4. The Loop

𝘼 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚

N: Don't get too close. It's wide enough for you to see through. If you fall in, don't ask me for help.

Jeremiah: Isn't this the same scene we saw when we first entered?

Lisa: Yeah but doesn't Hana look a little different?

Aaron: She is bleeding.

𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙜 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙧. 𝙎𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜

Hana: can nobody hear me? Sandra is evil. She is evil!!

Sandra: What's the problem, Miss Hana?

One of the kids: Yeah, you don't look so good.

𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 ???𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚

Hana: WHY

Hana: WONT

Hana: YOU

Hana: DIE!

Sandra: You're… hurting me…

Hana: Please leave me alone! LEAVE ME ALONE!

𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙬.

𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖'𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡. 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧.

𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧.

Hana: I'm sorry. Please don't take me back. Please don't take me back.

𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧.

Kids: Thank you, Miss Hana.

𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩. 𝙒𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧? 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙮𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝.

Hana: Before I forget, please give Sandra a round of applause for helping us get our 4th consecutive gold medal in the Battle of Tunes tournament. She will go to Tokyo to represent the UK.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖.

Sandra: Thank you so much guys. It was more of teamwork than just me. You guys deserve credit too.

Hana: Yes yes so Sandra, I hope you called your parents about your extra lessons.

Sandra: Yes ma'am.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚.

𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝟰𝟬 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨

Hana: And that is it. It's time for you to go home now, don't keep your parents waiting too long.

Sandra: Thank you, Miss Hana. I really appreciate all you do for me.

Hana: It's nothing, my dear.

𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢

Sandra: Oh, Miss Hana

Hana: What is it?

𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣

Sandra: Where do you think you're going?

Hana: SANDRA… what are you doing???

Sandra: I remember everything.

Hana: What are you talking about?

Sandra: You've been killing me. Many times.

𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙮

Hana: That bitch knew everything and acted like it was okay? I need to get out of here

Sandra: Tick tock… tick tock and... now

𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧.

Kids: Thank you, Miss Hana.

Hana: no no. no no no no no no no no no no

Sandra: Miss Hana, what's the problem?

Sandra smiles and does a shush gesture

Hana: PLEASE LET ME GO!!! I WILL NOT DO IT AGA…

𝙉 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧

N: So you get it now, right?

Aaron: She can't escape? Forever?

N: Yes. When a door shuts, it is shut forever. Well at least to those inside, I am free to move however I like. It is quite unfortunate that she was stopped from making it out.

Jeremiah: I have a question.

N: Go on.

Jeremiah: We weren't able to reach Hana and Sandra in the classroom. We kept phasing through them but when our Hana disappeared, she was able to grab one of us. Why?

N: The minute you step into an event, you are what I like to call observers. For the one who is the main holder of the memory, when it is time to act after the story in the event plays out, he or she will take his place in the event. It would be problematic if two of the same people existed at the same time, right? Sometimes the story might not play out fully; you'll be given the responsibility of ending it how you see fit and as for the observers, the only things you can interact with in someone else's memories are yourselves. Now the thing is not all events should be as scary as that one but this isn't something that's left to me. You are the ones who hold the memories.

Lisa: Why can't we just have our memories back now?

N: Little by little. After every door, I'll help you. No further questions?

George: Wait, you said one of the things you told us before was a lie. What was it?

N: That is an answer you'll get from me later but if you really think about it, it should be obvious now. Goodbye.

𝙉 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨

Lisa: Wow

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚

Jeremiah: So… we move forward.

George: No. Before we move, we must make one deal.

Aaron: What?

George: We don't know who is good or bad and I am actually losing it but at the end of the day, we are all in this together. So no matter what we see or hear, we must not judge anyone. We see what happens and move.

Aaron: I don't see why not. Lisa?

Lisa: I'll pass. For all we know, George might have remembered something bad he did and just doesn't want us to get mad at him.

George: Why would you say something like that?

Jeremiah: It's ok, guys. George has a point. We don't want what happened to Hana to happen again. We won't judge you so don't judge us. Deal?

Aaron: Deal

George: Deal

Jeremiah: Lisa?

Lisa: …

Jeremiah: LISA

Lisa: Deal! Don't yell.

Jeremiah: Ok, let's go.