It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
I’m walking in silence on the dark street. I don’t know where I am, I got lost. The streetlights spit out a feverish light that barely illuminates my own hands. I think I hear screams and sobs in the distance. I keep moving forward, I have no choice.
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I see a young mixed-skin man sitting on an old bench that threatens to collapse. He cries silently.
"-Who are you?"
My voice pulls him from his thoughts, he raises his head and quickly wipes the cascades of tears on his cheeks.
I’ll come back
When you call me
“-You don’t recognize me ?”
I don’t. I’ve never seen him before. I don't even have the time to answer before he continues.
"-I'm not surprised. My name is Uriah. Everyone forgot about me. I died in an explosion. The only person I love is called Marlene, but when I should have found her here, I find myself alone. Even more alone than before. I don't know how to get to her."
I don't know what to answer, I don't even know what this place is and I don't know who Marlene is either.
"-Where are we?
-Is this a joke?
-No.
-I won't tell you anything. Keep moving, I don't think I'm alone here. Someone will tell you. Leave now."
No need to say goodbye
Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before
I continue to walk, searching in my mind for something that would remind me of this Uriah and suddenly I remember. Divergent. A series of books that I read when I was a teenager. Uriah, Tris' friend. Maybe I'll meet her too?
A few meters away from me, I see sparks swirling around a red hair. A young man, tall and thin, sadly shakes a piece of wood while pronouncing strange words.
"- Um... Hello?"
He jumps and looks at me with empty eyes.
"- Hello.
- Who are you?"
He looks at his piece of wood again and I understand that it is a wand. I think about it now. Wizards... Harry Potter. The saga of my childhood.
"- My name is Fred."
The Weasley twins. I remember now.
"-Where is Georges?"
I had barely asked my question that I instantly regret it.
"-Georges.. He's alive. I think he's married."
He doesn't say anything more and makes little sparks again.
"-What are you doing?
-I'm trying to do magic. Something funny. Like when we were together.."
I feel that it's better for me not to stay and I get back on the road.
All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are
As I walk, I hear a whistle. I look down. At the corner of a tree is a little girl with frizzy hair. She whistles four notes, always the same. I recognize her. The Hunger Games. I come closer and whisper.
"-Rue?"
She caught a gasp, raises her head and smiles at me.
"-I whistle for the mockingjays, there are none here. So I whistle and hope they will find their way to me."
I remember crying for Rue's death. I told myself that she was too young, that she didn't deserve it. And now I see her again, here. She doesn't seem unhappy, just.. Lost. So I leave her, and I move on.
As you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
As I'm spacing out in my thoughts, I hear someone trying to call me. I stop and turn around. A chubby little boy followed me.
"-I... My name is Chuck! I never meet anyone so I followed you! Do you know how to get out of this place? Huh, do you? Besides, where are we?"
He takes a breath between each sentence, tired after walking behind me. The Labyrinth. He threw himself in front of the hero, I forgot his name, to save him. It hurts my heart, he must have been there for several years but he still hasn't understood... I don't have the courage to tell him the truth.
"-Yes, I know. But I'm going to stop for a bit. You're tired too, right? Sleep, we'll leave together."
No sooner said than done, Chuck lies down next to me and falls asleep after ten minutes. I slowly get up and leave.
Sorry, Chuck.. Even if I take you with me to find the exit, you'll have to stay here.
You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye
A little further, the landscape changes for a few meters. A beautiful young girl is taking care of colorful flowers.
Susan. Queen Susan the Sweet. The one who no longer believed in the existence of Narnia.. She is here, in front of my eyes, still as beautiful as before.
"-Susan?"
She turns quickly, watering the paving stones in front of her in the process.
"-Ohhhh!"
She approaches me, puts down her watering can to take my hands and speaks to me as if I were a child.
"-Are you coming back from Narnia? You know Narnia doesn't exist anymore, you know that right? Lucy says yes, but you shouldn't believe her.. Oh, I miss them you know.."
She's crying. I can't stay any longer, she seems to have sunk into madness.
You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye
I leave and walk. For half an hour, I don't meet anyone. I'm about to lose hope of getting out of here when I distinguish a human form, lying on the ground. I approach and discover a young girl with a familiar face looking at the sky.
"-I'm not the first one you've probably met. I know that you don't recognize me. My name is Lynn."
The only thing that hits me is her hair, her long hair.
"-Don't bother asking me for explanations. I have nothing to shave them here. And anyway, I have no one left to prove to that I'm strong. But let's not get too melodramatic, we all die one day, we have to get used to it. You should keep walking and get out of here because otherwise you risk staying here forever."
She closes her eyes and signals me to leave.
Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
The road straightens out in front of me. I feel like it will never end. As I walk forward I trip over the roots of a tree. As I struggle to get up I hear a burst of laughter. I raise my head and my eyes fall on a young woman with green eyes. I don't need to think. Lily, Harry Potter's mother, is here too, a book lying next to her.
"-Hello, Lily.
-Nice to meet you, young lady. What are you doing here?
-I'm not... Not like you. I got lost. At the end of the road is the portal that will bring me back home.
-Good for you, you still have a lot to see.
-What are you reading?"
She looks down at the book and observe it, filled with nostalgia.
"-This was Severus' favorite book..
-Do you miss him?
-All the time.
-He protected your son, out of love for you..
-I know that, young lady. I know that.. But go now, join your world. You don't belong here yet."
I walk away and a few steps later I turn around. Lily is immersed in her reading but looks up, waves at me with a smile and goes back to read her book.
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
I continue my long walk when I hear weird noises. I approach and I see a girl, quite young and with long blond hair hitting a punching bag. She turns around and stops. Her eyes shining, she takes a few steps until she's in front of me.
"-Who are you? Are you another one of those Hunger Game fans who comes to see me even in the kingdom of the dead? Oh no, that's right, no one comes to see me! Everyone only thinks about Katniss, Katniss who saved her sister and all of America! Me, everyone has forgotten me. Primrose Everdeen, fourth of the name, dead and forgotten! The saga is beautiful now. Anyway, I don't matter. I never mattered! So I hit. I pour out my anger and my hatred. I have nothing else to do anyway."
On these last words, she leaves without giving me another look.
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes
Just a little further after Prim, I come across a big muscular man with black skin. He is sitting at a table and mumbling nonsense. A story about clawers and doors closing..
Despite everything I approach and greet him.
"-A girl?!"
I didn't really expect that.
"-Yes."
He raises an eyebrow and looks me up and down.
"-You come from group B?"
Whoa, is he as crazy as Susan? As I get ready to leave he bursts out laughing, a crazy laugh.
"-I'm Alby. Welcome."
I shake his hand, and as he dives back into his plans, I run away.
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye
I continue to walk, alone. But right when I tell myself I will never go out, I see that the street stops. At the end there is a door. And in front of the door, a young man I know well.
He was my favorite hero when I was younger.
"-Hello Edmund Pevensie."
He looks at me, surprised.
"-Do you know me?"
I can't help but smile.
"-Of course I do! The king of Narnia, Edmund the just! Your majesty." I reply, bowing down in front of him.
Edmund smiles and moves aside.
"-You are not from here, and even if I would like to keep talking to you, you must go back to where you belong. Open this door, it will take you to your world."
I put my hand on the door handle and think back to the people I've met.
Uriah and his tears for Marlene.
Fred and his sparks.
Rue and her four notes.
Chuck and his stream of words.
Susan and her flowers.
Lynn and her hair.
Lily and her book.
Prim and her punching bag.
Alby and his plans.
And Edmund, the gatekeeper.
I feel a breath on my neck and I feel pushed. I barely have time to turn around to see Edmund's reassuring smile.
The door closes as I realize what I just saw.
The forgotten ones.
They became crazy, hateful or nostalgic.
They scared me, made me smile or sad.
They know their fate, their previous life or barely remember their first name.
But no matter what, they remain the same for everyone.
The forgotten ones are for ever.
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye