Whispers Beyond the Forest

Chapter 13

Reaching the clearing in the forest, the pair sank down on the fallen log, misery and despair overtaking them both. Tears streamed down Emily's face, but she had long since given up crying out and was now sobbing quietly. Syl had tried to cheer her up for a little while, but he himself looked so defeated that he soon gave up.

Eddy had betrayed her, in the worst way imaginable. All this time he'd told her she'd been in a car accident. All this time, he'd been the one who caused her memory loss. Her own father had taken her memories away, had taken her life away from her. Her own father had caused all of this.

For the longest time, the two just sat there, leaning on one another for support. Her head lay on his shoulder. They didn't say a word, because there was nothing either of them could say to make this better. Their lives were destroyed. All they had left was each other.

When Emily had no tears left to cry, she lifted her head up and looked at Syl. He sat unmoving, staring at his hands, a crestfallen look on his face. Syl was even worse off that she was. A fresh wave of guilt washed over her as she thought of what had happened. He had lost his home to save her. He had lost everything, because of her.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Finally, Syl looked up and slowly shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"Of course it is." Emily breathed in a ragged breath. "Why did you do it? You knew what it would cost you, why would you do that?"

The corners of his lips pulled up into the saddest smile. "I care about you a lot, Emily," he said. "I'd rather die myself than watch you die. You think I had a choice, but I didn't. Whether you remember me or not, I could never let you die."

Fresh tears burned in her eyes at Syl's words.

She hadn't known that many people since she'd woken up in the hospital. Everyone who was supposed to care about her – Maya, Dennis, Tom, Eddy – they'd all disappointed her, lied to her, kept things from her. The one person who wasn't supposed to care about her, the boy with the tattoos on his arms, the boy she hadn't trusted because of who he was, he was the one who saved her life. He was the one who had given up everything for her.

"Can I ask you something?" she said softly.

Syl once again lifted his eyes up to face her.

"Syl, did we... Before the accident, were we just friends? Or was there more between us?"

His eyebrows knotted. "Why would you ask me that?"

Turning to face him, Emily placed her hand on his. "Because you just gave up everything you had for me. You wouldn't have done that for just anyone."

He stared at her for a few moments, before admitting, "No, I wouldn't. There wasn't anything between us. But I've always wished there was."

"I don't understand." His words didn't make sense.

Syl averted his gaze, squeezing her hand lightly. "I've been in love with you for a very long time, Emily. But you had a boyfriend, didn't you? You were already taken. You never saw me as more than a friend."

Emily stared at him for a few seconds, as the words registered in her brain. Then she leaned forward and whispered, "Well, I've been unbelievably blind, then."

As Syl turned to face her, she caught his lips with hers. The moment she tasted his lips on her own, a nest of butterflies exploded in her stomach. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose as Syl pulled her a little bit closer and their kiss deepened. He put his hand on her cheek carefully, as if she'd break in half if he were too hasty. The smell of pinecones and fresh leaves caught in her nose; Syl smelled like the forest.

The fresh smell of his skin and the sweet taste of his kiss sent the butterflies whirling around in her stomach. She'd never felt such a thing before. Not since...

Not since...

It was almost as if one of the butterflies had made its way up out of her stomach and collided with her brain, causing a second explosion there. She gasped and pushed Syl away, his face contorting into a look of pure pain. But Emily didn't have the brain-capacity to truly register that, because synapses fired mercilessly in her head, shooting picture after picture back into her mind. All the pictures she'd lost before. All the memories she hadn't been able to access for a long time.

Flashes of her break-up with Tom pierced her brain, of her fighting with Eddy about their opinions of the Others, of her sitting in this exact same spot with Syl, laughing and chatting. Everything mushed together into one great lump of information, finding its rightful spot back in her head.

One picture invaded a corner of her mind. It was only a few weeks ago, days before her accident. She'd told Syl that she'd finally dumped Tom and he'd kissed her. He had smelled, tasted and felt just like he did now.

For a few moments, all she could do was sit there, panting with the effort of remembering. Then she grabbed Syl's arm. He shook her off and turned his head away from her.

"Syl, please, look at me."

"No, I get it. You made a mistake. It's fine, just go."

"Sylvester Asala, look at me, right now," Emily spoke with confidence.

A short silence followed. Then he finally turned to face her, a look of severely repressed hope on his face. "I... I never told you my last name," he whispered.

"Yes, you did," Emily smiled. "Five years ago. A few months after we first met."

His jaw dropped and his eyes glistened with tears. "You remember?"

"I remember," said Emily, laughing aloud. "I remember everything."

Before she knew what happened, two strong arms had wrapped themselves around her and pulled her against his chest. Syl held her so tightly that she could barely breathe, but that was okay. They finally had each other back. They could finally be together again.

"I've missed you," Syl whispered into her hair. "I've missed you so much."

"I know, I'm sorry," said Emily. "I'm here now."

They sat there for a long time, just holding on to one another. Neither of them ever wanted to let go again. But when a plan started forming in her head, Emily pulled away.

"Hey, Syl? I think I have an idea to fix all this."