Secret

Secret will never find her parents again, simply for the fact she doesn't even know who they are anymore. No matter how they look for her, they will never gain resolution as to what happened to their little girl. Her parents are heart-broken, they'll always be heart-broken. They feel as if it's their fault she disappeared. 

The scientists in the research facility were overjoyed to find such a rare find, something so rarely known and hardly researched. Maybe it would be the last chance they'd ever have to research something like this. Quickly, they began to isolate her in a nice, secluded, rustic barn area free from suspicion, and electroshocked her every day. To prevent senses from getting in the way, they utilized a tough helmet meant to obscure unnecessary sight, scent, and sound. They did human experimentation on her, although they didn't call it that, because they didn't call her human. They believed her to be a mere test subject. They used psychedelic drugs on her, and "driving" tactics inspired by Dr. Cameron in the 1960's. She was strapped to a chair everyday, and forcibly listened to a recording repeat the same phrases for weeks. 

At the point Gerroson discovers her, at age 20, she had completely regressed into total amnesia. Even simple things, like toilet-training, were stolen. Her speech was taken, all she had left were cat-like drawls. It terrified Gerroson to the very core. 

Eventually, Secret relearns simple things, little by little. Because the scientists had wired her for so long to act on her animalistic, cat-like impulses, she is a bit of a kleptomaniac. She steals anything that is shiny, that attracts her attention, and mimics others often. This often gets her in trouble. Her trauma and limited understanding of what happened leads to her confidence and preference to Gerroson. She has a great aversion and discomfort around men. As time passes, she develops a crush on him, but Gerroson sees her differently than that. He helps her blend into society the best she can. Waxing her fur on a regular basis, hiding her tail under dresses, whatever it takes. He is the one who makes her change her hair color as it begins to grow back into thick white-orange locks. When she goes to find a wig that can effectively mask her appearance, she chose the first one that randomly attracted her attention-- a very thick pink wig. In the future, when her hair grows long enough, she is attached enough to the color that she dyes it this. Gerroson is appalled at the very severe misunderstanding but doesn't have it in him to tell her to choose another, so he lets it slide. In the future, when her hair grows long enough, she is attached enough to the color that she dyes it this.

Over time, there are hints of her original personality here and there, but it's still not the same. She would need assisted living and lots of help, and lots of patience. Perhaps by her thirties, she might be able to live independently without any type of aide. I don't think that's likely, though.