Ruby's Memories

As soon as I stepped into the room, I was flooded with a feeling of dread and I began to see a child version of Ruby, walking with her mom in the street of Dorrendale.

It's been a while since I've heard from that place, it's probably due for a check-up now that Soul can't be the one to do it...

Anyway, looking back at Ruby, I didn't see her resemblance to her mother at all. They looked completely different, with her mom having blue hair and blue eyes. Ruby had red hair and green eyes.

"There you guys are! Welcome to my work!" Some man said. Maybe it was an uncle? He didn't look like Ruby either. But... he did have a slime on his shoulder. That was actually the first mention of a slime on somebody's shoulder other than me. I thought I was unique for that, but they were great companions, just as I thought.

In fact, I didn't have Shima here, and I just noticed. I felt... lighter without her.

"Here, Dad sells things to provide for us. That's why we live in such a nice home." Ruby's Mom told her.

So, Ruby had a nice childhood. I'm glad it was easy for her. I had it really easy as well, and I don't know that I could look at her without feeling bad for her past. It probably sounded horrible, but I'm more worried about her and how she's doing than being her friend. Did that make me terrible?

Geez, fixing myself is a lot harder than I thought.

"Can I touch something?!" Ruby shouted out in her normal chipper self. I'm glad to see that's been a trait of hers this entire time. She was a very sweet girl, as I can see.

"Sure, here." Her dad rustled through some stuff in a clay pot before pulling out a weird-looking stick.

Something stirred in my stomach as I realized that the stick he was holding looked like the same material on Joro's cane.

And my staff.

"Woah... a branch from the Tree of Yggdrasil?

Her dad threw it into her hands and Ruby held it up into the air like she was a wizard... or like me.

"This feels tingly. Where did you get it?!" Ruby said to her dad.

"Oh, this really distant place! They have all sorts of these, and I was lucky enough to find one for you. So, you can keep it!" He said.

"Distant place, huh?" I quietly said to myself.

I felt chills as Ruby turned around and looked me dead in the eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked me.

Woah, what the hell?

What a creepy coincidence.

I sighed and waited for the person standing behind me that I assumed she was talking to walk through my ethereal body, but nobody ever did.

And then she tugged on my sleeve.

"You, Mister. Who are you?" She asked me again. Ruby shuffled her feet while looking up at me, and I couldn't help but stare at her dumbfounded instead of answering her.

"Ruby, who are you talking to?" Her dad asked while looking past her. So... he couldn't see me, but Ruby could?

"The man standing right there. The black hair, and orange eyes. You don't see him?" Ruby asked her parents.

"No... well, I guess having imaginary friends isn't too weird for girls her age. Nice to meet you, orange-eyed man, my name is Ruby's Dad." He held his hand out where she was looking. I felt like I could almost shake it... but I decided against it.

"He's nervous," Ruby said. It was kind of annoying hearing her say that out loud.

So, what the hell is up with this memory? She can see me? That seems a little... inconsistent. I thought these were supposed to be memories.

"Can you see me?" I asked her in a quiet tone.

"Mhm, I can see you just fine, Mister." She said to me again.

So, it wasn't a weird coincidence...

Then Memory Lock has another layer to it that I didn't know about previously. Now, Ruby can see me? What the hell is this game...

"Hey there! Is that stick for sale?" Another man entered the equation with a nice-looking dog, one that looked super friendly, and one that reminded me of my childhood dog.

"It is! But, it's pretty special, so it costs a little more." Ruby's dad said.

"It's a stick from Pretoria, right? I'll take it." He said.

And there it was. Confirmation that the distant place was Pretoria. That stick, Joro's cane, and my staff all have the same origin point: Pretoria.

"Thank you so much. Have a good one!" The man said, walking his two dogs further through town.

"Ah, where did he go?" Ruby said, looking all around. I hadn't moved, but she lost track of me, proving it by running straight through my ethereal body.

Now I had more to think about, concerning what that stick from Pretoria can really do. Why was she able to see me when she had it, but she can't see me now? That didn't make a whole lot of sense...

"Well, come on Ruby, let's continue to school. See you when I get back honey." Ruby's mom said to her father. Ruby and her mom departed further down the path, but I wanted to stick around her father.

It took a few seconds of silence after Ruby departed, but a figure in a darkened cloak popped out from the bush right behind her father and started to talk about something weird.

"We just imported it. We got around one thousand, does that sound satisfactory enough?" The person said.

"Sure, just keep it rolling. We'll be the richest people in no time. Maybe then we can live in New Olympia." Ruby's father said.

I wonder how well that would go for him, considering it was destroyed. I smiled at the thought and stuck around for as long as possible before I was forcefully pushed out of the memory and back into the room where I first entered.