Episode 16: You Remembered
1661 Words
You remembered.”
Heaven's eyes widened.
The mysterious boy stood beside her bedroom window, exactly as he had appeared in her dreams.
She couldn't move.
For a moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming.
Then she looked around her room.
Everything was real.
The darkness.
Her bed.
The sound of the rain against the window.
And him.
“You…” Heaven whispered. “How did you get here?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at her as though he had been waiting years for this exact moment.
“You finally remembered.”
Heaven shook her head.
“I don't know you.”
His expression softened.
“You don't remember everything yet.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because you have to remember it yourself.”
Heaven stared at him.
“What do you want from me?”
He looked toward her wrist.
The golden mark was glowing faintly.
“The door.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What about it?”
“It's almost time.”
Heaven remembered the countdown.
Five days.
The boy stepped closer.
“You have five days to remember who you were before the memories were taken from you.”
Heaven's breath caught.
“What memories?”
He smiled sadly.
“Ask Conrad's father.”
Before Heaven could respond, the lights flickered.
She blinked.
He was gone.
Heaven jumped out of bed and ran to the window.
Nothing.
She searched the room.
There was no sign that anyone had been there.
But his final words remained in her mind.
Ask Conrad's father.
---
The next morning, Heaven arrived at school early.
She hadn't slept.
She kept thinking about the boy.
About his words.
About the dream.
And most importantly, about what he had said.
You were there.
She opened her notebook.
The symbol appeared again.
Heaven touched the page.
A sudden image flashed through her mind.
A dark hallway.
A glowing door.
A little boy.
Conrad.
She pulled her hand away.
“Heaven?”
She looked up.
Maya stood beside her desk.
“You okay?”
Heaven quickly closed the notebook.
“Yeah.”
Maya gave her a suspicious look.
“You look like you saw a ghost.”
“I saw someone.”
“Who?”
“The boy.”
Maya's expression changed.
“The one from your dreams?”
Heaven nodded.
“He came to my room.”
“What?”
“He said I remembered.”
Maya sat down.
“Remembered what?”
“I don't know.”
Maya was quiet for a moment.
“Maybe we should tell Conrad.”
“We will.”
As if summoned by his name, Conrad walked into the classroom.
He looked at Heaven.
Something about his expression told her he had something to say.
“You had another dream?” she asked.
He nodded.
“And this one was different.”
“How?”
“I remembered more.”
He pulled a chair closer.
“My father was there.”
Heaven's heart beat faster.
“What did he say?”
“He told us not to open the door.”
“Us?”
Conrad nodded.
“You were there.”
Heaven stared at him.
“So was the boy.”
Conrad looked at Maya.
“What boy?”
“The one who appeared before,” Maya said.
Conrad looked back at Heaven.
“What did he say?”
“He said I remembered.”
Conrad went silent.
Then he slowly looked at his wrist.
The golden mark had appeared again.
---
They met Sierra after school.
The moment she heard about the dream, she knew something had changed.
“He's back,” she said.
Heaven frowned.
“You know him?”
Sierra looked away.
“I've seen him before.”
“When?”
“Before my sister disappeared.”
Conrad's expression hardened.
“You never told us that.”
“I didn't know what he was.”
“Do you know now?”
Sierra hesitated.
“I know he was there that night.”
Heaven stepped closer.
“What happened?”
“My sister found the door.”
Sierra swallowed.
“She wasn't alone.”
“Who was with her?”
Sierra looked at Conrad.
“Your father.”
Conrad froze.
“My father?”
“He was there.”
The words hung in the air.
“Why?” Conrad asked.
“I don't know.”
Sierra looked at Heaven.
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“The boy knew about the door before any of us did.”
Heaven remembered his face.
The way he had looked at her.
As if he had known her forever.
---
The group returned to the library.
They searched through the old books again.
Maya and Dylan helped, even though Dylan still didn't completely understand everything.
“I'm just saying,” Dylan muttered, “normal students don't spend their afternoons looking for magical doors.”
Maya shrugged.
“We're not normal students anymore.”
After nearly an hour, Sierra found something.
An old photograph slipped from between the pages of a book.
She picked it up.
Everyone gathered around.
The picture showed several people standing in front of the school.
Sierra's sister was there.
Conrad's father was there.
And standing several feet away was the mysterious boy.
He looked exactly the same.
He hadn't aged.
Heaven stared at the photograph.
“He was there.”
Sierra nodded.
“My sister knew him.”
Conrad took the photograph.
“Why does he still look the same?”
Nobody had an answer.
Then Heaven noticed something in the background.
A doorway.
The same doorway from her dreams.
Her fingers trembled.
“I've seen this.”
Conrad looked at her.
“Where?”
“In my dream.”
She touched the photograph.
Another memory flashed through her mind.
She was little.
She was standing beside Conrad.
They were both staring at the door.
Conrad's father was speaking to them.
And the mysterious boy was standing behind him.
Heaven gasped and pulled her hand away.
“What did you see?” Conrad asked.
“I was there.”
Sierra stared at her.
“You remembered?”
“Not everything.”
Heaven shook her head.
“But I remember being there.”
---
That evening, the school held another sports practice.
Everyone else seemed unaware of what was happening beneath the surface.
Students laughed.
Music played from someone's phone.
The basketball team practiced on the court.
Maya watched Heaven carefully.
“You don't have to stay.”
“I want to.”
Conrad walked over.
“You sure?”
Heaven nodded.
“I need something normal.”
He smiled.
“Then watch me win.”
“You're so confident.”
“You like it.”
Heaven rolled her eyes.
“Maybe.”
Maya immediately looked at Dylan.
“Did you hear that?”
Dylan laughed.
“Yep.”
Heaven glared at them.
“Both of you, stop.”
Conrad laughed.
For a few minutes, everything felt normal.
Then his wrist began glowing.
Heaven's did too.
The lights flickered.
The basketball suddenly flew across the court.
Heaven raised her hand instinctively.
The ball stopped in midair.
Everyone stared.
She lowered her hand.
The ball dropped.
Conrad rushed toward her.
“Heaven!”
“I didn't mean to.”
“I know.”
The lights went out.
A cold silence filled the gym.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness.
“Five days.”
The lights came back on.
The mysterious boy stood at the entrance.
He looked at Heaven.
“You still don't remember everything.”
Conrad stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The boy looked at him.
“You already know me.”
Conrad frowned.
“I don't.”
“You will.”
Then the boy looked at Heaven.
“Your father would be disappointed.”
Conrad's face changed.
“You knew my father?”
The boy didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Sierra.
“I knew your sister.”
Sierra froze.
“You…”
The boy smiled.
“Five days.”
Then he disappeared.
---
That night, Heaven fell asleep and returned to the hallway.
This time, the memory was clearer.
She was a child.
Conrad was beside her.
His father stood in front of the glowing door.
The mysterious boy was there.
Heaven heard herself ask,
“Why can't we remember?”
Conrad's father looked at them.
“Because you have to forget.”
Young Conrad looked frightened.
“Why?”
“Because remembering will bring you back.”
Heaven looked toward the mysterious boy.
“Who is he?”
The boy looked directly at her.
“You'll know me when you're ready.”
The door began to glow.
Conrad's father reached for them.
“Your memories will disappear.”
The hallway filled with golden light.
Then everything went black.
Heaven woke up.
She sat upright.
Her heart was pounding.
She looked toward the window.
The mysterious boy was standing there again.
This time, Heaven wasn't afraid.
“You knew me.”
He nodded.
“You knew Conrad.”
Another nod.
“You were there when we were children.”
“Yes.”
“Why were our memories erased?”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“Because you weren't supposed to find the door again.”
Heaven's voice shook.
“But we did.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The boy looked at the golden mark on her wrist.
“Because the door found you first.”
Heaven stared at him.
Suddenly, another memory flashed through her mind.
She and Conrad were standing in front of the door.
Their hands were joined.
The mysterious boy was behind them.
And the door was opening.
Heaven gasped.
She finally understood.
This wasn't the first time.
They had been here before.
The boy smiled.
“You remembered.”
Then he disappeared.
Heaven remained sitting on her bed, staring
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