The Lost Day

Sensitive Theme Potential: mention of mental health, being drugged

I jolted awake and looked at the time. It was 7 am. I must have turned off my alarm again. I jumped out of bed and hastily got ready for work.

I grabbed a protein shake and a banana, rushed out the door, and drove to work.

But when I got there, the parking lot was empty.

I frowned and glanced at my phone.

Saturday?

No… It was not Saturday. It was definitely Friday. 

But it was clearly right in front of my face. Saturday.

I glanced at my calendar.

I had an important meeting scheduled for Friday. I could not remember going to it. My eyebrows scrunched. There’s no way that meeting happened. I couldn’t remember anything about it.

I looked at Thursday on my calendar.

I had a doctor’s appointment. It was definitely yesterday. I even remembered writing the date on my paperwork. It felt like I had to write it fifty times.

October 14. October 14. October 14. Over and over. 

It was October 16th.

Where did the 15th go?

I pulled out of the parking lot and drove home.

I would wait until later. Then I would call my coworker, Suzie. She would tell me about the meeting yesterday, and I would remember everything. I just knew it.

Time passed slowly. I kept checking the time. I didn’t want to call her too early on a weekend.

I finally made the call at 10 am.

Suzie answered.

“Hey, Ash. What’s up?”

“Hey. I was just wondering if you could remind me what happened in the meeting yesterday?”

Suzie didn’t answer for a moment.

“You don’t remember?”

“I, uh… No. I really don’t.”

“But you took notes…”

“Oh, right. I’ll go check my notes. Thank you.”

“Yeah… Hey, is everything okay? You were acting kind of weird yesterday. And now you’re saying you don’t remember the meeting.”

I let out a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah. I guess I’m just having an off-week.”

A pause.

“Okay. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks, Suzie.”

“Anytime.”

I hung up the phone and opened the drawer where I kept notebooks.

I opened the one at the top.

The last time I had written in it was October 14. There were no notes from October 15.

I flipped through the pages in case I had accidentally skipped some pages. Nothing.

My heart started racing. 

I checked other notebooks. They were full. Nothing from October 15.

Suzie clearly said I was at work yesterday. She said I took notes. Why couldn’t I remember anything? Where were my notes?

I began searching the house. Maybe I accidentally wrote the notes in a different notebook and put it somewhere else.

By the time I was done searching, my home looked like it had been ransacked.

I sighed. Nothing. I couldn’t find any evidence of what happened.

My phone rang. Mom.

“Hello?”

“Hey. Ash, where are you?”

“I’m at home. Why?”

“I thought you were coming over today? You said you would be here at 12.”

“When did I say that?”

“Yesterday.”

My stomach sank. I didn’t remember that conversation either.

“Ash? Are you there?”

I cleared my throat.

“Yeah, Mom. Sorry. I must have forgotten. I’ll be right over.”

“Okay. I love you and will see you soon.”

I swallowed.

“I love you too, Mom.”

I looked around my house. It was a mess. I looked at the time. I was already an hour later than I supposedly told Mom I was coming over. The mess would have to wait.

I was really dreading being alone anyways.

I grabbed my keys and drove to my parents’ house. 

I pulled into the driveway and smiled.

My mom would help me feel better. I just knew it.

I walked inside and smelled soup and fresh baked bread. My mouth started watering. 

My dad playfully nudged my shoulder.

“Nice of you to finally show up!”

I let out a nervous laugh.

“Yeah, silly me. I’m so forgetful.”

My mom walked into the room and gave me a hug.

“Hey, you made it!”

“The food smells delicious.”

“It’s ready to eat! Come dish up.”

I smiled.

“Thank you.”

I sat down at the table with my parents. The food tasted even more delicious than it smelled.

It was just what I needed.

“So how has work been going?” Dad asked.

I choked on my soup and dabbed at my mouth with a napkin.

“It’s been okay.” 

“Just okay?” Mom asked. “Didn’t you just get a promotion?”

“Yeah, I suppose I did.”

Mom’s brows furrowed.

“Is everything okay? You seem off today.”

“Yes. Sorry. I’m just having a weird day. I woke up thinking it was Friday and went to work. It wasn’t until I showed up to an empty parking lot that I realized it was Saturday.”

Dad leaned back in his chair and laughed.

“Oh, that’s always the worst! I remember one time I got up at four in the morning and took a shower before I realized it was the weekend and I could’ve slept in!” 

I joined in his laughter. Dad was right.

People mixed up days all the time. They would think it was Monday when it was actually Friday. Or Tuesday when it was actually Thursday. 

I looked at Mom.

She smiled, but it didn’t meet her eyes. She seemed to be studying me. It felt like she could tell something still wasn’t right. Moms always knew.

I shifted in my chair.

“So, how have you guys been?”

Mom’s eyes lit up. She broke away from her intense stare and spoke like the Mom I knew.

“We have been great! I just bought tickets for a vacation for us. We are going to Italy for a week!”

“That will be wonderful! You’ve always wanted to go to Italy.”

Mom smiled.

Things seemed to go back to normal for the rest of my visit, and by evening I got back in my car and drove home.

I had nearly forgotten what happened that morning, until I walked into my house. My belongings were flung everywhere.

Ugh.

I went room by room, putting everything back in its place. When I was finished, I sighed.

My body sank into the couch and I turned on the TV. I flipped through different streaming channels, trying to decide what to watch. 

Eventually, I settled on a light-hearted movie.

After the movie, I got ready for bed, snuggled into my covers, and fell asleep.

I awoke to a normal Sunday morning. I leisurely got ready for my day.

It was beautiful outside. The sun was shining. I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.

When I got home, I checked my phone. I had a text message from my best friend, Kali. I opened it.

“Hey! I’m so glad we were able to have dinner together Friday. It was good to see you and catch up. We should do it more often.”

Attached was a picture of us sitting in a booth at a restaurant. But I did not remember the photo being taken.

My stomach dropped.

Friday? What the hell happened Friday?

I hadn’t seen Kali in weeks. We’d both been busy with work and life. There was no way I could have forgotten going to dinner with her.

I zoomed in on the picture. The person looked exactly like me. 

I carefully examined each part of my face in the picture. There. 

I ran to my bathroom, phone in hand. I looked at my nose, and compared it to the nose in the picture. 

On my nose was a tiny, barely noticeable beauty mark. In the picture, it was absent.

Who was that?

I called Kali.

“Hey! What’s up?”

I could barely breathe.

“Kali…that wasn’t me in the picture. We didn’t have dinner together on Friday.”

“What? Of course we did! Are you okay?”

I started to sob.

“No. I don’t think I am okay. I supposedly did several things on Friday that I don’t remember.”

“Hey. Hey. It’s okay. I’m coming over. I’m leaving right now.”

I could hear keys jingling and her door opening through the phone speaker.

“Okay,” I swallowed. “I’ll see you soon.”

I was still crying when Kali knocked on my door about half an hour later.

She hugged me and led me to the couch where we both sat down.

I told her everything. She listened carefully.

She frowned.

“Do you think you might have been drugged after our dinner? That could have made you forget everything… and maybe your notes are at your desk at work?”

I sighed. 

“Maybe. But who would have drugged me, and how? I would have gone straight home after dinner.”

“…But you don’t remember. So there could have been somewhere else you went after we went to dinner.”

“Maybe…” I trailed off. “But also, the picture you sent me. The person in the photo doesn’t have this beauty mark.”

I pointed at my nose, and then at the nose of the person in the picture.

“You could have been wearing makeup, or maybe it was the lighting. I think the more concerning thing is figuring out who may have drugged you.”

I frowned. 

“How could I even figure that out?”

“Can you check your phone to see where you went Friday?”

“How do I do that?”

Kali put her hand out. I placed my phone in her palm. She swiped several times before giving the phone back.

“Unfortunately, your location settings are off. So I am not able to tell… I’m sorry. Maybe we should call the police to report this.”

I laughed.

“Why, so I can end up in an institution for the mentally insane?”

Kali snorted. 

“I guess you’re right. But I’m really concerned for you.” She paused. “Have you looked through your text messages and phone calls to see who you talked with on Friday?”

I frowned. I had not thought of that.

I went to my call log. On Friday, I answered phone calls from both my mom and Kali. Nothing else. No text messages. No outgoing phone calls.

My heart started racing.

Could Kali have drugged me?

“I have to go to the restroom.”

I rushed to the bathroom. I closed and locked the door behind me.

Why would she have drugged me? 

I thought about our entire friendship. Did anything seem off? I genuinely couldn’t think of a single thing.

Also, if she was the one who drugged me, and she truly was the last person to see me before I went home, I didn’t think she would have recommended going to the police.

Unless she only said that because she didn’t want to seem suspicious.

A knock sounded on the door. I startled, knocking items off my bathroom sink.

“Are you okay?” Kali asked.

“Yes!” I paused. “I’m okay. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay.”

I took several deep breaths and left the bathroom. 

Kali was sitting on the couch.

“Hey, I totally forgot I needed to go to the grocery store today. Sorry you drove all this way to see me.”

Kali looked up at me.

“It’s okay. I’m always here for you. I am nervous about you being alone, though. I’ll go to the grocery store with you. It’ll be good to spend more time together.”

I spluttered.

“Uh. Yeah. Sure…”

Kali frowned.

“Do you not want me to?”

I sighed.

“I do… I’m just really freaked out.”

“Then going to the grocery store alone is the last thing you should do. Let’s go,” Kali smiled.

It was a genuine smile that melted away my suspicions. This was the same person who has been my best friend since we were seven. She was right. The danger was out there, and she could help me stay safe.

We had so much fun at the grocery store. My stomach ached from how hard we laughed. 

We drove back to my house and put away the groceries.

I made us some lunch, we snapped silly selfies, and spent hours playing board games.

I was feeling much better.

I was still bothered by what happened Friday. It nagged at me. But I knew without a doubt that Kali had nothing to do with it.

After dinner, Kali went back home.

I began locking up my house and getting ready for bed. I needed to get a dog or something. I usually didn’t have any issues with living alone, but this weekend I was beginning to question that. 

I was also feeling really anxious about work.

Would my meeting notes be at my desk? Would I remember writing them?

It took me longer to fall asleep than normal. I tossed and turned through the night.

I was really groggy when my alarm went off.

I got up and got ready for work.

As soon as I arrived, I went straight to my desk and began looking through drawers.

There.

I found a notebook and I opened it to the most recent page.

October 15.

But that wasn’t my handwriting. 

My stomach sank.

I scanned over the notes as quickly as I could. My heart felt as though it would burst from my chest.

These notes were very detailed. I was able to figure out everything I needed to know from the meeting.

But who wrote them? How did nobody realize that person wasn’t me? How did they have access to my phone? And most importantly, where was I when this happened?

I have to talk to Suzie at lunch. 

I spent the next several hours flinching at every noise. Every time someone came to my desk to bring me a document. Every time the phone rang. Every time a door would shut.

One of the newbies approached.

“Are you alright? You’re really jumpy today.”

“Uh… Yeah. I guess I really need to lay off the scary movies.”

The coworker laughed. 

“It’s spooky season, though.”

I let out a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah. That’s true.”

When it was finally lunch time, I clocked off. I started to walk towards Suzie, but my phone rang before I got to her.

It was Kali.

“Hey. So more stuff happened. The notes in my desk weren’t written in my handwriting.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Uh… the notes.” I paused. Her voice sounded really tense. “What’s up? Are you okay?”

She paused. 

“Yeah… I’m having a weird day. I woke up to a call from my work because I didn’t show up. They were checking to see if I was okay. I swore today was Sunday.”

My throat went dry. Kali continued.

“I went through my phone and saw that I answered a call from you yesterday, but I don’t remember talking with you.”

I swallowed.

“We hung out yesterday. You don’t remember?”

A long pause.

“I don’t…”

I texted her the pictures we had taken.

Kali was quiet for a few minutes while she studied the pictures.

Her voice cracked.

“Ash, that’s not me.” 

“What do you mean?” I asked…but I already knew the answer.

“I have a scar next to my eye. The scar isn’t there.”

I stayed silent for a moment.

“Ash. Are you there?” Kali asked.

“Yes. Sorry. I believe you. It happened to me too. I lost Friday. You came over yesterday to comfort me. Or…I thought it was you. But Kali. I couldn’t tell the difference. They knew inside jokes between us. They acted just like you.”

“What do we do?”

I sighed.

“I don’t know…”