"Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you... you are my only one, I let go, there's just no one that gets me like you do... You are my only, my only one..." -Only one, Yellowcard

-Ib-Age 9-

What was I just doing?

Why am I here?

What's happening?

The questions circle around my mind like snowflakes, dancing through the air. I opened my eyes, and there was a large mural in front of me. It covered about a whole wall, and there were strange pieces of art and black scribbles throughout the painting. I looked down at the nameplate, and touched the words. But I didn't know one of the words...

? World

The nameplate was smooth, and I lifted my head and looked around where I was. It was an art gallery, and there were many people observing works of art. I walked away from the piece I was supposedly observing before, and looked around.

? Seat

Death of the ?

Why didn't I know so many words? I hoped I could learn them soon so I could maybe understand the titles of art. I walked passed the exhibits and turned left. There was a staircase, and I descended it, wondering what was on the lower floor. On the lower floor was apparently the lobby, for there was a reception desk and another staircase. There were also many people walking around. I descended the next staircase, and there was a giant mural on the ground of a fish. I looked at it, and avoided the nameplate because there were so many people around. I looked at a few other paintings, and approached many crystal pillars that looked as if they were twinkling. I kept on walking, and it kind of felt as if I were looking for something. I walked forward, and noticed that there weren't as many people in this area. I then approached a tall man standing in front of something I couldn't see. I had to tilt my head back the slightest bit to see the top of his head, which was a light shade of violet. He was just standing there, observing. I was about to walk away until I saw a giant red rose. It was a sculpture, and there was a big rose. It was beautiful, and I wanted to look at this one, so I waited patiently behind his back a few feet away. After a few moments, the man turned around and blinked.

"Hm? What do you need, young lady?" he asked. I titled my head back to see his face better, for he had blue eyes that had a strange black-grey tint. His light violet hair covered his left eye, and I started to wonder if it was hard to see with one eye.

"Um, do you need anything?" he repeated, snapping me out of my observance.

"What's this statue?" I asked, looking past him and at the small part of the statue that could be seen. He looked behind him at the statue and moved to the side.

"Oh, this? It's called 'Embodiment of Spirit' apparently," he said. Hm, if only I knew what "Embodiment" meant.

"For some reason it gives me a feeling of sorrow..." he said, looking down to the floor. "I wonder why," his blue-grey eyes looked to the side, and he took a deep breath. His eyes made their way to me, just standing there and observing, and he straightened his back.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I had said anything to trouble you..." he said, quickly putting his hands in his pocket. I noticed his jacket was rather ragged, and went at most to his knees. His pants were a shade of beige, and before I could observe anything else he started to walk away.

"Well, um, bye," he said as he stopped, then continued walking away. I watched him walk and turned the corner. I blinked and looked down at the ground. That was weird. I looked back over at the beautiful sculpture of a bright red rose. There were some petals on the ground, and I resisted the temptation to touch them.

"Ib!" A voice said, and I turned to the right to see my mother walking over.

"I've been looking for you! Is this the piece your looking at?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Embodiment of Spirit..." she said, reading the plaque.

"Maybe this means in every person, there is a rose! Maybe you have a beautiful bright red one, you think?" she said, and I kept silent, looking at the sculpture. Then, I had a strange feeling after looking at it for a minute. My chest didn't feel heavy, but kind of hard, and breathing felt different. Then it became heavy, like my heart was dropping. I didn't like that feeling, as it was strange, and I'd never experienced it before. I turned away quickly, and Mom grabbed my hand.

"Ready to leave?" she asked, and I nodded. We walked passed the fish mural, and Dad joined us. Then we walked past the reception desk and out the museum doors. We walked over the large parking lot to our car, and we drove home. Simple as that... not an amazing museum experience.

-Garry- Age 21-

What's going on?

I opened my eyes and saw a large rose sculpture in front of me. I observed the vivid red color and the leaves, and questioned how heavy my chest felt. The feeling was peculiar, and I just stared at the sculpture. What was happening? I looked around, and down the hall was a big fish mural. Oh yes, I was in the Guertena art museum. I looked at my watch, but the hands were still. Since when did my watch not work? I stepped back to look at the sculpture from a distance and I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned around. There was a small girl with long, brown hair to about the middle of her back, and large crimson eyes that looked at me curiously.

"Hm? What do you need, young lady?" I asked politely, as to wondering how long she'd been there. She didn't answer, her eyes just moved a bit, but returned to looking at me. It felt like a piercing glance, and my chest just felt a bit heavier. I tried to shake the strange thoughts out of my head, and wondered if she didn't hear me or something.

"Um, do you need anything?" I repeated, but a bit louder.

"What's this statue?" she asked.

"Oh, this?" I said, moving out of the way so she could see, "It's called 'Embodiment of Spirit' apparently..." I looked back at the rose and felt my chest get heavy. I stared intently at the bright red rose petals, and words just spilled out of my mouth.

"For some reason it gives me a feeling of sorrow..." I said, not paying attention to who I was talking to. I blinked, and closed my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'd said anything to trouble you..." I said, and I felt like I was missing something important... Oh! My grandmother died a few days back... I had to catch her funeral. I stood up, and the girl was still there, looking at the statue with her large crimson eyes. They looked vaguely familiar though... I quickly shook that thought out of my head, and started to walk away.

"Well, um, bye..." I said, and kept going. They weren't familiar... they couldn't be, right? Maybe they were just... peculiar, that was it. I walked on around the corner, past the reception desk, and out the door. I quickly walked to my car and started it up. The chest-heavy feeling dissolved, and I was feeling better now. I opened the small compartment and took out the gps, then stuck it to the window. What was the address again? Didn't I enter it before I came...

-Ib- Age 9-

We arrived at home around 7:00, and I quickly kicked my shoes off and put my socks in the laundry basket. I trudged up the stairs to my room. I entered my room and took my book, then sat down on my bed and read. It wasn't until I had turned several pages I noticed my hands were going numb because they were so cold. Maybe that's why my bed shouldn't be next to an air vent. I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to get them warm when I felt something crinkly. Confused, I grabbed it and took it out. My fingers were around a piece of lemon candy. I didn't remember getting this at the museum or before the museum, but particularly liked the lemon flavor. I didn't really want it now, for we went out to eat before the museum, but put it aside on my dresser. I continued reading, and Mom came up.

"Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" she asked, and I looked up.

"Fine," I said, looking back down. She looked around my neat room, and her wandering eyes met the candy.

"When did you get this?" she asked.

"I dunno. It was in my pocket though," I said.

"It could be poisonous! Who knows?" she said, taking it.

"Mom, what are the chances it could be poisonous?" I asked.

"They are very big for your information. Now, I'll take this..." she said and walked out of the room. Hm, maybe I should've eaten it. The hours flew by when I read through To Kill a Mockingbird. Reading has always been an escape for me. I am an observer, and when I read I can imagine how everything looks in my mind. The books describes thing for me, and some people even say I stare at stuff too much. No one really cares about how I feel, so why bother to tell? I just keep it in my head, like some people tell me to. So I end up talking to no one, and no one talks to me.

"You're still up?!" Mom exclaimed as she walked into the room, and I quickly marked my page and closed the book.

"It's 11:48 dear, go to bed. You'll wake up late for school tomorrow," she said and turned the light out. I grabbed my nightgown and changed quickly, then slid into bed. I kept my eyes open for as long as possible hoping it would make tomorrow come slower, but they eventually gave in.

-Garry- Age 21-

I got back to my small apartment and changed into a black suit and tie, and got ready for the funeral. I was never really that attached to my grandmother, so it wasn't too big for me. However, when my mother had found out she had had a stroke, she bursted into tears, which made me feel I had to go, to show I cared... somewhat. I was out the door and driving, and when I finally reached my destination, as soon as I opened the car door, my mother fell into my arms in tears.

"Garry..." she said, squeezing me tighter.

"She's really gone..." she said, wiping tears from her face.

"It's okay... she's probably in a better place now," I said, trying to comfort her. I was spaced out during most of the program, and couldn't help but think about that girl's piercing glance. She looked at me for a second, and it felt like a deer in headlights, kind of. Not to mention the familiarity... they were kind of strange, I guess. Nothing big. I looked up and they were reciting words and meanings, but I payed no heed. I awaited the end of the funeral, and when it came I wrapped my arms around my mother.

"It was hard to believe at first, I doubted she was dead..." Mother said, trying to get ahold of herself.

"Then, I went to her side, and took her hand..." she said, "Then I knew she was gone," It didn't feel right to see Mother crying...

"Just let it sink in for a few days... If I could help you, I would..." I said, afraid nothing I said would help. Anytime I try to comfort my mother, she always got more upset, so I didn't think trying would work. We went our separate ways, and I looked at the clock back at my apartment.

9:15

Goodness, funerals whizz by faster than I thought... I got into an old shorts and a tank top, then laid in bed. There was nothing better to do at this hour, and there was class tomorrow. It was then I reflected onto what happened at the funeral.

What the heck just happened?

I hadn't payed any attention at the funeral, and hadn't even assured my mother that Grandma would always be with her. Why was I being so emotionless? What was going on... Maybe I was tired. I laid in bed, hands behind my head, just thinking about what I could've done.

-Ib- Age 9-

I moaned as I trudged up the steps to elementary school. I walked over to the fourth grade hallway, and into my classroom.

"Good morning, Ib!" Miss Abell greeted me as I walked in. I ignored her and put my bag in a cubby, then sat down at my desk. On the top right of the desk was a rectangular piece of paper that had stars on it and was bright blue. There were a series of lines in the middle section, and neatly printed in the middle was my name: Ib Kouri. Beside the name tag, was a chart with a few stickers on it. Miss Abell said if we got enough stickers we could get a "Special surprise,". I had a few of them, more than anyone else, but really didn't care about this "surprise". I mean, it couldn't be big... a teacher wouldn't give a student something that big, would she?

"Now students, this is a speed quiz," she said, flapping a stack of papers in the air. "Don't flip it over until I tell you to, and do all the math problems as fast as you can. It's okay if you don't finish, but do your best," she started passing them out face down, and I got out my pencil. I never really liked math, but didn't fail it.

"Ready... set... flip!" she said, and I flipped my paper over, then started working on the many multiplication problems that littered the back of the paper. I worked as fast as I could without giving random guesses, and my hand started to get tired towards the end. I finished just in time.

"Stop!" Miss Abell said, and everyone abruptly slammed their pencils down on the desks. It was kind of annoying when people did that... they seemed to at the end of every speed quiz. I was kind of spaced out for the rest of class until recess. I was thinking about what happened to the lemon candy, and what my mom probably did to it. Throw it away, duh. Then, my mind wondered to the red rose sculpture and the man in front of it. I remembered his light lavender hair clearly, and some strands were a darker purple at the top. I recalled his torn coat, and blue grey eyes. I wondered what he did for a living, and I also wondered why my chest felt heavy at that rose sculpture. Hm, maybe I do wonder too much. I wonder why I wonder why.

My thoughts were erupted by the bell, which meant it was recess time. Kids jumped out of their seats and ran out, and I slowly followed them. During recess there was the whole fourth grade. I stood and leaned on a tree, just wondering and thinking.

I think it's cool how everyone you see has been through different things, and has had different experiences. In school, every kid is unique and has a different family, and has been through different things. Sometimes, at school I wonder what the teachers have been through. A lot? A little? And when I'm in a public place, there's a lot of people, and it's amazing how there are so many people, with unique traits and experiences. If I tried to explain this stuff to someone, they'd either laugh, or not understand. Soon, the bell rang and I began to think about the museum. Wonder what the people around the big fish painting have been through...

But what about the art? It might have a rough history or something. I liked to learn about stuff, but nothing boring like running or push ups, which is what most people liked. Not many people liked me for that reason.

"Are your eyes bleeding?" a boy a bit taller than me asked in horror. I was asked that question a lot, and it got annoying sometimes.

"No," I said blankly, and walked back to the door. I entered the classroom again, and my mind began to wander elsewhere. I didn't really get to see anything at the museum.. maybe I should go back there sometime... Maybe when I know more words. When I know more words, I can wonder why the title fits the artwork, maybe. I don't know about you, but wondering is somewhat entertaining and fun for me. I know it seems weird.

What was his life like? How old was he? I thought about 20 or something. He was a lot older then me though. Why did he stare so intently at the sculpture? Maybe some questions shouldn't be asked. Or maybe I asked too many questions... He was a stranger after all.

How was it? Taking a stab at this. I mean, most of the fics I've read have them somehow get back together instantly, even after they've completely forgot everything... I don't know if that's likely or not, but here's what I'd think would happen. I probably will update at least once a week, and maybe more if I'm up to it. Looking forward to the real-life side of this fic, not just fantasy like most of my others. Leave a review for the next chapter sooner! Make sure to favorite and follow of you enjoyed!