Lost In The Memory

Chapter 8: Betty - Haunted

Word of the Day – Qualm

Previously on Lost in the Memory,

Augustine and James spent the night in the woods, where Mr. Sweetpants introduced her to alcoholic drinks. They fooled around until James received a phone call that informed him of the return of his nightmare.

On the other hand, Betty was surprised to see someone after a long time at Inez's party.

A bottle, a party, a kiss...

It was all coming back to me.

"I–Isaac...?" I hesitated while asking. The boy in front of me was quite tall. I recalled the distinct features of his face, his jet black hair, and the contrasting skin which was whiter than the swans, singing a song implying their impending doom.

"Glad you remember me. Although, you look as if you have seen a ghost. Is it my skin?" He stroked his eyebrow with a finger and chuckled.

I looked into his eyes with an expressionless face. Before I could say anything, he pulled me tightly into a hug. His arms that wrapped around me felt stronger than the last time.

"It's nice meeting you after all these years," he said. We parted. "This is quite a surprise." I tucked my hair behind my ear and managed to smile briefly. He smiled. "Let's sit and have a... chat." He winked at me as he mocked my nickname, Chatty. "But we have to prepare for the party, don't we?" I insisted.

"Look around, Betty! This is the party! I knew you would be coming here, so I did everything myself. Now, be honest with me and tell me whether you liked the setting, the moment you walked out of the kitchen?"

You know what my reaction was. He did a pretty good job. The color palette and the decoration suited the Western theme. He was honest towards the theme.

He wore a cotton shirt with long sleeves. It was a loosely-fitted, band-collared work shirt that did a pretty good job at hiding his muscles. He wore canvas trousers with suspenders.

In addition to them, his vest was made up of wool and leather which had a myriad of pockets stashed with accessories that looked like props from a western movie. His tall boots with pointed toes had heels that added to his height. He carried a leather cowboy holster and a gun replica stashed in it.

Overall, he made a good cowboy. The only missing thing was a hat, which is the epitome of a self-respecting cowboy. He might have saved it for the party.

I looked around, and my interest in the party kept rising as I explored. The entrance towards the backyard from the kitchen was a giant western boot arch. The hot tub was surrounded by haystacks. Next to it was a giant Rodeo bull standee in the corner. It was placed diagonally in between split wooden rails towards the corner, creating a triangular secluded spot. There was a wooden banner on the rails that said, 'Bull Riding, One at a Time'. It looked like a shed. I was intrigued by its purpose.

Several stools in the middle area had been brilliantly transformed into a cowboy hat. The more I observed, the more astounding the setting looked.

There were intricate details everywhere that embellished the theme even more. The wooden rails created a path that ran around the entire lawn. Wooden fences had been set up that divided the lawn into several sections.

Closer to the exit, on a stool-turned-into-cowboy-hat, was a pile of belt buckles. I picked one of them. There was an inscription which read, 'Godspeed'.

A fight, a farewell, a kiss...

That word flashed in my mind.

A tap on my shoulder startled me. It was Isaac. "You were staring around for an awkward amount of time. You okay?" I nodded with a smile. "Shoot! I gotta run some errands. I will have to leave. We can catch up later during the party. Why don't you sit down and rest until the party begins?"