Forget Me Not

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

His mouth pulled into a wide ‘O’ while his stiff arms relaxed entirely in disbelief.

“This can’t be!” He exclaimed triumphantly, hopping around to ‘look’ at me. His eyes had widened as well, but I couldn’t tell before because of the position I was in. “You’re the one I’m supposed to help!”

“What are you talking about?” I questioned lightly, trying to stay calm despite his obvious excitement.

“I’m the other half of Anam. He told me I would meet a girl who would bring me to her home for protection. He told me that the key word would be from someone else saying ‘welcome home, Anam’. This used to be his house, before the war.” He explained although his words were a bit mashed together to the fast pace he was using.

“First, slow down. Second, you must be crazy. I can’t help you fix this world. I’m not good enough for that.” I coiled my face up a bit, my confidence falling to negative 10.

‘Aislinn, I’ve been preparing you for this all your life. You can fix this, you can stop Kieran-‘

“You were chosen for this. It has always been you.” Runda said confidently, as if the same voice in my head was also inside his own mind.

“If you don’t believe me then ask me something only Anam would know about you or himself. Doesn’t matter to me, I’ll know it because of him anyhow.” He shrugged simply, smirking at me knowingly. I didn’t like the look at all so quickly shot off my question.

“What’s my middle name?” I crossed my arms over my chest in frustration, carefully watching both him and Robonna. She still stood behind Runda, watching the entire ordeal nervously. It still shocked me to see emotion on that ever placid face.

“Neasa, that was easy.” He chuckled softly and turned on his feet to head down the open, but mucky path. I could hear the squish of some assortment of mush underneath him as he walked confidently. He acted as if he could really see or like some guide was silently leading him to all the specific places he needed to be.

‘Duh, why haven’t you connected things yet? He has my soul inside of him too. He is being led by me, just the other half of me. He has changed a bit in the last few decades, but that doesn’t mean anything. He is connected to you by me. Do you understand now?’

“No, I never will, Anam.” I cooed angrily, marching through the path just as bravely as Runda had. I didn’t last as long though. Robonna was forced to carry me the last half because the mush got inside my shoe.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We had arrived into the main room in about five minutes and now had been in there for at least half an hour. I no longer thought about the party or the book that had previously filled my brain. Instead I thought precisely about the new person I had met and who he would be to me in the future.

His was named Nuada, but hadn’t been called by his real name in years. He seemed to be at least in his mid-60’s. He said that he had been very young when the war began and took refuge in Anam’s hideaway. Anam was supposed to be there too, but found the rebellious bit of the war a more intriguing option.

He had been in my basement for so long, yet I never knew. I don’t see how it’s possible that I never found out. Robonna said that she had cared for him every day in the years he had been with us (which was all of the ones I personally knew of) and before she was created another Robonna cared for him. Eventually she had told me that the first person to care for him was Kieran’s personal assistant, Lily. Later in our meeting I had learned that Lily was killed by a test Robonna. It had been an accident, or that’s what the news had said. Apparently, the test Robonna still had male thoughts rather than the programming we have now (which obviously does not work) and had retaliated. Lily had been in its sights and was the first unlucky victim. More had followed, but none had made the news. They were slipped under the rug so that Kieran’s plans could succeed and obviously they had.

It seemed a bit clearer to me now and quite obvious from this brand-new prospective. It made sense that she would do those things and that it was all for this outcome. The only thing I couldn’t understand though was how she didn’t realize this was Anam’s home after his death and that someone was hiding under her nose for the past years. She obviously planned everything very carefully, yet let this slip? That’s crazy…

“Come on, Aislinn. We have to figure this out.” Runda said happily, motioning me over aimlessly. It hadn’t failed to humor me yet and I laughed mildly at his blindness, despite my gut feeling that it was wrong to do so.

“I’m coming.” I commented, headed for his general area. He didn’t turn his head toward me or anything, just stared forward incredulously.

“Are you ready to fix this, Nuada?” He questioned next, sitting in a chair securely. He held his hands in his lap loosely, yet his arms were obviously flexing for some odd reason. “I’m nervous...” He cooed, looking up to me quickly. I smiled slightly, placing a smooth hand upon his exposed, dirty skin. He still needed a bath desperately, but then again, Nuada did as well.

He hadn’t been able to shower or such, he could only sit in his stink, eat, drink, and conveniently sleep for most of the day. Robonna had tried multiple times to bring him some type of bathing situation, but it always ended badly. The wall rising was a great commotion, emptying baths took time they couldn’t risk, and often Kieran was home for most of the time anyhow. Kieran only leaves for her exercise and some other rare occasions such as meeting others or for meetings that require face to face contact.

“Hell yes I am.” He exclaimed in joyous triumphant, hopping over to the table we had crowded around at as if he were my age once more. That made me smile as well before Runda interrupted my thoughts.

“Great. My first question, what does Hell mean? My second question, where do we start?” His head tilted slightly, but not so much that you would notice if you hadn’t watched him do so.

“Hell is where I’m going, kid. We start here in this room. You’ll stay here with me until Aislinn is ready for you. Here is my original idea…”