the warm and cold currents that flow from his heart?//</span>
==>
[["Where's Cyrus?"->Cyrus]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionC")[
[["I feel like I'm drowning."->Drowning]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionA")[
[["You're lying."->Medicine]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionB")[
[["When I fell in the water,
did you try to save me?"->NoPhoto]]
]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He looks toward the window, listens nervously. Then he smiles.//</span>
<==
“No sirens today. That's a syringe, and it's for your medicine. I'm your husband, and I'm here to make you take it.”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You pull the plunger back and fill the needle with air. His body wavers. He looks old. His hands, arms, and neck are covered in whispery blue veins. Have you held those hands? Have you buried your face in that neck? Have you spent years tracing the warm and cold currents that flow from his heart?//</span>
==>
[["Where's Cyrus?"->Cyrus]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionC")[
[["I feel like I'm drowning."->Drowning]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionA")[
[["You're lying."->Medicine]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionB")[
[["When I fell in the water,
did you try to save me?"->NoPhoto]]
]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//His voice has a sudden edge. Like a rock rising sharp above the waves.//</span>
<==
“How do you know that name? Give me that syringe — I need to inject you!”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You pull the plunger back and fill the needle with air. His body wavers. He looks old. His hands, arms, and neck are covered in whispery blue veins. Have you held those hands? Have you buried your face in that neck? Have you spent years tracing the warm and cold currents that flow from his heart?//</span>
==>
[["Where's Cyrus?"->Cyrus]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionC")[
[["I feel like I'm drowning."->Drowning]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionA")[
[["You're lying."->Medicine]]
]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionB")[
[["When I fell in the water,
did you try to save me?"->NoPhoto]]
]"You dozed off again.
Do you know what you're holding?"
<img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/abkodg3oohgrrh5/syringe.png?dl=0" width="400" height="200">
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He won’t come any closer. He’s looking at your hand. You struggle to find the right word.//</span>
==>
[["Syringe."->Ending1]]
[["Siren."->Ending2]]
[["Cyrus."->Ending3]]"We’re both drowning. It happens to me every time you go back to sleep. It's like I can't breathe."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He continues, tears in his eyes.//</span>
<==
"But that’s what we have to do, sweetheart. We'll take turns, just like when we're out on the water. One of us sleeps while the other one sails. I promise I’ll never let you slip too far under."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//It hurts: how much you want to believe him. He sees the hurt on your face, sees your hand start to shake. He reaches for the syringe and for a moment you see the soft flesh of his upturned wrist. A memory floats to the surface: him reaching out a hand just before you go under the waves.
Your watch is nearly over. Soon it will be his turn to drown.//</span>
<==
"I'll be good to you. Let's just start again. Come on, sweetheart. Breathe."
==>
[[Breathe->HauntingEnd]]
[[Inject him with the syringe->DeadHusbandEnd]]"I'm //not// lying. You want proof? Look at all these vials."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He goes to the drawer and pulls it open. You hear the tinkle of glass, and then a strangled gasp. He's looking at the photograph you left in there. A vein by his temple begins to throb. He picks up the picture, and turns to you slowly.//</span>
<==
"Cyrus was never good enough for you. I saw him hesitate when you fell into the water. We met eyes and that's when I knew. I knew that if only you and I survived, I would treat you better than he ever could."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He steps toward you, reaching for the syringe. For a minute, you see the soft flesh of his upturned wrist. A memory floats to the surface: him reaching out a hand just before you go under the waves.//</span>
<==
"I'll be good to you. Let's just start again. Come on, sweetheart. Breathe."
==>
[[Breathe->CalmEnd]]
[[Inject him with the syringe->DeadStrangerEnd]]"I //am// Cyrus. And anything that says otherwise can be erased."
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//He steps toward you, reaching for the syringe. For a minute, you see the soft, exposed skin of his wrist. A memory floats to the surface: him reaching out a hand just before you go under the waves.//</span>
<==
"I'll be good to you. Let's just start again. Come on, sweetheart. Breathe."
==>
(if: (history:) contains "OptionA")[[[Breathe->CalmEnd]]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionA")[[[Inject him with the syringe->DeadStrangerEnd]]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionC")[[[Breathe->HauntingEnd]]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionC")[[[Inject him with the syringe->DeadStrangerEnd]]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionB")[[[Breathe->CalmEnd]]]
(if: (history:) contains "OptionB")[[[Inject him with the syringe->DeadHusbandEnd]]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//Tears stream down his face. You imagine they taste like the ocean.//</span>
<==
“Isn't it enough that I'm trying to save you now? I'll be good to you, better than he ever could have been.
Let's just start over. Come on, sweetheart. Breathe.”
==>
[[Inject him with the syringe->DeadHusbandEnd]]
[[Breathe->CalmEnd]]=><=
#RIPTIDE
[[START->Start]]=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You dozed off again.
There’s a weight pressing you into the bed. But it’s a comfortable weight, the weight of a man’s arm around you. He murmurs something into your hair and you smile even though you can’t explain why. He slips his other arm around you, sliding it underneath your pillow, and you can hear it rustle against something that sounds like paper.
His breath catches for a moment, and you feel the questions begin to cloud your mind. Who is he? How will the two of you survive the coming storm?
But then from under your pillow comes the sound of him crumpling the paper in his hand. The sound reminds you of how waves can turn even the toughest rocks into sand — like they have all the time in the world.//</span>
=><=
#####The End=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You dozed off again.
There's a stranger standing in the room, humming a tune that almost sounds familiar. His back is to you. He's crouched over a metal trash can and is filling it with what looks like papers and old photographs. You're about to speak when you hear a match strike, and the crackle of flame.
You remember something: not about him, but about the fire. You used to be in charge of the driftwood. You'd comb the beach for logs big enough and dry enough to burn. Soon the room is full of sound and smoke.
The tide used to bring you wood to burn. And this man used to bring you the matches, smelling of sulfer, like the devil himself.//</span>
=><=
#####The End=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You dozed off again.
There's a dead body on the floor. Next to the body is a photograph and a syringe. You lean over the bed. In the back of your throat you taste saltwater and bile.
The dead man is a stranger to you, but you recognize yourself in the picture. You're younger, and you're standing next to someone who almost looks familiar. It's not the same man who lies dead on the floor.
You call 911. As you wait, you notice the dead man is wearing a wedding ring that's much too small for him, and you're overcome with an urge to pull the ring free.
It won’t come off at first but you’re patient. Patient like the tide.
There are sirens in the distance, echoing like gulls over the ocean, which you also have survived.//</span>
=><=
#####The End=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//You dozed off again.
A stranger lies on the floor, dying. Next to him is an empty syringe. He's wheezing, whispering, and you hear the word "husband."
Your husband is dying before your eyes. You would do anything to save him. You would sacrifice yourself — that's how much you remember loving him.
The memory washes over you, as you reach for the phone, but then something makes you stop. Your finger hovers over the button as the dying man mouths "9-1-1."
You would have died to save your husband. And the reason you do nothing now — the reason you watch this stranger until he stops breathing — is because you remember your husband was the same way, and that he died saving you.//</span>
=><=
#####The End=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//A man appears in the doorway.//</span>
<==
“Did I wake you? I usually leave the phone downstairs in case it rings.”
=><=
<span style="color: steelblue">//The word “ring” is familiar. His face isn’t.//</span>
<span style="color: steelblue">//It’s the one thing you know for certain: this isn’t the man from the photograph.//</span>
==>
[[Breathe->Reset4]]