The Memory of Things

On the way home, along the Promenade, they see countless posters and signs searching for missing persons from the attacks. The girl tells Kyle she does not want to go to a hospital, and he tells her she won’t have to. She tries to explain how more memories are “pressing in on [her]” today (127). Kyle asks her to name simple things she likes, and she lists several, which he names back on the walk home: Rainier cherries, Mario Kart, dance steps, watermelon Blow Pops, Alanis Morissette. Kyle tries to explain that he thinks knowing even simple things about her is important “because it matters to [him] that [she’s] here” (131).

Kyle teaches the girl a memory trick to explain how he easily remembered her list of likes. He creates a random list of 10 objects and gives her a minute to memorize them in order, but she can recite only the first three plus others later in the list. Kyle teaches her an association game in which each object is paired with a part of the body and a sound, and when she tries again, she gets the whole list effortlessly. It is a fun diversion, but when they are done, Kyle realizes he has forgotten all the tragedy of the last days, and when he recalls it all, he is “slammed by the memory of things” (138). He accepts that “normal” is no longer an option, and he admits that Uncle Matt is “where he was a month ago,” too. The girl recites the list again and curtsies; it brings contentment back to Kyle, who appreciates how the list of 10 simple things allows them to briefly forget.

The time is labeled “Wednesday, Late Afternoon into Evening, 9.12.01” (139). Kyle’s father calls again from the Pile, apologetically checking in but needing to stay. The girl takes the memory list to Uncle Matt and convinces him to try it; he gets all 10 without any prep time or peeking.

The girl and Kyle play Mario Kart after dinner, and then Kyle tries to find different news on TV but cannot. He notes that it is as if no other recent stories happened once the attacks occurred: “No toxic mold stories. […] No Washington Square Park rape case with those rich Upper East Side douche bag prep-school kids trying to buy their way out of things” (142-43). Finally, he finds an episode of Win Ben Stein’s Money on Comedy Central. Uncle Matt gets all the answers. Uncle Matt also warns Kyle that the girl cannot stay indefinitely; Kyle promises to call the next day.

After he gets Uncle Matt into bed, Kyle sees the girl dancing in the bedroom wearing the wings. She found Kerri’s ballet shoes and is making the most of the available space. Kyle gets emotional watching her. When he cannot sleep that night, he tries searching online for missing students from the arts high school and figuring out what her name could be, but he has no luck with either. He also searches for more info on amnesia and learns that intervention treatments (rather than letting it resolve on its own) include hypnosis and administering “truth serum” (150).

It is now “Thursday Morning, 9.13.01” (150). Uncle Paul calls early, asking Kyle if his father is home. At first, Kyle, disoriented and exhausted, says no, but then he realizes his father is indeed home. Uncle Paul seems frustrated by Kyle’s uncertainty, but at the end of the call, he tells Kyle he loves him. Kyle realizes that Uncle Paul was not irate, just concerned; he also sees how greatly things have changed, as Uncle Paul was never one to express emotion before.

By the time Kyle is out of the shower, his father is up making pancakes and has Uncle Matt situated at the table. Kyle and his father hug, and his father commends him for taking care of the apartment and Uncle Matt, which makes Kyle proud and emotional. Dad surprises Kyle by announcing he knows about the girl; Uncle Matt told him. Kyle says he read that amnesiacs regain their memory on their own time; Dad says he understands but intends to “report her down at the Pier,” a temporary police missing persons unit; if nothing comes of that, they will call Social Services the next day. Kyle agrees that’s a good plan. He asks if he can leave the apartment after Uncle Matt’s caretaker, Karina arrives. With some persuading, Dad agrees, telling him to stay in Brooklyn.

Once Dad is gone and the girl is eating pancakes, Kyle gets a deck of cards, extracts the 12 face cards, and shuffles them. He goes through them with another memory trick for Uncle Matt, creating a story for each “character, action, and object” (165); for example, the queen of hearts is Kyle’s mother flying from California; the next card, king of diamonds, is King Midas counting his money. Kyle continues until the 12 cards each have a story; then Uncle Matt recites back the list of 12 cards in sequence with no mistakes.

In the girl’s perspective, she prepares to go out with Kyle. In the bathroom, she sees a New York Insider edition from June 2001 and touches the face of one of the prep-school boys accused of the Washington Square rape. She buries the magazine in the basket.

Kyle asks the girl what the smattering of memories feels like, but she asks not to talk about it. The streets, subway station, and subway car are strangely empty; the mayor requested that people try to do some regular activity in the city, so Kyle is proud to serve in that capacity. He notes missing person flyers in the subway. People smile kindly and empathetically at one another. He tells the girl some of the facts he learned about amnesia from researching it, including a man who suddenly insisted after a surgery that his name was Sven and he spoke only Swedish, never having known it or been to Sweden. The girl finds this very funny, and they laugh, attracting stares from the other man on the train. Coney Island is even oddly empty, even for September. Kyle sees that stands belonging to speakers of Arabic are closed and locked tightly; one has a sign reminding passersby that the owners are “FIRST Americans” (176). They get Nathan’s hot dogs and sit to eat and look at the ocean, but Kyle finishes quickly, nervous from the proximity to the girl; he wants badly to kiss her. The girl runs down to the water, and before Kyle can process her actions, she goes into the water up to her waist, then dives under the waves.

Memories of someone teaching her to swim in the ocean come back to the girl. She swims out far enough to feel the water washing over her, wanting it to “wash away” memories of “ghosts” (181).

The girl floats briefly on the calm water, then swims back. Kyle seems angry but says he was just scared. She welcomes his hug.

Very shaken, Kyle suggests the girl dry off in the restroom at Nathan’s. She tries to explain how drawn she feels to the water, which simultaneously holds her up and threatens to pull her down; she feels “completely untethered” (183), looking at the land and unsure if she should want to return. Kyle insists that she is “tethered to [him]” (183).