Mémoire

"Hey, are you going to pay for that?"

I looked up to see the store lady pointing at the apple in my hand.

"This one?" I asked before running to the door.

I stood outside the entrance and she stopped in front of me, confused.

"I will pay for it, but first, can you keep a secret?"

She stared at me for a couple of seconds and then she left.

I groaned and ate my apple as I strode towards the park.

As I was about to take the corner, I stumbled against a man.

The apple in my hand flew away. That was my only food.

He apologized and muttered, "I didn't see you."

I glared at him in frustration before heading off.

As I was about to reach the end of the street, I had a sudden feeling of guilt.

I groaned and decided to come back for the man.

I went back to where I came across him, but he was already gone.

My half-eaten apple and a black wallet were the only ones left on the ground.

I rushed to get a hold of his information, but only a number without any label was written on it.

I searched around and followed what could've been his path, but there was no single sight of him.

As I was resting on the post, I saw a kid playing on his phone.

I walked to him and asked, "Hey kid, can I borrow your phone?"

He rolled his eyes and ignored me after.

I grabbed the phone from his hand and whispered, "I'll give this back, but first, can you keep a secret?"

I rushed to the nearest alley and just sat there, trying to find my way with the phone.

"Are you okay?" I turned to see a woman observing me.

I nodded in response and she asked again, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm just having a hard time figuring out how this thing works," I answered.

She chuckled, "They're really getting harder to use, aren't they?"

I looked up to her and shrugged.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, I'll make my way," she said.

I stood up and realized, "Would you mind helping me?"

"So, what's troubling you?" she asked as she sat beside me.

"I'm trying to call this number, but I can't."

When she was about to type in the number, she uttered, "Your phone doesn't match your personality."

"This is not your phone, is it?" she added.

I sighed. "Can you just please get to it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just asking." She muttered.

She then dialed the number and after a few rings, someone answered.

The woman gave me the phone and I answered, "Hello? Are you the guy I bumped into earlier on 4th avenue? You dropped your wallet."

"Aren't there any more information written inside the wallet?" It was an old woman.

I apologized, "This was the only thing I could get to in his wallet. It didn't have a name or anything."

"It must've been my son's," she whispered. "But I'm old and I can't come to where you are."

"Do you have your son's number?" I asked.

"I've lost touch with him some time ago, but it's somewhere in my drawer," she said.

"Maybe I can get to you. Where are you located exactly?"

The old woman gave me her address. It was a little outside the city and my problem was, I didn't have a car.

I hung up on the woman and buried my face in my hands. I was then a murderer.

"I need to get going, can I leave you be?" the woman asked and I didn't respond.

She tapped my shoulder and I turned my head to the side. "You can send it to the post or something."

"I don't have a single penny," I mumbled.

"I can give you money. It's just a wallet so I'm sure it won't cost so much," she suggested.

I looked down in despair. Suddenly she added, "If it's that important to you, I can drive you."

I sat up in surprise. "Will you really do that for a stranger?"

She looked at her watch and said, "Well, for a stranger, you look harmless."

I thanked her, told her the address, and then we walked to her car.

"What can I call you?" she asked as she started driving.

"Mémoire. Yours?" I asked back.

"Cool name. I'm Valjeta. You call me what you want," she said.

"Okay nice to officially meet you, Valjeta," I greeted.

She chuckled, "That's what you're going to call me?"

"Why would I call you anything else? Your name's a beautiful one."

She glanced at me and I smiled. After was a quick silence, a good one.

She broke it by asking, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you eager to give the man his wallet?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the reason," I said.

"We have quite some time in our hands and I don't plan on falling asleep."

"Okay, you'll forget this later anyway," I muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I have this spell. If that's what it's called. One time when my father went home-" I stopped and turned to her.

She nodded and said, "Don't worry. I'll be keeping my mind open."

"When he went home, he was with a woman. My mom left to visit my grandparents that day and my father thought I was with her. He threatened me to not say a word about what I saw to my mother for it will tear our family apart and I will only break my mother's heart. He left me in the living room as he headed upstairs with the woman. Hours passed, the woman came down. She spoke to me about how she doesn't even have an inch of care for my father."

I sighed and she whispered, "I'm listening."

"She then whispered a phrase in my ear I didn't understand. After that, she got up and told me, "Always ask everyone if they can keep a secret.". Before I got the chance to ask what she was talking about, my father came down and they just left the house, leaving me confused about everything." I faced Valjeta and continued, "I thought about what the woman said and made myself believe she was insane. I was muddled and angry. I went to sleep that night and in the morning I woke to my mom screaming. I went out of my room and she stood there on their door frame, carrying her bags. That day, I didn't know what to feel. It was an awfully quiet day in the house. My mom was devastated and wouldn't talk. Around 4 am in the morning, my mom knocked on my door. I told her to come in and she just hugged me. I thought about everything that happened the day before."

I paused. "You must think I'm out of my mind with all the things I'm saying," I stated.

She nodded, "I actually do right now, but it's okay. I like crazy."

I shook my head and continued, "When the sun was about to rise, my mom started to shake uncontrollably. I remembered crying so hard, shouting for help from my small room. I heard the woman inside my head. With nothing else, I asked my mom, "Can you keep a secret?" and she stopped. A few minutes later, she opened her eyes. My heart pounded so loud. She quickly stood up from my arms and screamed at me, asking who I was. I thought she was playing, but when I looked around the room, it changed. It was like it was never mine. She was so scared of me that time, she drove me out of the house."-I looked away. "I tried to come back every day, but that was it. It became my life. I searched for the woman looking for answers, but never found her."

Valjeta stopped the car and looked at me, "I'm sorry, but this must be a joke."

"Don't worry, you'll forget all of this by tomorrow."

"I feel dumb to even ask this, but can you show it to me?" she asked.

"Go to the nearest store, I'm hungry," I said.

She began driving again and parked us in front of a convenience store.

We went inside and I picked up everything I wanted for the first time in a long time. I know it may seem like stealing, well, it is stealing.

I put it all on the counter and Valjeta watched me from the middle aisle.

"That would be $30," The cashier said.

I smiled. "Okay. I'll pay, but first, can you keep a secret?"

The man's eyes became zoned out and after a few seconds, he came back.

He looked at me and the bag looking a bit confused, "Thank you for coming."

I headed outside and Valjeta followed me.

"That was something," she said in shock.

I chuckled and shook my head.

"Should we continue our travel now?" I asked.

"Do you understand that my mind is not here right now."

"Take your time."-I shrugged-"but not until dawn, we have a man to save."

We sat on the trunk of her car and ate the food we stole.

We talked and laughed for some time, it felt good. It was nice to have an actual conversation with someone.

"Should we head back to the road?" I asked.

"Well, it is getting darker by the time," she noted.

We got inside the car and she started to drive.

She tilted her head and asked, "So you stole the phone we were using earlier huh?"

"I'm sorry, but it was between a phone and a life at the time," I said.

She chuckled. "I understand. It was smart. Not good, but smart."

"All those times you were a kid, you never learned how to use a phone?" she wondered.

"My dad was not really a fan of it back then," I stated.

She joked, "You don't look like a fan of it yourself."

I laughed and rolled my eyes at her.

It was like the whole ride. We talked and got to know each other. We laughed. It was genuinely nice.

Somewhat later, we reached the place.

We knocked on the house before us and the old woman greeted us.

"Good evening. We're the ones who found your son's wallet," I introduced.

"Oh, I thought you won't be coming," she said.

I apologized and asked, "Do you have his number?"

"It's almost midnight. Can you just leave it to me?" she asked back.

Valjeta and I looked at each other in worry.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to him," I stated.

"It's still somewhere in my drawer. It will take a long time," she muttered.

Valjeta jumped in and said, "We live in the city, it's been a long ride."

"Can I see the wallet?" the old woman queried.

We showed her the wallet and she cried.

"It was the one I gave him. I thought Lar despised me," she whispered.

"How do we know if this is really your son's wallet?" Valjeta asked.

It started to rain so she let us in.

"Wait for me there," she said before walking away.

She brought out a picture of him, but I denied it. "I'll only be reminded when I see him personally."

She sighed. "Fine," she agreed.

"May I know where the restroom is?" I asked.

She pointed and said, "Take a left, 2 doors down."

I followed what she said, but what I thought was the bathroom, appeared to be a bedroom.

I was heading out of the room when I accidentally hit a cabinet.

One door opened and pictures fell. One of them was my father's. I realized who the old woman was.

I grabbed the picture and I dashed to the living room.

"I know who you are!" I shouted as I showed her the picture.

"It was you," she whispered in disbelief.

"I demand you to take this spell off of me," I said.

She cried and mumbled, "I can't."

"What?" I asked furiously.

"It will divert to me and my son will forget me,"-she looked up to me in terror-"did you talk to him?"

"I did. So now, it's between your son failing to remember you or your son dying," I stated.

She begged, "Please, I'm sorry. I was young and didn't know better."

"You killed my father, made my mother forget me, and took away the life I knew." I added, "You know what? Forget it. I'll keep the spell and kill your son instead. And that wouldn't even do for half of the desolation you've put me through."

"Mémoire," Valjeta muttered.

I looked at her and that was the first time I actually saw fear in her eyes.

I grabbed her hand and stormed out of the old woman's house.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I need you to go," I stated.

She stopped and said, "We could make it work. She could take the spell off of you!"

"She took everything from me."

"I don't want to forget Mémoire," she whispered.

Greater pain for the moment sought me.

I took her hand and led her to her car.

"Don't do this. We can still try," she pleaded.

I paused to look at her and she kissed me.

My heart fell to the core of misery.

I pulled her away and sat her down in the driver's seat.

"Thank you for finding me when I was hidden for a long time. Someday I'll be the one to find you, but for now, Valjeta, can you keep a secret?"