Cairo

Chapter 35: Memory's Catalyst

Cairo placed his hand on his hip as his feet crunching on the sandy, cracked terrain under him came to a halt. He let the quiet surround him as he took in the sight in front of him.

An almost dried up oasis. Surely beautiful in its time of full glory. There were still remnants of the time when it was at its peak—a half cut tree stump, some grass that hadn't died all the way, dried out veins of plants in the water. Cairo slid his glance over to Aerie who was looking at the place in utter distraught, her face scrunched up, her body recoiled as if she was in pain. But before Cairo could say anything, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

It was shining in the dirt a couple feet away. Cairo bent down on one knee, digging his fingers into the ground. To his surprise, the ground was still moist, so his fingers went in easily through the surface. When he felt something hard, he grabbed hold of it and pulled it up.

A ring. It was made with pure gold, though top was empty where a missing jewel, Cairo presumed, was supposed to be. The embedded design was still around the ring, though an age of being lost underground had tainted it so text was unreadable. Judging by the size, Cairo thought it was probably from a male, maybe a merchant who'd lost his way through the place.

Around Cairo was a plain with very few tree stumps lingering around. At one point in history, it was a large forest. The trees were rumored to be so high that just going through the chaotic mess of a forest was enough to get people who knew the way lost in its branchy, foliage maze. There was even a monument in a nearby town for people who had died. That was just for the bodies that were found...

The thought of how many bodies laid buried under the ground calling out to passersby to bring them back home sent a shiver through Cairo's body.

"I know," Aerie said, and Cairo jumped.

He turned his head to her, expecting her to be looking back at him, but she was still standing in the same position that he'd last seen her in, staring at the oasis in front of her. Her face was blank, no more distorted by whatever had plagued her mind.

"I know this place," she continued. "I remember... a face. His smile. He liked to swim in the waters here."

Aerie pointed to the hole in the ground where the water would have been, but by this point it was barely a divot of partially brown dirt. The years of blowing sand, dust, and earthquakes had probably filled in the hole. Cairo took a breath, the thought of how big the oasis had to be an amazing thought to him.

Then his body froze, his eyes plastered to Aerie. She was remembering something. Something from long ago when she was human. Her memories, the precious things she was searching for. Would she remember them this time? or would they float to the back of her subconscious again?

Cairo clutched his fists in front of him, his face growing dark as he continued in silence to listen to Aerie. If she wouldn't remember, he would remember for her.

She brought her hands up to her head, grabbing strands of hair though the space in between her fingers, and winced. Her teeth slammed down on each other as her body curled forward. When she spoke, her voice was louder, almost like a scream, compared to the whispered voice before.

"I can see his face like it's right in front of me," she cried out. "He's standing there, admiring the plants around the water. It's sparkling. So bright and blue. The surface looks like a mirror, and I can see my face in it. But it's not my face."

Without a word, Cairo walked over to Aerie. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her against his chest. Lightly, he stroked the back of her head and whispered gently into her ear.

"Go on," he told her, "I'm listening; I'm always listening."

"I won't remember," she cried into his shoulder. "It hurts. I don't want to."

"I'll remember for you. Just keep talking."

Aerie shook her head, pushing Cairo away from her. She stood in front of him, silent, with tears in her eyes. No comment about anything was said as she turned around, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I can't remember anything else," she said. "I just remember his face. He's standing there saying something, smiling at me, but I can't hear him; I can barely see him. He's just there, and I don't know why. I feel like I know him—" Aerie shook her head. "—even though I know I don't."

"It's a memory," Cairo said, taking one final look around the small oasis, trying to picture what it must have looked like in Aerie's memories. "You don't know him; you knew him. If he was around when this oasis still had water... How old did you say he was?"

"He was tall." Aerie looked over to where Cairo was, but he could feel her eyes go straight past him, and knew he was standing near the spot the man in her memories must have been. "He seemed older, with a defined chin. Dimples, he had dimples when he smiled, but his cheeks weren't flabby. Kind of muscular. Though, it was easy to see he didn't work off, he was confident enough, I think he could be a decent fighter of some kind at least."

Cairo scratched his head. When he spoke, he couldn't bring himself to look at Aerie. His eyes trailed to the side.

"Do you think he was an old master of yours?"

Aerie shook her head. "I saw my face in the water, but it wasn't my face."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that it was my face, but it was younger." She pressed her lips together, the lines creasing on her forehead as she thought. "Kleptos don't age. We're created in one image, even though some posses the ability to change that... I don't."

"It's a tricky situation," Cairo mumbled.

The words caught Aerie's attention. She snapped her head up to him. Her eyes searched him like a hawk to its prey.

"You know something, don't you?" she accused.

Cairo held up his hands next to his head, taking a step back. He swallowed, the spit getting stuck in his throat as he tried to force it back down. "I swear I don't. It was a just a comment. I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually since it looks like you're finally getting your memories—"

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Aerie, think about this rationally, why would I lie to you?"

"I'm a Kleptos," she said, and any light that was in her face at that moment left like a whirling wind, leaving a dark and ruthless doll in its wake. "All I do is think rationally. We don't let emotions hinder us because we have none."

"But you do."

"I don't. I'm a Kleptos. Those memories." Aerie swung her head side to side. "They're not mine."

"Then who else do they belong to?" Cairo screamed.

Aerie said nothing. She just looked at him. Because she had no answer for his question, no logical argument that she could put up. So she said nothing. Stood still like a statue, trying to quell the nagging voice inside of her, whispering sweeting temptation that stung.

.

The quiet wrapped around them like a blanket, scooted in the middle of them like an old friend returning to his rightful place between them. Even with the deadly silence, Cairo still jumped when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned around, clutching at his heart and swatting the hand away. Cairo glared at Coaltrice. She glared right back, throwing her hand to the side.

"This isn't the time for games," she hissed.

"If anyone is playing games, it's you sneaking up behind me like that," Cairo defended himself.

"Stop the mockery; I called your name three times, but you never answered." She shook her, taking a step forward to pull Cairo closer. "You need to come back with me right now. We don't have time to dilly dally. There's an extreme emergency."