What we forgot

I don’t remember falling asleep or blacking out. The only thing I remember was getting into a black van with Alastair. Everything else is a blur.

Nevertheless, I woke up laying on something very soft and comfortable. I opened my eyes and immediately closed them again because of the bright light. Turning my head away from the light source, I tried again. My head was burning with pain, but I tried to ignore it. Looking around I noticed that I was lying on a sofa in a small room. It was rather dark, maybe because of the grey walls or maybe because of the time.

The lights in the room were turned on, small bulbs hanging around on the walls and one big bulb in the middle of the ceiling. There was some furniture, mostly made out of metal and wood. Everything looked pretty empty and cold. There was a desk and a big bookshelf on the side opposite of me, a small closet on the right and an old mirror on the left of the door. The couch I was on was the only soft thing, dark grey material matching the colour scheme of the room. There were also a few pillows and blankets on and under me and I snuggled in them, trying to replay everything that has happened in the last few hours. Hours? Maybe even days. I have completely lost the track of time and had no idea how long I’ve been asleep. Looking around, I noticed my bag on the floor, leaned against the foot of the desk.

As I reached towards it, the door on the other side suddenly opened and I jumped a little. My self-defense sensors turned on and I tried sitting up to defend myself from the dark figure, but I failed miserably. My head spun around and my body felt like it was made out of stone. Groaning in dizziness, I fell back down and leaned my back on the sofa for support.

“Take it easy Catelyn. It’s good to have you back.” Smiled Alastair as he grabbed a stool and set it across from me.

“What happened?” I asked with dry voice, rubbing my forehead.

He sat down on the stool and leaned forward, his forearms on his knees. “You kind of passed out in the van. At first, we thought you’re just sleeping, but then you didn’t respond… Well, the point is, I’m glad you’re awake.” He smiled softly, his blue-grey eyes meeting mine. He took a glass full of dark red liquid and held it out for me. “Drink this. You’ll feel better, trust me.”

I looked at it with distrust, but when I noticed a sincere worry on Alastair’s face I took it from him and made a small sip. It tasted sweet and sour, like some kind of juice. If he wanted to poison me, he at least did it with style. It wasn’t too bad at all. “What is it?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s homemade cherry juice. We need to get your sugar levels up.” He grinned, as I wanted to disappear from the world of embarrassing poison thoughts that ran through my mind. I visibly relaxed and took another sip of the delicious drink. It tasted fresh and it made me feel energised.

“Look…” he said looking straight into my eyes. “I know you’re confused and scared at the moment, but I give you my word that you’re much safer here than outside. I won’t hurt you in any way. No one here will. Do you understand me?” he asked and I nod, feeling overwhelmed. My chest squeezed lightly and I took a deep breath.
“This isn’t your home yet, but I hope you’ll make it so soon. This- " he gestured around "is your room and you can do whatever you like with it. Just… Don’t try to destroy it, please.” He winked and I smiled. There was something about his expression that made me think someone must have done that before. He got up to leave, when I suddenly remembered the incident that brought me here in the first place.

“What about the whole touch thing?” I asked and he stopped where he was, turning back to me.

“We’ll deal with it once you settle down. I don’t want to throw you out to the fully new world all at once. Plus, it doesn’t work just like that..." he stopped for a second before continuing. "I set some clothes for you. Hopefully, they’ll fit. There’s a living space just down the stairs and to the right. We're making pancakes, in case you want to join us. Also, if you need me at any time, my quarters are right next to yours.” He pointed his finger to the wall on my left. I nod and thanked him, standing up and grabbing the clothes that were laid out on the desk. Alastair closed the door behind him and left me to myself.

I took a good look around the room again, taking it all in and thinking about how I could make it cozier. This was my new home after all. Home. The word still rang in my ears. I never really felt at home before and I wondered if this time it could be different. Above the sofa there was a window, which confirmed my earlier suspicion that it was dark outside. The space felt pretty empty for now, but with little light bulbs hanging around and a few pots of plants, it could turn out pretty great.

The clothes weren’t something that I’d usually wear. I was used to dress pants, button shirt and a thin cardigan. Here, on the other hand, were black leggings, a t-shirt with a weird pattern on the chest and a big warm hoodie. I threw it on with some sneakers and admired the person who correctly guessed all the sizes. I took another big breath, stepped on the hall and closed the door. There was no key, so I assumed there was no need to lock it. Maybe there was no one else here. The last thought died in my mind, as I stepped on the staircase and heard a bunch of voices coming from downstairs. On the bottom of the stairs, there was a big living room. Large sofas, inviting looking armchairs, a Tv, a burning fireplace and a dining table were spread across the floor. On the same side as the table was another room that I assumed was a kitchen. There were fairy lights hanged on the ceiling and around some bookshelves that were absolutely packed with books.

“You must be Catelyn.” Said a voice behind me and startled me. I turned around and saw a tall man approaching me. “I’m Thomas.” He stopped in front of me and reached his right hand towards me. I looked at it and then at him, confused. “Right. You haven’t gone over the basics yet.” He mumbled let it drop back at his side.

“Um, basics? I’m sorry.” I asked as I felt like the stupidest person in the world. Like a child that is so helplessly lying in his mother’s arms.

“Don’t be. We’ve all been through it. You’ll learn.” He smiled, immediately trying to make me feel better. His smile was quite contagious and I felt my lips curl up. “There it is. The smile. Come, join us. We just made pancakes.” He offered and opened his arms towards the dining table.

“Thanks.” I followed him down the stairs, where more people were chatting and laughing.

Alastair was sitting next to another dark-haired man, whose attention turned to Thomas and me immediately. Alastair pulled out a chair on his side and I sat down on it, greeting everyone else.

“Everyone, this is Catelyn. Don’t trap her into hugs just yet, yes, Reverie-.” he laughed at the expression of a girl, that I assumed was a bit younger than myself. “give her space to adjust to everything.”

“What’s a hug?” I asked and 6 pairs of eyes turned to me. “I… haven’t heard of that before.” I added silently. The man next to Alastair shifted and turned to me. He was about the same age, with shoulder length dark brown hair and warm brown eyes.

“It’s when a person puts their arms around another person.” He explained.

“Like this.” Said Reverie, wrapping her arms around the boy sitting next to her. She looked extremely satisfied, while he looked somehow embarrassed. I didn’t know how to respond. Seeing two people openly touching was weird in the first place, but seeing them so close to each other, was a whole new level of confusion.

“Why… Why would you do that?” The words left my mouth before I could realise it. I didn’t want to be rude on my first evening. Some people chuckled and I felt my cheeks turn slightly red.

“You have much to learn Catelyn.” Alastair showed the last piece of his pancake into his mouth. “Which reminds me. John and I are leaving you kids to do… Whatever you do in the evenings. Try not to scare her off.” He winked at me again and stood up, followed by John. We exchanged good night wishes and they walked up the stairs, away from our sight.

I took a pancake off the big pile and checked the toppings. There were honey, sugar, chocolate spread and some fruit jams. I decided to go with the chocolate, so I spread some on my pancake and took a bite. I hummed in appreciation, as it tasted heavenly.

“Who made those?” I asked. “They’re really, really good.”

“Ah, that would be me, thank you.” Proclaimed Thomas, his sky blue eyes glittering proudly. After that, the conversation developed with ease and a couple of hours later, the street lights were turned off, plates were empty and our stomachs full. Thomas started washing the dishes and I offered to help, as Reverie and Devon made their way towards their bedrooms.

They were both younger than I was, but here for already about a year. Reverie was full of life, dreaming big dreams and supposedly an excellent singer. She was like sunshine. Devon, on the other hand, was a very calm and sweet boy, caring about her a lot. He was excellent with numbers and helped John in his lab, where they did biological research about exceptions - like us. During the dinner he was constantly brushing his fingers over Rev’s hand or hair, making her cheeks turn bright red. I was still confused about everything that was going on between them, but I knew that must have been how the world looked like many, many years ago.

There wasn’t much talk about it, but on cold nights when most of the city was asleep, you could hear strange whispers among the oldest and the poorest of the population. They would talk about love, couples holding their hands while walking in the park, people getting married and parents kissing and cuddling their children to sleep. I’ve always wondered what those stories meant or if they were even true. Early enough I learned that asking about them was as bad as trying to make physical contact. So, I kept it quiet, thinking about them some nights in my bed before the sleep took me away. I was sure that they were connected with that picture that I’ve found.

“So how did Alastair find you?” Thomas suddenly asked, passing me a wet plate that he just washed.

“I… We were on the same bus and he saved me from kissing the floor of it. By holding my wrist.” I answered, drying the plate with a kitchen cloth.

“Aha. Al, the savior.” He giggled and finished washing the last plate.

“If that’s how you look at it.” I took it from his hand. The plate was wet from the water and it slipped from his fingers a bit too early. I quickly reached for it, as did he. The plate stabilised in our hands and the position with which we caught it, made his fingers lightly brush against my hand. Electricity shot through the spot on which his skin made contact with mine and I gasped quietly. The feeling was so strange. Not unpleasant, but new. Moving his hand away in the next second, he left the plate in my hands.

“I’m sorry.” Thomas’s eyes met mine. “I should be more careful around you.” His eyes were sincere and for a second, something changed in them. There was a darker glint in them, disappearing as he blinked.

“It’s okay.”

“Shall we make our way to sleep as well?” He asked.

“Yes, that would be a good idea.” I smiled. Even though I’ve only been awake for a few hours, my body was filling with tiredness. I wasn’t properly sleeping before, after all.

“Wait here for a second.” He gestured, suddenly remembering something and walking towards a huge bookshelf that was absolutely packed with books. He stopped in front of it and examined it for a few seconds. His fingers brushed the backs of a few books, before they stopped and he pulled out a fairly thick book. Grinning victoriously, he walked back and offered the book to me. “Read this. Or just look it through. I think you might find it fascinating.”

Taking the book from his hands, I checked the front. It was an old book and judging from the way it was bound together, probably homemade. The cover was made out of brown leather case and there was a title, written with a thick black marker. What we forgot. The title said. I noticed smaller writing at the bottom of it and gasped in surprise.

“Alastair wrote this.” I stated, sounding more like I was asking a question.

“Yes. He did it together with his wife.” Thomas walked towards and up the staircase by my side.

“Wife. Are you saying that he was what they called… married?”

“What we call. Those stories that you might have heard on the streets, the whispers in the dark…” He said, stopping in front of the door. “They’re all true.” In the same second, the light on the hall went out and the whole moment sent chills down my spine. All the legends that I heard through my life, the forbidden words and memories from those that were supposed to be dead. The illusions of those who were proclaimed mentally ill or even killed. Was he saying that it was all true?

“Oops. Great timing.” He pressed the light switch again and the corridor was back in the light. “It turns off after a while. You know... Energy saving.” He winked.

Right.

“Anyway, this is me. I believe you’ll find your way.” He pointed towards the direction of my door, which was just about ten steps away.

I playfully rolled my eyes at him. “I will. Good night, then.” I answered and he opened the door of his room, slipping inside.

“Sweet dreams, Catelyn.” His blue eyes met mine once again and this time lingered just for a little longer.

I felt my cheeks grow warm again and turned around, walking towards my room and quickly closing the door behind me. I’m so awkward. Why am I so awkward? I thought as I flopped on the couch, still clutching the book in my hands.