shadow

_Huh? I...lost consciousness..?_

:Oh, fuck..

:You woke up...

:What are you doing here, and how long did I faint?

:You know how worried I was when I saw you falling.

You were laying there for half an hour, I checked your breathing and noticed that you were just sleeping, probably collapsed from exhaustion... did you even eat  today?

:Oh, I forgot, it happens

Ay..!

:Are you okay..?

:Wil..?is that you..?

:What?

:Sorry, I confused you with another person...haha...

:Okay, I came here to tell you  news.

:What? Something related to the investigation?

:Yes.

I asked the person who was then involved in the search if there was anything odd, to which he answered positively.

: Positive? You mean...

:Yes, there is something weird about the disappearance of your parents.

I found out that your mother went to a psychologist known as Eiran...

And the strangest thing is that they left without returning.

There were cameras on area A, as well as on area B...

But they are stuck between them...

There are only two options, either they hid from the cameras by finding their blind spots, or they didn't run anywhere and got stuck in that forest, which is unlikely.

:Although the first option is the most effective for escape, we will decide to believe in it only after we meet with Shmit...

: So...you know him?  because all the details about his whereabouts are hidden, I couldn't find out anything...sorry..

: He, our family doctor... I warn you, he was  a runaway attacker, so I don't advise you to trust him too much.

But...we don't have other choice but him..

:Okay then, let's go.

_I need to find out what the hell is going on with my memory lately, Wil... who is this..? but for some reason it seems to me that I know him very well, and even my mother.. for some reason I'm sure that she dreamed about the same as  me, so she gradually went crazy..._

A while after:

_she...remembered everything? I thought it would take longer..._

: Hey, Alex..! why are you wandering around in the clouds?. watch the road, after that crossroads turn left and keep straight, that's where his house is..

After careful consideration, they decided to visit the doctor and then decide whether to continue or stop the whole thing.

Having reached her destination, Mary decided to go in and visit Eiran herself.

_ I don't think he vividly remembers the events that took place 11 years ago, but it's worth asking._

: Mister! are you there?

:I hear a familiar voice, is it Mary Stephens?

: yeah,who else? I have a few questions for you.

:Have you dealt with your nightmares?

:Maybe I can come in and we will continue our talk ?

: Oh, right, come on in.

: You updated your office? It looks more fashionable..

:Stay on topic, what did you want to ask?

:emm... it's...

Looking at the floor and then straight into his eyes, she adjusted her gaze and gained determination.

:About my parents...

:Did you find them?

:Your answers will just help us solve the riddle.

: mine? Of course, I was a criminal, but there is no point in interrogating me, I also looked for them like crazy...

: I didn't come here for an interrogation.

My mother...Nora Blury.

He looked at her with serious eyes searching for answers, he understood that if he give her the necessary conclusions, it would not lead to anything good, but he did not know what answer would leave her confused, which put him in a difficult position.

:about your mother...she...

Taking a breath he replied

: She suffered from a fatal psychological problem that led to seeing illusions, causing her to often have nightmares.

: I'm aware, that's not the question..

: Then What ?

:What nightmares tormented her?

After her question, he could not utter a word.

:W..hy do you need it..?

His gaze resembled a lost kitten; he was afraid to answer her, because he understood that it could hurt her.

: What are you waiting for ? I'm not a child anymore... and I can guess what your answers would be , I just wanted to make sure of something, please... help.

:Are you really going to be okay?

:Yes..

She smiled lightly and shed a single tear full of bitterness.

: I can handle it, there's simply no one else to do it instead of me.

:Tell me everything you know, and I will compare it with your mother's dreams.

:I... feel bad, every time unknown pictures and blurry images pop up before my eyes. My head starts to hurt, but most of all my heart aches.

Whenever those violent scenes appear and...

: Continue.

:I'm not myself..

:Well...

: Every time, it's as if I'm living the life of a person alien to me, although, rather, I'm not living, but simply being in his mind.

This person does everything that is already destined and I just look through her eyes...

Emotions, will, feelings... everything is foreign.

I'm scared... I'm afraid of being stuck there forever, every time it appears I'm tormented by pain from injustice, I'm told that these torments belong to me, and the fact that I must avenge them is constantly cursed, the feeling of agony never goes away.

:That's all?

:No...

Sometimes happy visions appear, but they are constantly interrupted; everything seems to be in a fog, I have never experienced so much hatred and love for a person at the same time, but... I don't know her, my memories seem to be blocked by something.

I constantly see her vague shadow before death, and it continues to haunt me.

How...how do I get rid of this...?

Her appearance became very gloomy after the story, her gaze was devastated and the smile disappeared from her face.

: Unfortunately, until you meet this person, you will never understand the feelings gnawing in you.

:Can you help me understand myself..?

: Of course, but I'll say one thing for sure, your mother was tormented by the same torment.

: Please tell me all the details that you know..

: She...she lived in a village, she had twins, son and daughter, she was a widow; her husband died in the civil war of the empire.

She raised her children alone for 15 years... but... then they died...

There was a fire in the forest near their village, and the culprits fled, leaving only their daughter.

Her children were very friendly with this little girl, but after the girl turned 10 years old, she often began to quarrel with Abigail, her daughter. I think they quarreled out of jealousy towards each other.

:Jealousy?to whom?

: There was a guy there, he was 12 years old, his hair was the color of coal and his eyes were emerald green.

They both loved him, but he paid attention only to the little girl, which is why their friendship deteriorated.

That night when the disaster happened, she saw that girl walking in the forest...

:Don't tell me that she started blaming her for everything just because she was just walking in the wrong place at the wrong time...

:That's how it was, she blamed her throughout her life...

:What?

:she killed that girl when she turned 25. She brutally killed her on her birthday.

:But why at 25? She had so many opportunities...

:I asked this too..she said that she wanted her to feel more helpless.and also...precisely at 25 because her children were 15; and the difference between the twins and the girl is 5.

She added their ages and got 30... and then removed the difference, which ended up being 25.

She wanted the cause of her death to be her insatiable will to live... she described in detail the feeling she felt watching her burn to the ground, and how that guy suffered hugging her dead body.

: How was she able to live after that attack.

:As soon as she saw those two disappear...she returned to her kids.

She described this moment as the happiest moment in her life... but she said that if she had the opportunity to see them again... she would ask someone to go with her, because death is an brutally easy road...

:A..a....AAAAAA..!!!

Her eyes were covered with bloody tears, she thought that if she found out the truth, she would throw her far away, but it turned out to be harsher than she had imagined, her legs trembled, and her hands wiped the swamps on her face..

:I..I couldn't even imagine...that my mother went through so much..

But I want to make sure of something, even though it's obvious, but what is that girl's name...

:Her name was Iera, she didn't have a last name since she was a commoner...

The numb limbs began to crack and the memory returned, Ieri's whole life flashed before her eyes, and now she can no longer say that that life was alien to her...