Memories

Zoey laid in her bunk, staring at the ceiling. She rubbed the oyster shell she wore on a chain around her neck. Its glossy inner surface reflected in touch the iridescence it carried in sight. Despite her efforts to hold them back, tears slipped from Zoey's eyes. She focused heavily on her breathing to avoid sobbing aloud and alerting Jack and Mati of her distress.

But her mind was racing far beyond her control. As Zoey rubbed the oyster, memories of her parents—of all the family she already lost—flooded her thoughts. Racing against her cousin on white sandy beaches... tangling Ma's long golden hair in futile attempts to braid it... sitting in Uncle Denver's lap as Dad's deep voice narrated fantastical tales...

Zoey closed her eyes. She usually avoided recalling the memories in full, but she wanted to hear, for one last time, her father's story.

"The beast was ginormous!" the man cried, throwing his hands dramatically in the air. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he continued. "It had thick, hard-as-rock scales that gleamed like midnight. If it had a face, it was nowhere to be seen, only its gaping mouth lined with jagged rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its head turned down towards me and Denver, but! It didn't sense us."

"Oh come on," Denver retorted with his smile, rolling his eyes. "You know that's not how it happened, brother!"

"He's right," chimed in Mae. "The creature was fully aware of you two, shivering like leaves in the wind!"

"Oh be quiet!" Zoey's father Ed commanded, laughing. "How am I supposed to build a good reputation of myself for my children with you two degrading my stories?"

At that moment, Victoria, Zoey's mother, entered the room. She picked up baby Mati, prying the crayon out of the tired toddler's hand, and said, "You could start by telling the truth. And then you could help by knowing when to send your children to bed."

"Aw! Ma! Do we have to?" Zoey whined, snuggled close against her uncle's chest.

Victoria grinned at her young daughter. "My little raven," she said, "you are already asleep. Come. Your aunt and uncle have things they must do tomorrow. They need to go home so they can sleep. Now where is your brother?"

"He wasn't feeling well, so I tucked him in already," Mae answered.

"A headache?" Ed asked, worry tainting his tone.

Mae nodded solemnly.

Ed and Victoria then sighed, glancing at each other. But whatever distressed them quickly passed as Victoria took her daughters upstairs to tuck them in.

Zoey flopped around and buried her face in her pillow, shaking her head to get rid of the memory. But it kept replaying in her mind, forcing her to relive the moment again and again.

"Zoey?"

The teen started, nearly banging her head against the ceiling. She crawled to the side of her bunk and looked down at Mati.

"Are you okay?" the young sister asked.

Zoey wiped her eyes and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Mati. Thanks. Go back to sleep, okay?"

"Alright..." Mati replied, unconvinced. She did as Zoey requested though and returned to whatever pleasant dreams she had.

The next morning, Zoey poked at her breakfast. Mati seemed in a chipper mood as she chatted about the dreams she had the night before. Jack replied to her, a smile lighting his face. But then he'd glance at Zoey, and his countenance immediately fell. He would silently watch her for a few moments, then Mati would pull him back to their conversation and his smile returned. Mae just watched her nieces and nephew, hurting too much herself to know how to help.

"Zoey?" Mati suddenly asked.

It took the teenager a few seconds to realize her name had been called. "Yeah?" Zoey asked, setting down her fork, which still hadn't reached her mouth.

"What were you dreaming about last night?" the younger sister asked so innocently.

Zoey glanced at Mae, her head slightly dipping. "It was, uh... it was a memory... of Ma and Dad."

"What about?" Jack asked. He was trying to engage her in conversation, which usually lifted her spirits.

"It was one of Dad's stories."

"I don't remember any of those," Mati noted. It was merely a passing thought to her, but it caught Zoey's attention and held on tightly. Even as Mati continued to monologue about who knows what, Zoey grasped onto her comment, coming to a horrifying realization.

"Mati!" Zoey suddenly interrupted. "Do you remember Ma?"

Mati knitted her eyebrows as she thought about the question. "Kinda...?" she replied not too convincingly. "I remember that she looked a lot like me, and of course, I remember the way she'd snuggle me into bed each night. Why?"

Zoey almost fell back in her seat, her eyes wide with shock. She couldn't fathom how quickly Mati forgot the most important person in the girls' lives, but then again, Mati was hardly a toddler when Ma passed. Zoey's food remained untouched for the rest of the meal, and even after Jack cleared away the dishes, she still sat in her chair, staring blankly at a knot in the wood floor.

After some time, Zoey awoke from her trance and realized how much time had passed already. She could hear her siblings upstairs talking, and her aunt's voice came from her room behind the kitchen. The girl carefully entered the room and waited for Mae to finish her phone call. "Aunt Mae?"

"Hm?"

"Did Dad leave anything that I could sort through? Any old pictures or memoirs or... anything?"

A faint smile touched Mae's face as she answered, "In the attic."

"Is it okay if I go through them? I don't want Mati and Jack to forget about our parents, especially since they were so young when it all happened."

Mae patted her bed, and Zoey came to sit beside her. The woman began to braid her niece's black hair as she hummed a song, a lullaby Victoria had written. When she finished the braid and tied a band around the end to hold it longer, she kissed Zoey's ear and whispered, "Are you sure you are ready for the challenge?"

The corner of Zoey's mouth lifted in a half smile even as her eyes watered with tears. "I think it'll help my grieving, knowing that Dad's stories will live on through me."