Project Micro

Chapter 13- An Important Memory

song in the comment section

A few days passed, and I grew closer and closer to the Sorcerer. He was so nice and caring, sometimes too caring, but I didn't fuss since it felt nice for someone to care about me for once. More of the flashbacks had been occurring during the nights and I always woke up panicked and wanting to claw my surroundings. Seto always somehow calmed me down, hugging me and cooing softly to me that everything would be alright. He always helped me, from the smallest cut to a flashback to a small bump. Sure he was a little neurotic at times, worrying about me as time went by, but... I actually liked it.

A couple of days were nightmare free, and I could sleep peacefully in Seto's arms, catching up on much needed sleep. But tonight was not as pleasant...:

"... So if you take x from y by dividing on both sides, you'll get y= 9-w divided by x." The teacher explained, doing the math on the board. "Does everyone understand?" Everyone except me nodded. I was already finished with the other problems. "Ok then, do the rest for homework-" The bell suddenly rang, and kids leaped out of their seats with eagerness, chattering excitedly about the upcoming summer. I merely sighed quietly and started packing my stuff, glancing at my drawing and writing journal before tucking it under my arm and grabbing my bag to leave.

It seemed like a normal day, not talking to other students, doing all of my work, having all A's... And seeing no current point in life. I wanted to be a writer, but that had nothing to do with school really, except for English.

I was on my way home to my house, taking a shortcut through an alley when I spotted two men talking together. I quickly stopped and went back around the corner, about to leave when I heard what they were talking about.

"Are you so sure we should be talking now? She's surely on her way home from school."

"Yeah I'm sure it'll be alright. We already took care of her mother. She won't hurt her ever again. We need her without any wounds, fresh in order to be a perfect specimen." Who are they talking about? I wondered. I took a few quiet steps back, then started walking almost with a skip, making the zippers on my backpack light jingle. I came back past the corner, stealing a glance at the two silhouettes. The men had stopped talking as I walked past the alley, taking the normal path home. Ok, that was weird.

I was about a mile away from my house when I heard sirens, and a few seconds later a fire truck zoomed past me. That's weird. The only dwelling around here is...

My eyes widened, and I stopped in horror.

No.

My home.

I sprang forward and started running, managing to still carry my heavy backpack as I sprinted down the rest of the road, finally spotting the smoke.

"No!" I sobbed, running down the driveway. A police officer stepped in my way, holding me back.

"Miss, I'm sorry but you can't go any closer." I struggled escape his hold on me, feeling torn.

"B-but my home!" I cried out. "And my mother..." He gave me a small knowing look, and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry miss... But she's gone." I stopped struggling and went limp with shock, the policeman catching me before I could fall to the floor and shouting to another to get a shock blanket. I was never close to my mother... She never loved me, but she had a job, which kept us both sustained. She would always hit me or lash out at me, curse at me or something, but now...

"She's too young to sustain herself." I heard the official say to someone else. "And she doesn't have a guardian."

"I'll take care of her." A different voice replied. I let my eyes close as I leaned against the officer, keeping my head lowered and my eyes squeezed shut so that no one would see that I'm crying.

And one small thought came into my head.

Those two men in the alley... Were they talking about me?

I started awake, sitting up abruptly and gasping, blinking rapidly to wake up. Another flashback... I sighed and wiped my forehead in exhaustion, leaning back against Seto's arms and trying to get comfortable again. What was that one about? Normally it was small things, like birthday s or being mistreated, but this? This was different.

When I sighed and leaned my head back against my support, I felt Seto shift before rousing awake slowly. He yawned quietly and sat up a little as I stayed still, not wanting to disturb his sleepy state. Then he freed one arm out from under me to rub his eyes before looking down at me, seeing that I was awake.

"... Another Memory?" He whispered quietly, propping himself up a little more against his pillows. I nodded, closing my eyes and swallowing hard at the bitter memory. He cupped his hands around me and gently brought me up closer to him, right over his heart. I shivered as he set me down, feeling his heartbeat and the gentle motion of his breathing. He gently rubbed the top of my head, murmuring a few reassuring words.

"Do you feel like talking about it?" He asked quietly, I shook my head, snuggling into the folds of his shirt.

"Not right now..." I mumbled tiredly, yawning silently. He gently brushed my bangs out of my eyes so that he could still see my face.

"Ok." Seto replied softly, stifling a yawn. He pulled the cloak to where it covered all but my head, and I nestled under it a little, to where all but half of my face was visible, and I slowly fell asleep with the gentle motion of every breath he took and his heartbeat, as well as his warmth.

Seto stayed quiet as I had slowly stilled, my breathing slowing and signifying that I had fallen asleep. When he realized that I had slipped into unconsciousness, he smiled and gently pet my head again. Then he slowly laid back, easing himself fully against his mattress, and he rested his hand over his heart and me before slipping into sleep.

(random 1st person narrative :P)