A Silver Anniversary

Entry #8

CW: MEMORY LOSS

I found myself standing in a field with nothing but me and my thoughts. It was pitch black with only the faint glow the moon to light my path. I have nothing on me. Why am I out here? Where even am I? All I knew was I had to get away and I did. There was a celebration due to the apparent end of the curse that plagued this town. There was no body which meant no one died. Apparently, it must be the end of this gruesome cycle. Everyone's celebrating, but I knew that this guy was out there somewhere. I left the party. I had to. How could they all be celebrating when the murderer is still out there!? I wondered why he decided to skip this year. It was obvious. I wasn't in town. I'm tied to this case, but how? What could I have possibly done to deserve this. I was a newborn when all this shit started.

On a nearby fence, I saw a bird. It was a starling. Emily was a bird nut, so she taught me about them when I was little. Despite hating birds, I learned a lot about them from her. Yet it was a single starling. Which was odd since Starlings usually flock in groups of a couple thousand at least. But no. It was just one. Another thing is that Starlings aren't native to North America. Why was it here? I slowly walked closer to the singular bird until we were face to face. It didn't flinch or fly away. It just stared. I sat on the fence next to it and looked at everything but the bird. It flew up to my shoulder and just perched there for a while. I didn't know what to do. What if it had some sort of disease or something, but then again, I'm willing to risk it for a moment like this. In that moment I didn't feel as alone as I looked. "You know if my friend Emily saw this. I wouldn't hear the end of it," I chuckled.

It flew away. "Hey!" I exclaimed. "Get back here!" I don't know why but I found myself chasing after a bird. Something in my mind just keeps saying "you can't let it go. Do not let it out of your sight." After what felt like hours of running, I finally lost it. "Damn it." I mumbled. I took a look around me. Something about this place was familiar. A National Park that I've been unaware of in my hometown.

I've been here before, but why can't I remember it? Why is it like my brain is keeping things away from me? I've heard about the brain blocking out bad memories, but I don't even know what the bad memory is. To be honest, I feel like I can't remember anything anymore. It's like my past is slowly being erased from existence. It feels like I'm being erased from existence. Or at least the memory of me is. If my past is erased, will she be erased as well? Would it be like she never existed? I'm the only one that remembers her the real her. I never knew her as Victim #15. I knew her as Emily Webster, the crazy bird girl who cared for everything and everyone. If I forget her, she's gone for good.