Memories of Sapphire (ONC 2020)

~Hello Again~

"I may have grown up in Paris, but I really missed this." Thea hauled her suitcase behind her while Grayson flagged down a taxi.

"Where can I take you?" the driver asked.

Grayson rambled off an address, and before they knew it, they were standing in front of Yoon Mi-So. Thea stormed up to her and tackled her in a hug.

"I can't believe you did what you did!" the doctor pouted. "I'm grateful, but I also feel sorry that you were put in that position."

Mi-So shook her head. "I wanted to help you out. Oh, also I watched your introduction at the press conference. How did you convince the reporters that you truly had the cure?"

Thea described the scene in detail. She had brought one of the reporters to the stage who actually suffered from the disease. With his consent, the doctor hooked him up to the electrodes and helped him regain his lost memories. Everyone in that hall had seen him remember things he had long forgotten. Like Grayson, he broke down in tears after and thanked the doctor profusely.

"After hooking him up, other people wanted to try. They wanted to revive their memories, too," she explained.

To be honest, after seeing their positive response, Thea finally realized that there was no point in selling other people's memories when they could remember their own and be happy with their own lives. They could learn to grow from their past and work hard for their future. One day, they'd fall in love or climb Mt. Everest. They'd play at concerts like Brio and Grayson. They would create their own beautiful memories instead of living through someone else's.

Thea's phone vibrated in her pocket, and she frowned at the unknown number on the screen.

"Hello?" she asked hesitantly.

"Dr. Sapphire, right? I saw your press conference and was wondering if you'd like to stop by my medical practice and discuss your research in more detail. It would be great to collaborate and reproduce the technology on a mass scale. Are you free to stop by right now?"

Thea glanced at Grayson. "That works."

The doctor on the other end hung up, and the girl screamed.

"I might win a Nobel Prize at this rate!" Thea squealed. "Grayson, we need to go somewhere. Mi-So, let's grab dinner sometime. I want to hear all about how you found your boyfriend."

Mi-So blushed a deep shade of red and waved them goodbye as they hopped into another taxi. The building where she would be meeting this doctor was huge. It was at least twenty floors with glass panelling. The lobby was decked out with marble flooring and beautiful light fixtures. The lady at the front desk led them to a room on the top floor, and Thea held her breath when she caught sight of a silhouette.

The woman took a few more steps until the light properly defined her features. Thea dropped her phone in shock and stumbled backwards.

"Hello again," the woman smiled.

Thea's knees buckled, and she fell to the floor. "There's no way."

"Thea, what's going on? You know this lady?" Grayson helped her to her feet, but his face contorted in confusion when he took another look at the woman.

"You're the lady from the apartment in Korea, right?" Grayson remembered her clearly. She was older with silvery hair cut short. Funny enough, the three of them sported the same haircut. But he was pretty sure he knew her from somewhere else, too. His eyes darted between Thea and the woman, and the connection became clear.

"I'm the original Dr. Sapphire," the woman winked. "I look good for my age, don't I?"

That's exactly what Thea couldn't understand. Her mother had passed away from an incurable illness. But here she was looking very alive and healthy. She took a step towards her daughter, and Thea collapsed again.

Mrs. Sapphire laughed and helped her to her feet. She pulled out some vials from her file cabinet and set them on her desk. "Here's your answer. It's an anti-aging serum I developed. It works similarly to the telomerase except it can rewind the clock instead of holding your age constant."

"What about that night? How did you survive?" Thea asked, slowly processing what was happening.

"I knew my time was coming, but I also knew you weren't ready for me to leave. When you were younger, I designed a telomerase injection prototype which I see you refined. Earlier that day, I had the doctors infuse the telomerase serum with my IV. Seconds after the nurses and doctors pulled you away from me, I was brought back to life. The serum kicked in just in time."

Thea walked over to where her mother stood and melted into her arms. For the last 200 years, her mother's perfume had only been a memory. But her rose scent hadn't changed after all this time.

"You may have felt alone, but I was always watching you." Mrs. Sapphire swept a stray lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "When you moved from city to city, I made the leap with you. I sat right behind you while you sketched the half-constructed Eiffel Tower. You may be wondering why haven't appeared in front of you sooner. I guess I got caught up in watching you grow up from the sidelines. I spent some time receiving treatment to get back on my feet and when I found you again, you seemed to be doing well. When I saw you find someone you were interested in, it comforted me knowing you weren't alone. Also, I must say I'm a huge fan of you, Grayson Park."

Mrs. Sapphire pressed a button on her desk, and soft music played through the speakers in the room. "I really enjoyed your concert."

Grayson recognized the tune playing immediately. It was one of the happier songs from his album Hello Again.

"There's someone else I want you to meet. This woman went through a really hard time, and I happened to be her doctor in Chicago. She came to the city to sightsee, but ended up falling very ill. Let me go bring her."

Mrs. Sapphire disappeared into another room before coming back with a woman around her age. Grayson understood the feeling that had overtaken Thea moments ago. His knees turned to jelly, and his body began trembling against his will.

"M-mom," he breathed.

"Who? Do I know you, boy?" the woman asked kindly.

"I asked you to bring your device. I was hoping we could use it on this woman. I used my anti-age serum to save her just in time. We tried to contact family members, but she couldn't remember anyone, so I decided to keep her with me until I could develop a cure for lost memories. I see you beat me to it."

Thea scrambled to her feet and connected the electrodes to the cap that she placed gingerly over the woman's head. With the push of a button, she began trembling. But that only lasted a moment. Her eyes widened when she saw Grayson, and she pulled her son into a hug.

"You don't know how much I've missed you," Mrs. Park sobbed into Grayson's shoulder. "I kept a book with words I wrote down, and I kept writing the word 'clarinet' over and over, hoping to remember you. Thank you for helping me meet my son again," she cried while taking Thea's hand in hers.

The four of them sat together, staring at each other in disbelief.

"I love you," they said to each other.

Thea loved her mother and was thankful she could say the words she couldn't say back then. She loved Grayson and his charming personality. He had given meaning to her life. And she loved Mrs. Park for persevering and healing her son's wounds from the past. It was nice to sit in each other's presence and know that it wasn't merely a dream.