The Secret - II
"What is that paper?" Melfina asked as she ran her eyes through the black letters written down on the white sheet of paper.
"After my battle with the hydra in the forest, I was handed this sheet of paper by Eleanor. According to her, I was the one who had entrusted this paper to her before I used my powers. I likely anticipated that if I were to lose my memories in the middle of the forest with no one aware of my circumstances, it will be troublesome to sort things out. That's why I wrote all the important details in this paper and handed it to Eleanor so that she would give it back to me after the battle ended."
The 'him' back then must have thought everything through and prepared a means of getting through the aftermath of the battle beforehand. It really helped him keep things under wrap and avoid confusion.
"In this very sheet, it seems, I had written the name of Melfina and General as people to be trusted with my secrets."
Vanitas gave the paper to Edward and pointed at the place where he had written their names. Edward ran his eyes through all of the content on the paper and passed it to Melfina.
In the middle of the page, she could see her name and the General's name written down. There were other things written down as well. Like the names of Eleanor, Dominique, and Elina. It also included his name and important tidbits about the Demon Extermination Corp.
After a few minutes, Melfina gave the paper back to him.
"Since it was written down in this paper, by none other than me, I decided that you two were someone to be trusted with my secret. That is why I have disclosed this information about me to you two."
The room was silent for a good while.
Edward and Melfina both were thinking hard about all that they had learned today. Especially, Melfina. She looked to be thinking too hard, with her brows furrowed.
Melfina was a bit happy. She was glad that someone thought her worthy of entrusting her with their secrets. She really was. But, some questions still nagged at her. Like, why she?
The General - she could understand. He was the highest-ranked official in the Demon Extermination Corp and if Vanitas wants to continue to live here, there is no way he will be able to hide things from his discerning eyes forever. By coming out clean from the beginning, he managed to clear future cases of suspicion and at the same time, seek his assistance on the matter. It was also reasonable for him to have another person know his secret. As he put it, it was impossible for the General to be present in every battle Vanitas fought. As the General, he had other duties he had to tend to. That meant Vanitas needed one other person who was aware of his condition and who could help him during battle. And that was why Vanitas had decided to ask Melfina to take on that role. But, why her?
In terms of closeness, Eleanor and Dominique were on more friendly terms with him. They were also likely to be able to accompany him in the battles he went to. It would have made sense for him to confide in the two. But, instead, he chose Melfina. Why? Just because her name was written on the piece of paper he had. Why had he written her name down on the paper? What made him think of trusting Melfina? Melfina and he had interacted a scant few times. They weren't that close. Then, what made him think of trusting her over Eleanor and Dominique? Hounded by these questions, she was almost about to ask Vanitas but then she froze as she realized something.
'He doesn't remember...'
The demon that he is in a contract with him demanded his memories as a sacrifice. He had used his demon's power in the recent battle in the forest that resulted in the loss of his memories. He doesn't remember anything. He didn't remember about Eleanor and Dominique. He didn't remember about the General and the conversations he had with him two weeks ago. So there was no way he would be able to remember why he thought of trusting Melfina with his secrets. Thinking about it, it was so sad.
Melfina felt her chest tighten at the thought. He is marching ahead all alone. He has no recollections of his past. He continues to move forward with no solid foundation behind him. No one to support him and no one he could call his own; his family; his friend. He probably even forgets his name and his identity as implied by his own name written down on the paper. Who knows how long has it been since he had continued to live this way? Melfina couldn't imagine it. Melfina didn't want to. If she had been in his shoes, would she have been able to endure? How was he able to fend off the loneliness? Would she have been able to forge ahead without giving in to despair, without going mad? She found it hard to imagine. But, Vanitas had managed to stay standing despite all the odds, for the one goal he had. He was strong. Not just physically but mentally as well. That was why he had managed to come this far ahead, all alone, driven by his goals alone. Melfina felt a deep respect for Vanitas take shape in her heart.
As time chugged by, Vanitas said nothing and just waited for their response. The first to open their mouth was Edward.
"This is a bit of a tough spot you have put us in, you know?"
"I am well aware of that." Vanitas knew that he was burdening the two with such a heavy responsibility. When someone shares a secret with some other person, that other person gets roped into his life. On one hand, sharing secrets helps to make the bond between two people stronger but it also puts a huge mental burden on the other party to hold onto that secret and protect that secret from leaking anywhere else. Vanitas was well aware of this fact but the circumstances were not in his favor. He was not in a position where he could think of everyone's benefits. He had his goal to get to and for that, he needed support from others. It can be just one person or more than but he needed the support of someone else to march ahead without being held back by his loss of memories every time he used the power of his demon. That was why he had decided to confide the secret to the two people inside this room and seek for their assistance.
"I will be there for you Vanitas!" A strong voice filled with emotions pierced the room.
Melfina was staring at Vanitas with eyes filled with tears for some reason and with conviction, she spoke once again.
"You don't need to be alone anymore. I will have your back and I will support you from now on. That's a promise. Even if no one else does, I will!"
She suddenly grasped his hands with two of her hands and wrapped them tightly under her. Vanitas could feel the warmth from her hands flowing into his. He was not sure what was about the situation that made her feel so strongly but he was happy that she was willing to help him.
"Thank you very much, Melfina." Melfina smiled.
"Hey, wait a minute. Why are you making it sound like you are the only one who is willing to be burdened by his secrets? I have not objected to it yet, have I?"
"But, didn't you say that he put you in a tough spot?"
"That I did. But did I ever say that I will not help him, Melfina?"
"Now that I think about it, you have not."
"Exactly. There is no way I would not be willing to support him. He is a valuable member of the Demon Extermination Corp and it is my duty to help him whenever he requires it. Vanitas, don't worry. I won't betray the trust you have put in me in sharing your secrets with him. From now on, I will do my best to support you. Until you reach your goal. And you will do your best for us."
"Yes, I will. Thank you very much."
Vanitas was really thankful to the two for agreeing to help him. This made it easy for him to move forward and adapt in case he used his powers again and as a result, lost his memories. While he was happy, there was also a small sense of guilt pervading his heart. He had kept one thing from the two of them. It was the white piece of paper.
The white piece of paper he had shown the two was not the one he had used to scribble down back in the forest.
The script he had used back then was the runic language. As far as he knew, nobody knew the runic language around here. It was strange that despite living at the same age, he knew the language but others did not. It could be that he was from a different land altogether where the language spoken was different from the language used here. But he was not sure of it. After all, he had no recollections of his past. He didn't want to carelessly talk about things he wasn't that sure of so for the time being, he decided to keep the fact that he understood runic language a secret.
That was why, when he returned from the forest and decided to share his secrets with Melfina and Edward, he took a new sheet of paper and wrote everything down in the common language he spoke and used so it would not arouse more suspicions.
He felt bad about hiding things from them when they had so readily accepted his plead for help but he had to do it. For the sake of reaching his goals without creating many troubles.
While bowing his head in a show of his gratitude to the two, internally, he was also apologizing to them.