A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 17 - Memories

Melinda let out a deep sigh after having realized that they had been waiting too long for her to speak up. She started to tell them every detail without skipping anything, talking slowly, and they listened to all of it. She noticed that they could feel her complete sorrow and pain, as they most likely imagined everything in their heads. When she told them about the spell, they froze for a moment. During that moment, Melinda remembered Amanda's screams. Even though she heard them less clearly this time, they were still fresh, like a wound that she had gotten in a battle that only recently stopped bleeding. It took another deep breath for her to continue, and in a minute, she was done with the story. Then, Wendy raised her hand.

"What is it, Wendy?" she asked, looking and sounding completely emotionless.

"If you were paralyzed by the spell, how did you sit down seconds before?" Wendy inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Every movement causes me severe aches, and this is apparently supposed to continue for the next few hours."

Wendy smiled. "We've planned something. Frank and I will hold you so you won't have to torture yourself."

Melinda scowled. "Wendy... What have you planned this time?"

"It's nothing serious, Melinda. Don't be so uptight," Wendy responded with a laugh.

Melinda crossed her arms. "Do you think I don't know you, Wendy Alastair? You and Amanda have an obvious connection, and I merely know that because she was the one who informed me! I am certain it has something to do with the bloodstains on your coat, and even if you found a way to bury me, I would rise from the ashes thanks to all the unrest I'm feeling just to solve the mystery."

Wendy's mouth trembled at those words, and, despite her overwhelming negative emotions, Melinda knew that she still had to consider the feelings of others. 

"That doesn't mean I don't trust you as a friend. It simply means that the amount of pressure within me has brought me to absolute exhaustion, and the effects of the spell aren't helping at all," she said softly. "I have no idea how Maria manages her problems with such ease, but I applaud her."

"Don't compare yourself to Maria. No one's tranquillity can compare to hers," Wendy spoke, smiling tenderly.

Melinda immediately smiled back. "Yes, you're right. Anyway, what is it that you wanted to show me?"

"Patrick's walls don't deflect magic," Wendy explained. "I have discovered that when everyone's absent, we can create a hole in the wall and talk to the person on the other side."

Melinda's eyes widened after having grasped the meaning behind those words. She stretched her hands towards Wendy, who helped her stand up as soon as possible, pulling her into a hug first. For those few seconds that they hugged, Melinda's heart filled with hope and warmth, reminding her of the flowers and the birdsong and the endless chatter with her loved ones that she so yearned to preserve. 

Once that ended, Wendy encircled Melinda's neck with her left arm so that the other could cling onto her. It was slightly uncomfortable for her to move in such a position, but her veins testified to the fact that it hurt a lot less than it would have if she were walking by herself. Frank followed after them instantly when he got the chance, and soon they reached the other side of the room. Wendy did not hesitate to cast the spell, especially since there was no one around. Melinda observed the process with utmost attention - every glow of the wall's shadow, every flick of the hand, every line drawn in the air for the purpose of creating a circle, every bit of pain that went into Wendy's clenching of her right hand into a fist at the end. Most of the wall was but a round hole now with debris everywhere around the spot they were located at, only to be returned to normal several minutes later. Melinda and her friends walked right past that, which allowed them to notice Melinda's parents, Imelda and John, right away. 

They were sitting in the corner behind their bowls that contained remnants of porridge that looked perfectly edible from afar, which Melinda assumed must have been disgusting on purpose, judging from her and her companions' experiences with the food Patrick served them. Both of them had large bags under their eyes that proved that they indeed made strange sounds whenever she would randomly wake up in the middle of the night and that it wasn't just a product of her imagination. Her mother's short hazel hair was a hue darker than usual, and her curls were completely tangled and set loose. Their faces were alright for the most part, but there was occasional dry blood and red marks on them. Aside from whipping, she wondered what he did to them. 

She and those with her sat on the floor. She could see that the mouths of her parents were wide open from noticing the effects of the spell. That motivated her to explain the story to them as well, and she knew that they would have a lot to say, but they had way more to say than she had expected.

"Who is Amanda and how is she connected to Wendy? Surely Wendy would know better than to associate with one of those people," said her father.

"Dear, I am sorry to perturb you, but that is less important than finding out why that man wants our daughter to work for him that much," her mother responded with a stern facial expression.

"We could get to know why Mr Finn does nothing when it comes to his family," John uttered while shifting his glance towards Frank with furrowed eyebrows.

"How much did the spell hurt you? Will you recover soon?" Imelda asked quietly, crouching towards her daughter and putting her hands in hers.

John sighed. "I must admit that, while I love the level of affection you have towards the ones you hold close to your heart, it sometimes annoys me, woman. It was solely the first attempt, and she should recover in a matter of hours. It can only get better with her following attempts until that man rots and dies at once and leaves the world alone."

Melinda said nothing for a moment, making her mother frown and stare at the ground for a while before she began talking again.

"I apologize in the name of both of us. I know that you just wanted to have a conversation that is as normal as can be, and I know how overwhelming everything must be for you. I don't want us to join that list as well. Always remember that we both love you as a daughter, friend and protector of the people. I will never regret having given you birth."

After that, she gave Melinda a hug, which left her with even less heart to tell her how exaggerated that sounded. She smiled, shedding a tear that fell onto Imelda's wrinkled pink dress. Her heart warmed due to her receiving a second hug that day, and, as much as she hated it, she had to make a confession to herself. Her mother's hug was much better than Wendy's could ever be. That still did not diminish the value of her hugs, simple signs of appreciation she believed were much underrated in these times. It never would, but there was something about the hug of one's mother that was impossible to replace.

"I forgive you, mo-"

She would have finished that sentence if it weren't for the knock on the door that echoed through the room. Everyone halted as they heard it, moving as fast as they could to hide all the things that could point to the reunion. Imelda and John hastened to return to their former positions. No one said a word as Wendy carried Melinda back to her corner with twice the speed and struggle as compared to the previous time she had to do so, leaving Frank to be the one to undo the spell. And as the wall closed off, Melinda did not have the time to tell or show anything to her parents. As the door creaked, she and her friends trembled with visibly the same thing on their minds - what would happen this time, especially if they had been discovered.