Free Forgotten: a truly gripping psychological thriller by Heleyne Hammersley Page A

his smile and the gentle lapping of water on the side of the boat. It was all very hazy but she woke with an unfamiliar feeling of well-being and pleasant anticipation. Suddenly she had high hopes for the hypnotherapy as though, now she’d re-established contact with her subconscious, grabbing it by the throat and shaking it was well within her capabilities.
    Ekachai kept his word and arrived just after her breakfast things had been cleared by an ever-smiling nurse. She had showered and dressed before breakfast but he waited patiently while she combed her hair. The mirror still told her that she looked a little vacant but she was buoyant on fresh hope, fuelled by the fact that the scar above her eye wasn’t as sore-looking as last time she’d examined her reflection this closely. She was healing, slowly but, with a sudden shiver, she remembered the word ‘damaged’ in the journal – was she beyond repair?
    Ekachai smiled up at her as she re-entered the room as though he approved of her appearance. He stood up, allowing her to pass, letting her take the lead and take her time – no pressure. Kai took two steps towards the door and paused. Could she really do this? This room was all that she knew and leaving it was surprisingly difficult despite her excitement and anticipation. She had a sudden urge to grab the door frame and stay with the familiar and the comfortable. Desperately she scanned the room looking for an excuse to procrastinate, a chair out of position or a crease in the bed cover. Nothing seemed out of place so she began rehearsing excuses in her mind, many small reasons why this was suddenly such a bad idea. It was too soon. It wouldn’t work. She was frightened.
    Ekachai was a model of tolerance. He stepped through the door and then paused, leaning his back against the wall of the corridor and smiling his encouragement. She could sense him willing her on and finally she broke out of the room like a swimmer surfacing after a length under water – even her breathing sounded like she’d just performed some amazing physical feat. She grinned back at the doctor and a silent understanding passed between them. She’d just taken an important step towards her recovery. She willed herself not to look back at her bed.
    Despite her anticipation, she had to admit to herself that the world outside her room was a disappointment. The grey corridor seemed to run the length of the building with doors off at regular intervals like an art student’s first attempt at perspective. The paintwork was scuffed and chipped and the dark line where the walls met the floor was grimy and greasy looking. Obviously, whoever mopped the floor only managed a cursory lick of damp cloth in the difficult-to-reach, and difficult-to-complain about, areas. They walked in silence and Kai became aware of other people around her, other patients. From one open door she heard a radio, a song that sounded vaguely familiar; through another she saw an old man lying motionless on top of his bed covers. She tried to absorb both, to add them to her paltry collection of memories, just so that she had something to think about that was outside her room.
    Halfway along the corridor Ekachai stopped at the double metal doors of a lift. Kai’s heartbeat picked up as Ekachai stabbed the call button with an authoritative thrust of his index finger and her tension grew as the numbers above the doors crawled down towards them. She counted in her head, six , five , four … There was no way she was going to be able to get in the lift – the idea was horrifying to her but she had no idea why that should be. She’d expected to feel only relief when she left the confines of her room. The indicator light was on three, only one more floor to go. She could hear her breath rasping as she fought for air, each inhalation more laboured than the last.
    ‘Can we take the stairs please?’ she asked, hoping Ekachi wouldn’t notice the panic in her voice as she silently