The Memory Thief | ONC2020 [AMBASSADOR PICK]

Chapter 10

"Hey, mum. I made your favourite," said Liliya as she set the hot bowl down on the nightstand. "Carrot soup."

Her mum turned off the sound of the television and sat up. "Thank you, darling. That smells delicious."

Liliya sat down on the chair beside the bed as her mother enjoyed her early dinner.

"How's your day been?" her mother asked between bites.

"Alright," Liliya muttered. "Had a good chat with Nyron earlier."

"Oh, that's lovely! How are things between you two?"

Guilt overwhelmed Liliya so strongly that she had to look away as a bright smile lit up her mum's face.

"It's, uh... I'm not quite sure, at the moment. Hey mum, can I ask you a question?" she said, not in the least to change the subject.

The smile disappeared and worry grew in her eyes. "Of course, darling. What's bothering you?"

"I was just wondering... Do you ever think about dad and Rosanna? 'Cause we never talk about them."

With tears in her eyes, her mum reached out and took Liliya's hand. "I never stop thinking about them," she whispered. "It's okay to miss them. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I've just been thinking about them lately. Remember how Rosanna and I used to read to each other?"

"You'd build blanket-forts to have a cosy place to read." She chuckled softly.

"Yeah! And that one time you forgot about us and we read through the night, until we fell asleep in that fort."

"I could've sworn dad had said he'd put you both to bed." Her mother shook her head.

They laughed together, but the pain in her mum's eyes was still evident.

With a sort of desperation, Liliya continued, "We used to read in the car on holiday as well. Oh! Remember that year we went camping? Dad loved that, I've never seem him happier. Rosanna hated it though, she kept complaining about the insects and the spiders." She laughed. "Remember?"

Her mother stared into her half-eaten bowl of soup. "Of course I do, darling," she whispered. "Remembering is easy. It's forgetting that's hard."

Her heart skipped a beat as her brain registered the words. "W-what do you mean by that, mum?"

Her mother sighed and shook her head, placing the bowl back on the nightstand. "Missing them... It hurts more than anything I've ever felt. It hurts more than this," she said, gesturing towards her torso, where the cancer was slowly eating away. "It becomes unbearable. Sometimes I just wish I could forget."

Eyes wide and shoulders sagged, Liliya stared at her mother, searching her face for any indication that she might doubt her own words. "You don't mean that."

"I do," said her mum. "And considering how much it has affected you, I'm surprised you don't feel the same way."

"Forget them?" said Liliya, her voice raising. "Forget dad and Rosanna, and all the memories we've made? I'd never want that! How can you even say that? They live on through us."

"No," said her mum, sagged back into her bed. "They live on in a better place. They don't need us for that. If I could forget them, I wouldn't be in so much pain."

Disappointment washed over her, like a wave trying to drown her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother actually wanted to forget the two most important people in her life. The love of her life and her own child. Losing them had caused her so much pain and anguish that she would sacrifice all her memories of them in favour of gaining some peace of mind.