The Memory Thief | ONC2020 [AMBASSADOR PICK]

Chapter 7

With a bowl of porridge in her hand, Liliya knocked softly on her mother's bedroom door.

"Come in, darling!"

She went inside as her mother struggled to push herself up and sit upright. "Morning, mum. How are you feeling today?"

"That depends. Did you bring my medication?" The smile on her face didn't reach her eyes, just as it didn't match the desperation in her voice.

"You had them last night, mum, you can't have them again yet."

A flash of surprised disappointment shot through her eyes. "Oh. Alright then. Soon though, right?"

Liliya's heart ached as she responded, "Yeah. Soon. Here, have breakfast first."

As her mother began to eat, Liliya sat down on the side of her bed. "So, mum... Do you remember what I was telling you about last night?" She'd been in a lot of pain when Liliya came home last night. So much so that she decided to give the medicine early. She'd tried to tell her about Nyron, but she didn't think anything had stuck.

Her mum frowned as she took another bite of her porridge. Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped. "Darling, did you have a date last night?"

Laughing, Liliya shook her head. "No! Well... Not really. I went to the library and ran into a... friend. A good friend."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a date to me. Do tell!"

A sheepish grin made its way onto Liliya's face. "We mostly just talked about books and drank some coffee together. His name is Nyron, he owns a pub down south of Manassa."

"Nyron, huh? A handsome name. Is he a handsome man?"

Liliya felt a blush creep up. "He's... cute enough."

"Is he kind to my precious Lily?"

"He bought me coffee, even when I offered to get it. He offered to take me home in the evening, too." Glancing at the forgotten bowl of porridge, she added, "Mum, you have to eat."

Her mother rolled her eyes and took another spoonful. "Will I get to meet this gentleman of yours?"

"I think he'll be willing to come over sometime, yeah. I should warn you though, he's a bit strange."

"Oh, Lily, have I taught you nothing? There's no such thing as strange, only unique."

"I'm serious, mum. Yesterday, I found out he still believes in Cloud Kingdom! How weird is that?"

Liliya laughed, only to realise how good it made her feel to talk about Nyron. How long had it been since she felt this way? Five years? Ten? She'd forgotten the feeling.

"I used to know someone who believed in Cloud Kingdom," said her mum suddenly.

Liliya raised her eyebrows, taking the empty bowl from her mother's lap and placing it on the nightstand. "Really?"

"Yeah. A girl I used to go to college with. Meredith, I think her name was."

"Oh! Wow. I guess Nyron's not the only one then."

"In all fairness, she was considered pretty weird, too. She believed in all sorts of crazy things. She was big on conspiracy theories, too."

"Maybe I won't tell Nyron that. Don't want to give him any ideas," Liliya giggled.

Her mum laughed along with her, but it turned into an awful cough and she had to lean forward until it subsided. Liliya softly rubbed her back. "I hope your Nyron fares better than Meredith, though. She disappeared one day. I've always kind of hoped that she'd found her dream land."

"That would be nice, wouldn't it? Hey mum, would you like me to help you take a shower today? It might make you feel a bit better."

"Are you sure you have time for that today, darling? I know you're still working on saving your job..."

"Of course I have time, mum, don't worry. I'll change your sheets for you afterwards."

Liliya took the empty bowl to the kitchen, then came back to help her mother off the bed. They were halfway to the bathroom when the shrill sound of the doorbell rang through the apartment.

"What God-awful timing," her mother muttered. "Get me back to the bed, so you can open the door."

They turned around and shuffled back towards the bedroom, when bell rang again. And again.

"Someone's in a hurry," Liliya grumbled, as she supported her mother onto the bed.

"Go on, then. I'm alright."

Liliya skipped to the door as it rang twice more. When she opened it, Kit all but fell inside, wrapping her arms around Liliya in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank God you're okay! Damnit, Lil, why didn't you open up sooner?"

"I was helping my mother into the shower! What the hell is so urgent that I had to take her back to bed for it?" It wasn't very often that her best friend looked so distressed. She hadn't even changed out of her police uniform yet. "Are you still on duty?"

"Yes. Listen..." Kit pushed past her and made her way inside. "You'll want to sit down for this."

"Oh, gee, well thanks for inviting me to sit down in my own house," Liliya joked, but her friend did not respond. "Alright, alright, I'm sitting down. You're worrying me, Kit, what's wrong?"

"It's..." Kit sat down next to her at the dinner table and rubbed her face with her hands. "I did a background check on that barkeeper of yours, Nyron."

"You did WHAT?" Liliya jumped up, barely noticing her chair tumbling to the floor.

"Lil, listen..."

"No, you listen! I told you not to do that! That's like the worst way you can break someone's trust. How could you? And now you come barging in here because, what, he's got a few parking tickets?"

"He's got a string of unsolved crimes following him."

Liliya had already opened her mouth to retort when she realised what Kit was saying. Her shoulders slumping a little as she said, "What kind of crimes?"

"The..." Kit sighed heavily, averting her gaze. "The memory stealing kind."

It felt as if she was trying to breathe underwater. Her lungs moved, but the oxygen wouldn't reach her veins. Her brain slowed to a halt. "You... You don't mean that."

"I'm sorry, Lil. I'm so sorry."

"You can't be serious. Kit...!"

"I'm sorry. Nyron Ombra is the main suspect in the Memory Thief case."