“That’s the White Stripes,” I said, and saw her back stiffen for a second. “‘Seven Nation Army,’” I added, her eyes widening as she turned around, and I felt the need to explain. “There was a T-shirt in the trailer. I remembered the band, but this image of a younger girl kept coming to me... I think...I think it was you.”

Her face lit up, her apparent confusion transforming into a broad smile. “Ash, this is incredible. You remembered something from our past. You remembered me. Meg White was my hero. I dressed up as her three Halloweens in a row.”

The relief I felt from retrieving a memory, something clear but unthreatening, sent a rush of adrenaline through my body. Before I had time to think about it again or change my mind, I said, “You’re right, I should see a doctor. I need to know what’s going on.”

She gasped, put a hand to her throat. “Really? You’ll go see Dr. Adler?”

My initial excitement waned a little but held firm. There was no backing out of this now. “Yeah. Things are coming back and maybe he can help make it happen faster.”

“I’ll come with you. I’ll call him now.”

“No, I’ll do it. If I want to get back to normal, I should start by advocating for myself.”

Maya pulled out her cell, swiped her finger across the screen and handed it to me. As it was the weekend, I didn’t expect Dr. Adler to answer, was preparing to leave a message, but he picked up the phone with a baritone hello.

“Good morning,” I said quickly. “My name is, uh, Asher Bennett.”

“Good morning to you, Mr. Bennett.” His voice rumbled a little, his words neat and precise, measured, and in direct contrast to mine. “How may I help?”

“I need an appointment. I...I’m having trouble with my memory.”

He paused. “What makes you say that?”

“I can’t remember anything before yesterday.”

“Oh, goodness. In that case you’d better come to my practice today.”

We agreed to meet as soon as I could get there and he gave me the address, which I scribbled down before realizing Maya probably didn’t need it. After we hung up, I turned to her, hoping she wouldn’t see how anxious I felt. “We can go now,” I said, “but remember I told you how I felt when I saw the police cruiser? I don’t know why that happened, but...I don’t want to tell Dr. Adler I was in Maryland. Let’s keep that to ourselves for now.”

“Of course. Whatever you say.”

“And when we get back, I want to search for myself online.”

She hesitated, playing with the wooden, seahorse-shaped pendant hanging on a leather strap around her neck. “I spent hours last night doing exactly that when I couldn’t sleep.”