Evanescent

9

"Why?" She held her stance, her knees ready to buckle beneath her, but her heart not allowing it, "Why must I remember?"

"Aude-" She watched Orion attempt to make sense of the situation, his face ready to let go of the secrets that she'd yearned to uncover, yet now couldn't bring herself to hear.

"I'd only remember the days that i've spent alone, the days i've spent doing the same thing over and over again ," As she said it she realized the truth of her words, the memories that had been stolen all merely repeated and reused, "That will drive me insane."

Orion looked at her for the briefest moment, her once combed and glimmering hair now knotted and strewn across her back, her disorderly appearance bringing the burst of hope he needed. He turned her so she faced him, placing his hands gently on her petite shoulder, giving her the support she needed to keep going,

"Trust me Lia, your past holds so many secrets that have been stolen from you," His eyes burned into her own, his grip firm, "The truth isn't what you think it is."

"Then what is it?" A hushed scream left her lips, her own forehead creased and eyes searching for answers. She'd let him tiptoe around every question she'd asked, her despair not enough for him to unveil what she desperately needed to know. She needed the reassurance that everything she was feeling was real, that her mind had not decided to simply lie to her as she held onto him for dear life.

Without saying a word she felt him let go of her, leaving her to drown, before quickly grasping onto her hand once more and leading her to something she wasn't prepared for. He took his time, taking each step with caution as he led her past the fragments of filth that they'd walked by before.

He didn't let a single breath go as he took Audelia somewhere that she'd long been forced to forget. They took a sharp turn into what she could only assume was another alley, even more gruesome than the last. To Audelia's utmost surprise they were quickly swallowed by darkness as they continued to trek through a tunnel. She could feel the faintest outline of the walls as her fingers brushed across the cold rocks, the faintest light coming from something she couldn't yet recognized. Though she couldn't see him she knew Orion's face was determined, his eyes narrowed and mouth set into a frown as he pulled her across the sea of blackness. She closed her eyes and tried to let everything settle, ignoring the knot in her stomach as reality got closer and closer with each step she took. She wanted to run away as she felt everything she'd come to know slip away, she desired to let herself continue with the simple life she'd come to loath. The light continued to grow, and she let her lids open, the sun's curtain casting a glow across the tunnel's jagged edges. She felt Orion tense as they reached the end of the darkness, his breath completely halting as the burst of light blinded them. As her eyes blinked away the sun's harsh embrace she felt her own body freeze at what stood in front of her. The tiniest cottage sat on a field of green, it's walls shipped and windows cracked. The picture brought a rush of emotions she couldn't understand as she automatically took a step forward, the blades of grass soft underneath her heels. Visions played across her vision once more, the outlines of a memory playing like a slideshow as she kept her focus ahead. She could see the shack in it's former glory, it's holes and rusted hinges replaced with a sense of excitement.