Rewriting Memory

Chapter 10

Lysandra arranged to see Zephyr the next day. Her friend had left her a note that morning, detailing the times of the day during which she'd be free. Lysandra escaped the house just after lunch and met Zephyr at their usual spot, on a street somewhere in between their residences, near a clock that stood under the half-wire trees. She made it there on time.

"Zeph," she greeted her friend.

"Liss," Zephyr said. "What brings you here so early?"

Lysandra rolled her eyes. "Hush, you."

"Aww," Zephyr drawled. "Having a bad day?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Lysandra said, crossing her arms over her chest and facing her friend.

"Whoa," Zephyr said, her eyes widening. "That was a sudden change of subject."

"I'm serious," Lysandra pleaded.

Zephyr took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "What is it?"

"I think someone messed with my memories." Lysandra dropped her voice, so that Zephyr had to lean forward to hear it.

"What?" Zephyr exclaimed. "That's not possible. You can't just mess with people's memories without their permission. It just doesn't happen."

"But I remember what it felt like to forget the first sixteen years of my life," Lysandra said. "And that's what this feels like. Somehow, the memory of some conversation I had yesterday vaporized."

Zephyr frowned. "I don't get it."

"I don't either," Lysandra sighed. "You obviously know something about Memory Recoders, though - do you know anyone who could, you know, examine me or something?" She felt desperate, like her feet were sliding out under her.

"We could go to that Viatrix guy," Zephyr said hesitantly. "But... I don't actually know him. I just found his name in an advertisement."

"For the love of the Angels," Lysandra groaned. Did he do a decent job making you forget Oden? she wanted to ask, but she knew exactly what kind of conversation she would confront if she did so: Who's Oden?

"I'm sorry," Zephyr said. "The only other time I went to a Memory Recoder was - you see? I don't even remember the person's name."

"I suppose that's the point," Lysandra said. "Okay, fine. We're going back to Viatrix. Come on." She grabbed Zephyr's arm and dragged her down the street.

Halfway to the next corner, Zephyr gasped, "Let go! You're going to pull my arm out of the socket," and Lysandra released her hold on Zephyr's arm. Her friend blew out a sigh. "Saint Aecus! I've never seen you so stressed out, Liss."

"Sorry," Lysandra muttered. "I just..."

Her hands shook, and her heart raced. She didn't want to voice the primary emotion she felt: fear.

"It's fine," Zephyr said. "But please, can you try not to dislocate my shoulder next time?"

Lysandra broke into a run again, dodging people and wiretrees. She entered the alley where they had found Mason Viatrix's studio just two days ago, a large wooden door hiding behind wiretree branches shedding their leaves. But just as she moved her hand up toward the handle, she found a piece of paper attached to the door, tapping the wood steadily with the breeze.

"What's that?" Zephyr asked, stepping closer to Lysandra to see. "Vacant lot. Please keep off premises. Trespassers will be arrested... What?"

Lysandra frowned. "This is the right door, isn't it?"

"I think so." Zephyr squinted at the piece of paper. "Did he move?"

"I guess," Lysandra answered. "Well, what are we going to do now? Look for some other Memory Recoder's advertisement?"

Zephyr turned away from the door and winked. "Of course."

The two girls scoured the surrounding streets for Memory Recoding studios for two hours, but at the end of those two hours, they had found nothing. They had seen no trace of Mason Viatrix, and in addition, they had found no other evidence that any other Memory Recoders existed in Oblitus at all.

Lysandra had fretted about her memory the whole way, wondering what had happened to yesterday's conversation and worrying aloud about it to Zephyr. "What if it's chronic?" she asked. "What if it's amnesia or something?"

"Look, Lysandra," Zephyr finally said. "Calm down. You sound anxious as hell, and you're making me anxious too. The more you worry about it, the worse it's going to seem, you know? I promise, whatever it is, I'll help you figure it out."

Lysandra almost said Okay, but she saw another look cross Zephyr's face. She knew what was coming.

"I have to go home," Zephyr said. "I'm really sorry, Liss. I thought we'd be able to find him."

"That's okay," Lysandra said, feeling her heart sink into her stomach.

"If I see anything else, I'll send you a note," Zephyr promised. "And hopefully I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Lysandra echoed, "hopefully."

Zephyr said her goodbyes and left Lysandra standing on the street corner, the wiretree leaves falling around her and leaving traces of oil in their wake. She looked up through the branches and looked at the slants of sun coming through the spaces between the leaves, stretches of orange and gold standing out from the coppery structures. She almost put out a hand to touch them.

The sunlight was steadily disappearing. Soon there would be none of it left. Lysandra knew she needed to go home - Nereus would only be able to cover for her for so long - but she couldn't stop now. She had to find a Memory Recoding studio before dark, or she'd be stuck with this hole in her memory for another night.

She glanced up at the sky.

Angels forgive me.

Without giving it another thought, she stepped onto the streets again.