Our Darkest Memories

11. Vague Answers and Forgettable Beginnings

6 weeks after forgetting

"Hey, wait up," the little Red yelled as she ran towards me. Her hair was peeking out of her ponytail and she looked energetic. I waited for her to reach me before I started walking again. The bundle of wet clothes that I held under my arms was slowly starting to dry but left a cold spot behind.

The girl raised an eyebrow when she saw it. "Did you go swimming?"

"I did."

"With who?" she asked.

I didn't know why that would interest her, but I assumed that she just wanted to have a starting point for this conversation. "With my friend, Nadia."

"Friend?" A small smile made its way to her face. "You made friends? That's very unlike you."

Though previously I would have been offended, she had a sweet face and I couldn't get mad at it. Besides, I could hardly disagree. I may not have known why she knew it, but I definitely was not the type to make friends with people.

"Anyway, I just want to apologize for Raiden's behavior. He's a little bit grumpy lately. I promise that that is not what he is always like."

"He has every right to be grumpy."

"Yes, well, the thing is that he has been behaving pretty rudely to you and I just wanted to apologize for that."

I turned my head to watch her. She seemed to take all responsibility for it. I came to the conclusion that Raiden and Blaze were probably very close. "You're really good friends, aren't you?" I asked, remembering that Raiden had said she was basically his little sister.

"We are. We have been surviving together for a long time, so we know each other well."

My suspicion got confirmed. Though Raiden had said that I had also traveled with them for a while, I didn't mention it.

Instead, I returned the conversation to where it previously was about. "He's being rude because he's mad at me, and I can't blame him." I wasn't even sure why I was discussing this with her, but it just came out naturally.

She shook her head. "I know what you did and I won't say that it was good to deceive him like that, but he needs to be grateful. If you didn't pick me up I would still be limping around the forest, trying to get away from people that are hunting me. If anyone other than you found me I would've been screwed. Besides, now I still have Raiden and-..." She swallowed. "I still have Raiden around. I wouldn't have liked it alone."

I realized that this little girl tried to be positive and look on the bright side. However, the small hint of sadness in her eyes didn't escape me and I wondered what caused it.

"I'm sorry I gave you a scare," I said, "When I found you. We didn't treat you very nicely." And I meant it.

"Don't worry about it. At least you kept your promise."

I didn't know what promise she was talking about, but she didn't look bothered about it all, so I just let it go.
"How is your ankle?"

"It still hurts a little when I use it too actively, but it's not as bad as it was."

And since a long time, everything just seemed to be normal. We were making small talks while walking back to the camp, covering many topics. What her favorite color was – dark blue. If she ever had any pets when she was younger – she didn't, but she always wished she had a bunny.  Where she lived – the same state as I used to live. All of it made us completely forget about all the chaos around us.

Just like that, we were friends. No more silent treatment and no more icy glares coming my way.

We fell silent for a bit when we came to a halt close to the camp. Though I enjoyed talking with her like we were good friends, I couldn't quite forget why she was here in the first place and I couldn't help myself. "I have to admit that... when you came here, I heard you two talk. Raiden said 'she doesn't remember'. What does that mean?" I asked.