Memoria
877 Words
Elara Solene Aurelian
(Present)
(Age 21)
Location: (Schwarzwald, Germany)
Elara sat in the quiet room, her back against the armchair, the fire crackling softly before her.
Alone.
The flickering flames cast dancing shadows against the stone walls, but the warmth they offered couldn’t quite reach the cold ache in her chest.
She rested her fingers lightly on the worn journal beside her, its leather cover etched with faint symbols—her mother's handwriting, still legible despite the years.
In the stillness, Elara's thoughts drifted back to her mother, to the last time they’d shared this space. That memory was as vivid as the stars outside the window, sharp and clear in its details.
She could almost hear her mother's soft voice, feel the comforting weight of her hand on her shoulder as they sat together in the growing twilight.
Elara, she whispered, almost unconsciously, as if speaking her name could bridge the gap between past and present.
Her mother had said it so often, a gentle reminder that she was never alone, even when the world felt vast and distant.
She paused, letting the silence wash over her again, but it wasn’t truly silent.
The soft rustle of the forest beyond the walls, the whispering wind through the trees, seemed to hum in rhythm with her heartbeat.
Elara smiled faintly. In moments like this, the space between herself and the world around her blurred.
The memories felt close, almost tangible, like the stars her mother had told her about—the ones that would always be there, even when the night was darkest.
Sighing softly, took a deep breath, as if to ground herself in the present. She reached over and picked up the photograph, its edges curling slightly from age.
It was of her mother, young and laughing, her eyes bright with the kind of joy that could light up the whole world. A light in the dark, she remembered her mother saying.
Elara set the photo back down with reverence. She knew the light had never truly left her, no matter how deep the shadows seemed.
Cassian Vasilios Drakos
(Age 24)
Location: (Schwarzwald, Germany)
The dense canopy above blocked out most of the fading light, leaving the forest bathed in shadows.
The air was thick with the earthy scent of moss and damp leaves, a familiar musk that clung to everything here.
He had been walking for miles, each step quiet but purposeful, the only sounds his boots crunching over the undergrowth and the distant calls of birds settling for the night.
He was used to the city’s chaos—the sharpness of power plays, the calculating moves of the underworld, the ever-present hum of violence.
But this place... this forest, this sanctuary, was different. It felt like time slowed down here, as if nature itself was holding its breath.
Cassian’s sharp eyes scanned the trees around him, his instincts on high alert despite the serenity. He’d tracked Elara here—he had to. The pull of her presence had been impossible to ignore, something deeper than curiosity. A whisper of something that felt like fate, or perhaps an echo of something he’d lost long ago.
He knew her story, at least the parts that mattered—the soft, quiet strength she held within her, the light of her mother’s memory that had shaped her life. But he hadn’t expected this; the place, this stillness. It was a part of her he hadn’t seen, a side of her that was wrapped in layers of memories and something... sacred.
He paused for a moment, standing at the edge of the clearing, just out of sight. He could hear the soft crackle of a fire in the distance, the low murmur of the forest settling in for the night. There was a presence there, something that anchored the space—something her.
Cassian’s fingers instinctively brushed the handle of the knife hidden beneath his jacket, a reminder of who he was, what he had built, and the dangers that followed him. The mafia didn’t rest, even in the heart of the woods. But Elara... Elara was different.
He could just walk away. Leave her to the quiet of her memories.
But the pull—like the gravity of the moon itself—was too strong. He didn’t know why, not yet, but something about this woman called to him in a way nothing else ever had.
He stepped forward, his silhouette barely visible against the trees. Each movement was calculated, but there was a softness to the way he approached her space, an unspoken respect for the peace she had carved out here, a peace he knew he would never have.
Elara’s voice, soft and distant, reached him before he even saw her. Was she speaking to herself? Or was she speaking to someone who wasn’t there?
It didn’t matter.
Cassian held back, waiting, watching, feeling the weight of his own existence pressing against him. He wasn't just a man anymore; he was power, legacy, violence. The world had made him that. But Elara...
He knew one thing for certain as he lingered in the shadows.
If he stepped into the light now, it would change everything. And he wasn’t sure he was ready for that yet.
- Writer
