Beams of sunlight shone through the leaves in the forest. Taranza ducked under a branch and sat on top of the bench on the other side. Magolor joined him. "I want you to know, this doesn't change how I feel in the slightest."
Taranza averted his eyes. "I shouldn't have told you. Everything was fine until I said all that."
"Everything is fine." Magolor put one of his hands on Taranza's side. "Nothing in the past will make me love you less now. If I had a problem with someone who was haunted by the past, not only would I be a hypocrite, but I wouldn't have stayed with you this long."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Taranza pulled him in closer for a hug. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
Magolor's hands started emitting a gentle, comforting warmth. "As much as I appreciate the thanks, you don't need to say it if this happens again. If you ever get like this again, I promise I will be there." They remained there for another few seconds before Magolor backed away. "Is there anything you want to do?"
Taranza leaned against the back of the bench. "I think I just want to stay here for a while."
Magolor leaned back as well, sitting in silence for about a minute before he spoke again. "Can you identify all of the plants around here?"
"I can. For example," He pointed to a dandelion. "That's a plant. That on the other hand," He pointed to a rock. "That's not a plant."
"Thanks, wise guy." He gave Taranza a playful shove.
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When Taranza awoke in the morning, everything he had forgotten came back to immediately make his skin crawl. He could only hope that Magolor was still alive. Despite how unsettled he was, he couldn't muster the energy to get out of the hospital bed.
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"New floor." Francisca announced. "It's I." She didn't carry any emotion in her voice. Having finished breakfast, the others went down to floor I to see what was there.
On the way, Elfilin got off on floor E, mentioning that he would be keeping an eye on Taranza. "Maybe I'll find Bandee here, too..." By this point, the feeling of resignation in the air was overpowering.
The elevator stopped on floor I, and the remaining people got off. They looked around at the new rooms, those being an art room and a chemical lab. Back in the hallway, they simply glanced around at one another. They breathed a collective sigh of mental exhaustion.
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Elfilin pulled back the curtain. Taranza was awake, and Elfilin could tell from the atmosphere that he had found a grip on reality again. He was holding a flower in front of him and solemnly staring at it. The air was heavy. "..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You can start talking if you want to. My hearing is one of the few things I have left, and I have no problem using it." Taranza may have been trying to sound cordial, but his voice only showed despair and anger.
YOU ARE READING
The Arrow of Time
Mystery / ThrillerThe Star Allies have been kidnapped. As they try to sort out their situation, someone among their ranks is making them disappear, slowly but surely. Who is behind this, and why?