Before You Remember

Chapter 6 - The Silent Promise

Sans woke up groggy, and self-resentment developed when the first thing that surfaced in her head was what happened the night before.

She was back in the minister's residence. Looking out of the window, she sees that there are more people around, especially security which appears to have doubled.

Sans wonders why the man even approached her. A feeling swelled within her, regarding her past that she had never questioned or bothered to uncover further. Could she have done something unforgivable, that caused the attack as well as her nightmares? She shuddered at the thought of being a villain in someone else's life. She hates feeling like that. Feeling incompetent, useless and a burden to everyone around her. Sans just wanted to live normally.

Sans tried to leave her room but the guard outside apologised, explaining that she had to be first examined by the doctor before they could determine whether she was physically well enough to leave the room. Sans sighs. She guesses this has to be done to ensure that a second attack doesn't occur to her again. Otherwise, how would the minister explain to other civilians?

In the room, Sans looks for newspapers and books. A lot were related to the possessors. Although she wasn't interested previously, sans decided to take a look at them. She felt obligated to understand more about this realm after everything that happened. The books explain in detail the different types of abilities, and through this Sans guessed that the trespasser's ability was probably physical, given how he was going to kill her with his power. She looks past the cut news articles. They were about how the possessors used their abilities to massacre innocent civilians, townsfolks, and young children. One of the previous ministers was even killed. Sans immediately thought of Alexjax. He too, could potentially be in danger. There was nothing here about the possessors getting killed, which made Sans further unsure about what the trespasser said. Another book was about the possessed genetic make-up. A possessed parent doesn't guarantee a possessed offspring. "The curse attacks at random, leaving these individuals dancing with the devil every day until they are corrupted with no conscience." The more Sans read, the more unsure she was.

She was so absorbed with the newly acquired knowledge that she did not realise that the sun was beginning to set. The red rays stretched outwards in the horizon, perhaps reflecting how the sun was clinging onto the sky as long as he could before the darkness of the night absorbed all the radiant colours to give a dark canvas for the moon to shine all by herself.

"I see that you have been reading up a lot," Sir Alexjax peered over the documents she was reading. She was lying on the floor like a young schoolgirl doing schoolwork. His presence startled her slightly, but seeing that it was him, she was glad to see him. Almost to the point that she had an urge to hug him.

"You don't have to creep on me like that."

"Haha," Sir Alexjax says lightly, "I apologise for that."

"It's okay."

"Shall we have dinner now?"

"Aren't you busy? Don't you have to return to the capital?"

"Technology has cut short my travelling time from 8 hours to 2 hours. I can see you more often now Sans. Also, the 4 hours of travelling to see you make it worthwhile." As he said so, he poured his focus and attention all on her. Sans felt her face turning slightly hot and looked away. Don't think too much about it, Sans reminded herself. Maybe he is deceiving a lot of girls out there as well.

He lifts her up and they head for dinner. Today's dinner was a comfortable home-cooked meal, such as cabbage and chicken soup, mashed potato, and lightly stirred fried lamb. It was apparent to Sans that the food was deliberately healthy in consideration of her physical state.

"You don't have to get the cook to make such dishes. Just get what you want."

"Well, I enjoy watching you enjoy your food."

"You..." Sans stammers. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I barely know you." Ugh, she couldn't keep it within herself. But sir Alexjax simply laughs it off, as if it didn't matter.

"Alexjax, I have questions regarding yesterday's attacker."

"Yes." The minister looks at Sans as if probing and encouraging her to continue.

"Does he...Does he know me? I mean. Did we know each other, like him and me? I'm not sure if you know. But. I used to be a big news half a year ago. The town folks told me they found me at the river bank. Till now...I don't remember anything." Sans looks down, slightly uncomfortable about sharing what she said. She never liked explaining or giving context to why she was like this.

"Well Sans, first of all, don't blame yourself.  My people had checked on his and your background. While we don't have much data about you, we found that he is part of the extremist group of the possessors known as the Crescent. He is also ill. His records show that he has been admitted to a mental institute since he was young. If you don't know, I'm heavily against these genocidal terrorists and have publicly promised to take them down. That terrorist must have noticed that you have been in the residence a few times and targeted you to make you an example for other civilians who will get close to me."

What the minister says makes sense...Sans concludes. But the trespasser's comments sounded so personal, as if hee knew Sans personally.

"If the records are not wrong, the trespasser's data indicates that he has suffered from delusions since young. He often visualises things and events that didn't happen in reality."

I guess that's a reasonable explanation for how he responded, Sans thought to herself.

"Anyways," the minister coughs, with a guilty look," it is my fault for not taking enough care and precaution for what happened. My people have managed to press down news so that this doesn't leak out. But I'm very afraid of similar incidents happening to you. Like, I won't be able to live with myself if a satanic possessed held you at gunpoint again. Living all by yourself is not acceptable at all. Please move to staying here at the residence for the sake of your safety."

Sans understood where he was coming from. He is a politician so he had to ensure that she was safe. Otherwise, his name would be smeared by a possessor. She could imagine the headlines. [Civilian dies after having dinner with the Minister] would be bad. But she enjoyed her alone time. Where would she grow crops? How would she earn money?

"I appreciate your efforts, and I am thankful that you're such a thoughtful minister who looks after his people. However, I don't think I could do this. I like my own time and I also have to make a living. I have not much in my bank."

The minister frowns.

"If you're dead, you can forget about earning money and having alone time. The residence is big - there is a lot of underutilised space and you can use it rear your crops." Sans too got slightly annoyed. Who was he to speak to her in this manner? She barely knew him. But after flashbacks hit her again, she knew that the danger far outweighed the comfort of her lifestyle.

"Okay. I apologise for my careless statement. I am just not sure how we can proceed with this. So, how do I ensure that I don't disturb you while I'm doing my things here? I don't want to affect your usual work as well as the operational work of the staff here too."

"You're not disturbing anyone Sans. Just do whatever you want. For the time being, I would appreciate it if you don't leave the residence. You can bring external guests in after checking with me so that I can get my people to do security clearance. I don't doubt any of the town people here; they're good people but we don't know whether there is a possessor out there taking advantage of them to get to you. Okay?"

Sans didn't want to agree with him. She knew he wasn't even asking whether she was okay with the plan. But when reflecting on this rationally, she understood that this was the best choice so far. Her small nod brought a wide smile to the minister's face and he hugged her warmly. That made her slightly taken aback, but, she wasn't against it either.

"You're a good girl Sans. Thank you for understanding." 

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