The Institute of Forgetting

One day while I was walking along, I was given a flyer by this man who was handing them out to people. I took one and read it. It had a nice design to it and the colors made me "oooo" at it. The flyer read:

“WANT TO FORGET PEOPLE YOU DON'T EVER WANT TO REMEMBER? Well we, at the Institute of Forgetting can help you forget all the people you want to forget. Want to forget about your ex-boyfriend who ran off with your mother? Want to forget about the guy who gave you a 2 gram filled hash brownie? Well look no further. For only $99.99 we can wipe those people away!”

I decided to visit the institute.

I walked into this silver looking, egged shaped building. The receptionist greeted me as soon as I entered. "Hello and welcome to the....." She seemed to have forgotten where she worked. But I knew it was the Institute of Forgetting. I reminded her, but she looked at me funny. So I asked for the name on the flyer and she told me to take a seat. Curious on how she remembered his name and not where she was, I looked back at her and found that she looked confused about what she was doing sitting there.

A few minutes later, a man in a white doctor's jacket came out and called my name. I went in and we talked for an hour. He told me how he could erase all the people I wanted to forget and explained how. He then gave me a pad and pen so that I can write all the names.

I began to write.

After I was finished, I turned in my paper and he sat down and read it. One of his eyebrows lifted as he read my paper and then he laughed. "Ah, ha ha ha, this will be a piece of cake! You should see the names of people my patients ask to forget."

I was taken to a room where they laid me down. This hat like thing was hovering over me and it started to lower itself onto my head. "This won't hurt." said the nurse. "…I'll need you to count backwards starting from 100." So I started to count from 100. Later I realized I was still counting as I reached to 45 and then I was out.

Hours later, I woke up in a white room. I wasn't sure where I was. “Did I die and go to heaven? Where am I?” The doctor walked into my room. "Oh, doctor. I was just wondering where I was. Now I know....I think. Where am I again?" The doctor said, "You're here at the Institute Of Forgetting. I see the operation was a success. Soon you'll forget about the people on your list and this place. But before I let you rest, let's see if you can remember all the people you wanted to forget. And after that, you might want to look at your bill." He smiled and winked at me.

He went down the list of names and I could not remember any of them, except for one person. "That's a name I think I can remember, but I'm not 100% sure, doctor. It sort of rubs me the wrong way."

The doctor said, "Sometimes there's a glitch in the system. Or you’ll just need some time to let the procedure kick in. l assure, Lani, that you'll be fine and will forget shortly. But if not, you're welcome to come back and try again. Free of charge!” He laughs and I was confused where I would come back to, but I said, "Umm, okay thanks."

All of a Sudden, the nurse came into the room rushing over to the doctor. She whispered into his ear and then he said, “I’m coming right now.” She ran out of the room in a hurry, closing the door behind her.

“Lani, I must take care of something right now. A little emergency. Umm, nothing to be alarmed with, so just rest.” He smiled, winked at me again and hurried out of the room. I was curious to know what the ruckus was, but I just lay back down.

So when I got home, one of the things the doctor told me to do is write down all the names of the people I remember. So here is the list of people I remember:

-Mom
-Dad
-All my sisters
-My brother
-My 2 nephews and 1 niece
-all my uncles and aunts and cousins
-Tanya from high school
-Maria from the laundry mat
-Theresa
-Peggy
-Tomas
-Marc my doctor
-John from across the street
-Jack Black
-The super – I forgot to put her on the list.
-My 6 co-workers - cause the rest of the company I decided not to remember
-My dog Booboo
-Let's just say all celebrities and TV personalities
-The mailman?
-The cashier at the supermarket – not sure why though.
-Most of my friends
-Tony the break dancer
-Joe Ayala: He was my buddy in high school who liked me but I only liked him as a friend, although he was sexy. So for me to remember him, he gave me a sexy picture of himself lying on his mother's couch. I still have this picture. Why? I’m not sure.
-Bill? Why do I still remember him? I guess it's true. There are glitches.
-Fran my neighbor
-Matt who works for the Bratz company. He's sweet.
-Gregory from second grade
-Johnny, who made me bend over to pick up my pencil, just to look at my boobs.
-Zak

"Wait! Zak?? I can still remember Zak?! This is bullshit!! Why am I still remembering this asswipe! I can remember how much of a bitch this guy was. Always thought he was the shit. There is a serious glitch here because I put him on my list of people to forget. And somehow I am still remembering this cry baby. Cocky son of a bitch. If I had the chance I would kick him up his….”

The door bell rings.

I walked over to the door. It was the mailman handing over a letter. “Thanks, mailman.” I closed my door and walked out onto my balcony. “The Institute of Forgetting?” Curious, I opened it to see what it was. “I’m being billed for a hundred bucks? What is this? Okay whatever.”

I went inside and I threw the letter out. As I walked by my desk, I noticed on the notepad a list of names. I picked it up and wondered what it was. Was it my Christmas list? No, it can’t be. Why would I have the mailman and cashier on it? And Bill? Bill was nuts. Why would I write his name down? As I looked down the list, I noticed the last name. I could not remember who that was and why I wrote it down. It didn’t matter, I needed to wash my hair and take a bath. So for whatever reason I wrote all these names down, I’m sure I’ll remember it later. I tossed the list in the trash can, where it landed by the bill.

I entered the bathroom, ran the water and took off my clothes.