When apricots will forget - FINISHED -

Night time reflections

Maeeve was a good person who helped those in need. When she died, no one remembered her. Except me. So I moved to where she lived, brought my apricots and opened her books. I'll never forget what I read in them.

Lying in bed, Ezik listened to the regular sound of breathing coming from his wife, asleep next to him. He stared at the alarm clock on the bedside table indicating twenty past four. He couldn't help but replay the day's events in his head.

Had Kirke been laughing at him? She hadn't demanded anything of him and, throughout their meeting, she had seemed convinced of the magical powers of her apricot garden.

He hadn't mentioned anything to his wife when he got home. She'd think I was an idiot. After dinner he had spent the evening on the internet looking for evidence to support Kirke's story. He'd been inundated with accounts of illuminated people swearing that they'd experienced alien memory wipe, that they'd entered a garden where the exit no longer existed, or that they had memories that didn't belong to them. He had also learned a lot about the difficulties of the nearest village in finding funds to rebuild the town church that had burned down over a hundred and fifty years ago; a tragic story where all the people in the church had burned alive; but nothing about a small garden erasing memories around Goedersdorf. He had checked the GPS maps, but where he remembered meeting the young woman, there seemed to be nothing but an ordinary forest.

Out of patience, Ezik finally got up slowly, retrieved his packet of cigarettes from his trouser pocket on a chair beside the door and quietly left the room. He went into the kitchen and made himself a coffee. I'll just have to take a nap during the day, he thought. Curry was asleep on the floor but immediately felt his master coming and got up. He approached, wagging his tail slowly.

With the coffee still too hot in his hands, Ezik wondered what had really happened in the garden with Kirke. He had loved spending time with her and had been willing to go through the gate to check out the power of the garden, and to be near her. He had no memory of what happened next.

Ezik opened his pack. He noticed that he hadn't smoked a single cigarette in the garden with Kirke. So he must have liked her enough to prefer to hold back. If he had ended up kissing her, it had been worth it.

The young woman seemed happy, but how could she stand the solitude and the confinement? That was probably why she had felt attracted to Ezik, who was just an ordinary man. Why didn't she go out? Besides, who would want to live in such a place? It didn't make sense to spend time having experiences but not be able to remember them. Nobody ever did that.

Ezik took a sip of coffee and lit a cigarette. He looked at Curry who was walking past him, sticking his back to his legs. He bent down and stroked the animal behind the ears. Curry slumped to the ground and turned onto his back, exposing his belly and encouraging his master to stroke him more. Does he remember the garden? Ezik thought, remembering that Kirke had said that magic had no effect on animals. Do dogs have long term memories? He remembered how many times Curry had done something stupid in their absence. There was no point in scolding him for something that had happened hours ago. The dog never seemed to make the connection.

No, it didn't seem that a dog had a long-term memory like humans. And yet the sum of their memories, good or bad, had a real impact on their personality and behaviour. Was this what he should expect from a place like the Apricot Garden? Mini-fragments which, added together, would make him feel an emotion or a desire?

Besides, wasn't it strange that humans try to give their pets a good time? If some moments were for the satisfaction of the master, it also seemed obvious that many outings were also for the happiness of the animal, a happiness that seemed to exist only in the moment lived.

It was the same with the babies, after all. Ezik could imagine a five-year-old with real, if hazy, memories of his summer holidays. But even if a single walk in the park had no impact on a six-month-old child, parents would still give their babies a good time. Just as it would be important to spend time with a parent with Alzheimer's, even if only the present moment would count.

Finally, Ezik almost felt as if he had confused memories of the garden. The more he thought about what Kirke had told him, the more he seemed to remember. He could almost remember the young woman's kiss. Yes, he had been surprised but he had not pushed her away. Well, it was possible...

When he finished his cup of coffee, Ezik put it in the sink and sat down in front of the TV in the living room, waiting for daybreak. Whatever he thought had happened yesterday, it was probably a bad idea to go back. He could certainly find his way back, but what was he going to do when he got there? He didn't know what impact this repeated experience would have on his mind. Seeing the girl again could also be dangerous for his private life. Yes, he'd better forget about this girl and her magic.