Chapter 5: Her Story.
1895 Words
After that night things changed between us.
Selene stopped hiding. Every evening when I came to Kestrel House she'd be waiting. Sometimes in the courtyard. Sometimes in the library. Once in a hallway I'd never seen before that had windows looking out onto stars that weren't really there.
We talked. A lot. About everything and nothing.
She told me about her life before 1987. About growing up in a small apartment downtown with parents who loved art and music. About getting her first camera at sixteen and falling in love with photography.
"I wanted to capture moments," she said one night while we sat in the courtyard. "The good ones. The ones people might forget otherwise. Birthdays. Weddings. Just regular days that felt special for some reason."
"Did you have a lot of clients?"
"Some. Enough to pay rent. I wasn't famous or anything. Just a girl with a camera trying to make a living." She smiled. "But I loved it. Every single day."
I told her about my childhood. About my cold father and absent mother. About learning to watch people instead of connecting with them.
"That sounds lonely," she said.
"It was. Still is sometimes."
"Not right now though."
"No. Not right now."
We were sitting close on the bench. Our shoulders touching. Her hand in mine. It felt natural. Easy. Like we'd been doing this for years instead of weeks.
"Tell me about the hotel," I said. "About what it was like before."
Her face lit up. "Oh, it was beautiful, Lyric. Really beautiful. The ballroom had these huge chandeliers. Crystal. They'd throw light everywhere when they were on. And the lobby had marble floors and velvet chairs and fresh flowers every single day."
"That's when you were hired to photograph it?"
"Yes. The owner wanted a record before they renovated. He seemed sad about it actually. Like he knew they were destroying something special but didn't have a choice. The building was old. Needed updating to stay profitable."
"So you spent weeks here taking pictures."
"Months actually. I kept finding new things to photograph. New angles. New details. I couldn't stop coming back." She looked around the courtyard. "This space didn't exist then. Not physically. But I photographed the garden that used to be where this building is now. Old trees. Stone paths. It was peaceful."
"And you fell in love with the building."
"I did. Completely. I know that sounds weird. Falling in love with a building. But it had so much history. So many stories in its walls. Every room had seen weddings and birthdays and regular Tuesday afternoons. All of it mattered. All of it was worth remembering."
I understood that. Kind of. I'd never loved a building before. But I understood caring about things other people overlooked.
"What happened the night you changed?" I asked. "You said you were in the ballroom."
Selene got quiet. Her hand tightened around mine.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No. I want to. You should know." She took a breath. "It was August fifteenth. 1987. They were demolishing the ballroom the next morning. I went there one last time to say goodbye. I know that sounds dramatic but it felt necessary."
"What time was it?"
"Late. After midnight. I had the whole building to myself. The construction crew was gone. Everyone was gone. Just me and my camera and this beautiful room that was about to stop existing."
She stopped talking. Remembering.
"I took pictures for a while. Then I just sat on the floor and cried. Actually cried. Because it felt like losing something important. Something irreplaceable."
"And that's when the building noticed you."
"Yes. I felt it suddenly. Like the building was aware of me. Aware that I was grieving for it. And then..." She trailed off.
"Then what?"
"It's hard to explain. The room started changing. Not physically. But I could see layers. The ballroom as it was in that moment. The ballroom as it had been years before. Decades before. All the parties and dances and celebrations that happened there. All existing at the same time."
"You saw the memories."
"I felt them. Lived them. Every single moment that had happened in that room flooded into me. And I realized the building was dying. Being erased. And all those memories had nowhere to go."
Her voice got quieter.
"So I offered. I don't know why. It just felt right. I thought maybe I could hold onto the memories through my photographs. Preserve them somehow. And the building accepted. It poured everything into me. Every memory. Every moment. Every story."
"That must've been overwhelming."
"It was. I thought I'd drown in it. Thought I'd disappear completely. But I held on. Kept my name. My sense of self. Became something new. Part me. Part building. Part memory."
"And you've been here ever since."
"Yes. Watching the building change. Watching people come and go. Holding onto all these moments that nobody else remembers."
We sat in silence for a while. I tried to imagine what that must've been like. Thirty-nine years of existing in impossible spaces. Alone. Forgotten.
"Do you regret it?" I asked.
"Sometimes. I missed my family. My friends. My life. But I also got to experience things nobody else ever has. I've lived thousands of lives through these memories. Felt thousands of emotions. In a weird way I've been more alive than most people."
"But alone."
"But alone," she agreed. "Until now."
She turned to look at me. Her dark eyes serious.
"Lyric, can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"Why do you keep coming back? Really? I know you said you're curious and you feel less alone. But there's got to be more to it. You're risking your career. Your friendships. Your normal life. For what? To sit in impossible courtyards with a woman made of memory?"
I thought about how to answer. Tried to find words that would make sense.
"I spent my whole life being good at things," I said slowly. "Good at school. Good at business. Good at making money and closing deals. But I was never good at being happy. Never good at connecting with people. I didn't even realize I was missing something until I found this place."
"And now?"
"Now I feel like I'm actually living instead of just existing. You make me want to feel things. Want to care about things. Want to be vulnerable even though that terrifies me."
"That's a lot to put on me."
"I'm not putting it on you. I'm just being honest. You asked why I keep coming back. That's why. Because being here with you feels more real than anything in my regular life."
Selene looked at me for a long moment. Then she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"You're the first person who's ever chosen me," she said quietly. "My whole life before this, I was just there. Background noise. Not special. And after I changed, I was invisible. Forgotten. Nobody chose me. Nobody saw me."
"I see you."
"I know. That's what scares me. What if I'm not what you think I am? What if you realize I'm just a lonely memory who tricked herself into thinking she's still a person?"
I put my arm around her shoulders. Pulled her closer.
"You're a person, Selene. Real as anyone. Maybe you exist in weird spaces and maybe you're made of memory. But you're still you. Still real."
"You really believe that?"
"Yes."
She turned her face toward mine. We were close. Really close. I could see every detail. Her dark eyes. Her soft expression. Her lips.
My heart started beating faster.
"Lyric," she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Can I kiss you?"
I nodded. Couldn't speak. Didn't trust my voice.
She leaned in slowly. Gave me time to pull away if I wanted.
I didn't want to.
Her lips touched mine. Soft. Warm. Real.
I kissed her back. Gentle at first then deeper. My hand came up to cup her face. Her fingers tangled in my hair.
It felt like everything. Like the whole world narrowing down to just this moment. Just us.
When we finally pulled apart we were both breathing hard.
"Wow," she said.
"Yeah. Wow."
She laughed. Put her forehead against mine. "I've been wanting to do that for days."
"Me too."
"Really?"
"Really. I just didn't know if I should. Didn't know if you'd want me to."
"I want you to. I want everything with you." She pulled back a little. "Is that too much? Too fast?"
"No. It's perfect."
We kissed again. Slower this time. Taking our time. Learning each other.
The courtyard around us seemed to glow brighter. The trees straightened. The shadows softened. Like Kestrel House itself was happy.
When we finally stopped we just held each other. Her in my arms. Me breathing in whatever she smelled like. Both of us quiet and content.
"I should tell you something," Selene said after a while.
"What?"
"The more we connect like this, the more real I become. The stronger I get. I can feel it happening. You're anchoring me to existence."
"Is that bad?"
"I don't know. It feels good. But it also means I'm depending on you more. Needing you more. If you left now it would hurt worse than when I was just fading alone."
"I'm not leaving."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true." I pulled back to look at her. "Selene, I know this is fast. I know it's crazy. I know it doesn't make logical sense. But I don't care. I want this. Want you. Whatever that means."
"Whatever that means," she repeated. Then she smiled. "Okay. I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."
"I won't."
We stayed in the courtyard until late. Talking. Kissing. Just being together.
Eventually I had to leave. Real life waiting. Work in the morning. Responsibilities I couldn't ignore forever.
"Tomorrow?" Selene asked when I stood to go.
"Tomorrow. And every day after."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She walked me to the door that would lead back to the regular building. Kissed me one more time. Quick and sweet.
"Goodnight, Lyric."
"Goodnight, Selene."
I stepped through and the courtyard disappeared. I was standing in a normal hallway in Kestrel House. Everything regular and boring and real.
But I was smiling like an i***t.
I'd kissed her. Actually kissed her. And it was perfect.
I went to my office and sat at my desk. Pulled out my phone to update my notes but stopped.
I didn't need notes anymore. Didn't need to document everything. This wasn't a puzzle to solve or a mystery to understand.
This was just me and Selene. Figuring things out as we went. Making it up as we went along.
I deleted all my old notes. Started fresh with just one line.
"I'm falling in love with her."
I stared at it. Thought about deleting it. Decided to keep it.
Because it was true.
I was falling in love with Selene Dray. Woman made of memory. Trapped in impossible spaces. Beautiful and sad and real.
And for the first time in my life that didn't scare me.
It felt right.
I saved the note and finally went home to get some sleep.
Tomorrow I'd come back to Kestrel House. Back to the Anamnex. Back to her.
And I couldn't wait.
- Writer
