A/N Hey, guys! I felt like starting a new story, so this is it. Please, tell me what you think. Regarding my other two stories, sorry it's taking me so long to update, but I promise it will happen soon. I'm already working on the next chapters. It won't be any longer. So please bear with me for a little longer. Enjoy!

1. Forget- Me- Not

It was October the 25th when Miss Amelia died.

People have long ago erased the presence of that foreign lady from their memories ever since she stopped showing up in public. When the news of her death spread around, it seemed like that old dusty chest of memories of painful, regretful or insignificant things people usually keep locked from themselves, was opened in an instant, as their thoughts soon drifted to the skinny, silver-haired lady who occupied the mansion on the Wasurenagusa Hill.

There was nothing normal about her death.

When the red-blue lights shone in front of her house at 3 o'clock in the morning, people in their pajamas and night-gowns had already started to form a crowd in the streets. Although there wasn't much traffic at those early hours of the morning, the few cars passing by were stopped from their course by their owners' sudden interest in the strange event.

People were at first surprised at how the authorities got hold of her death. From what they known, she lived alone. No person was seen going in or out the mansion, not even the owner. It was a complete mystery. Even if she was old or somehow in a condition that wouldn't allow her to move, there would still be someone taking care of her, right? Someone to look after her, to buy her food and pay the bills.

A few years back they actually guarded the house at night for a whole month, just to see if anyone took care of those things at the shelter of darkness, but no one came. Since there was still no movement coming out from the mansion, no sign of anyone living there they started questioning whether she had perhaps moved without them noticing.

Of course, the thought of her being dead and no one knowing about it, got hold of them and they went to the police. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the police decided to investigate the place. They entered the front yard, went up the mansions' front stairs and knocked at the door. They stood still and listened at the door for some sort of sound or movement but they couldn't hear anything.

People gathered in front of the mansion, motionless and soundless as a wall. They weren't curious whether she was dead or if she had moved, but more if she was alive. She's been living for so long there that she came to be considered a tourist attraction, or a monument of some sort.

When still no sound was heard, one of the police officers called out her name. They were all waiting for her to answer, waiting for her to appear at the balcony and show herself to the world for the first time in twenty years, but no one came. No light was seen at the window. No door was heard opening.

The police officer headed then to brake down door, to enter; the poor lady could be dead. It was in that moment that the front door opened slowly a few inches … enough for them to notice the slim figure of an old lady on the other side.

"Miss Amelia Rose?" The voice of the police officer was trembling. He was very young, and probably didn't have much field experience. It was obvious that the sudden appearance of her ghostly figure in the door way scared him to death. He was trying to control himself, but found it hard to. When no answer came he asked again.

"Are you Miss Amelia Rose?"

"Yes." Came the short monosyllabic answer of the person hiding behind the door. Her words was barely hearable. The officer had to lean in closer to hear it.

The crowd gathered in front of the mansion could only imagine what was going on. They didn't hear the door open, nor did they see her face. They didn't even hear her speak. They could only see that the police officer was talking to someone, and that was enough to feed their curiosity for the moment.

"Your neighbors…" The officer wanted to explain the entire situation to her. He tried to tell her that her neighbors were concerned about her well-being and suggested to let him in so that they could talk more, but was cut short in his words.

"Would you kindly tell the persons gathered in front of my house that I am fine and that they needn't worry about me. All I ask is to be left alone."

The crowd couldn't hear anything. They could only see the officer talking to someone, making some gestures and then all of the sudden him turning around, leaving the front yard and closing the gate behind him. He looked a little disturbed, like he was out of place.

"Miss Rose kindly asks of you not to worry about her anymore and not bother her again. She's fine."

He then got into his car and left. People needed a few seconds to take his words in. So Miss Amelia was still alive. They wanted to find out more about what she said, about what she looked like but their chance to get more information rode off together with the police officer.

A couple of days after the incident people started talking again, so there was no surprise when new rumors started to circulate from mouth to mouth. Yes, it seemed like the old sleepy neighborhood had been brought to life as Miss Amelia has yet again became the talk of the town after two decades.

Despite the officer's request to leave Miss Amelia alone there were still some women who refused to set the matter to rest. Miss Amelia was a representative of the female sex and a senior citizen of the community, so some respect was required.

A group of five middle-aged women gathered one day at the house of Mrs. Rin Amaya, a nurse at the local hospital and also the proud mother of three children, to bake some pies and some healthy food (a chicken soup and some rice) for the lonely lady. They were pretty satisfied with themselves as to thinking it in the first place and at about six o' clock in the afternoon they all shot off for Miss Amelia's house, despite their husband's advices as to "Leave the poor woman alone. That's what she wants."

Unfortunately the women were to full of themselves to take any attention to what their husbands were saying and replying that she needed being taken care of, but she might be too proud as to ask for help herself, they went on their way.

There was no surprise when a quarter of an hour had passed since the fifth time Mrs. Amaya ringed the doorbell, and no one came at the door. They were ready to call the police again when a light at the upper window was lit and the figure of a lady was seen behind the green drapery. That' s all it took to shoot the five women up.

It was obvious that Miss Amelia had no intention in taking their gifts, after all it would have been impossible for her not to see them coming over and staying in front of her door for more than fifteen minutes.

But despite the outrageous and bashful situation, they decided to swallow their pride and when they were asked about what happened they stated that Miss Amelia kindly asked them not to bother her anymore as she was suffering from a stomach illness and she was to follow a strict diet.

That was the last time people tried to establish contact with her.

Although in the beginning people often walked pass her house with interest again almost hoping to see her at the window, they soon forgot all about the silver-haired lady in the great gable mansion and went on with their lives.

Children were the only ones who were still trying to come into contact with the ghostly figure. They would stop in front of the gate and wait there for hours for something to happened; waiting to be surprised again, as they were back then when the police officer went and talked to her. They would always play games in her yard just to draw her attention, and seeing that no one told them to stop they kept on playing. One of them actually thought he saw Miss Amelia looking at them from one of the top windows, smiling back at them, but since the incident didn't repeat itself all the other children thought he had lied.

They kept on doing this for a couple of months, but nothing happened. The mansion regained its rigid and lifeless self again, and they, along with the adults, stopped showing importance regarding the matter any longer.

The rumors also started to fade away after a few weeks due to lack of information, and silence settled again in the neighborhood. That was five years prior to the events of the night of October, the 25th.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

The death of an old lady isn't something out of ordinary. And she was very old, so old that no one could remember her age or when she first arrived in that coastal Japanese city.

"Miss Amelia came here a long time before I was born." Came the soft mild voice of an old lady. She was in her early eighties, was wearing a white night-gown that went till the ground, covering her feet. One would think that such a long gown would be uncomfortable and trouble ling for the old woman, but then again she was very full of energy for someone her age.

Her name was Tomoko Katsumi, and her family owned a traditional family restaurant, that had been running successfully for the past five decades now. She was one of the oldest inhabitants of that neighborhood, as her family moved there at the beginning of the 19th century. Sure, at that time the city was no larger than a handful of houses.

"My mother used to tell me stories about her." The people's attention was turned towards the old woman as she began to tell the story.

It was strange. Most of the persons present were very young. The majority of them heard about Miss Amelia, but they have never seen her. As far as they were concerned Miss Amelia was nothing more than a name on a post box. And that was all there was to it. That was all that made the connection to the red- brick gable mansion that was no towering them. But now, for some reason, they seemed drawn to her; they wanted to find out more.

She always had that effect on people. She always made them talk about her; always made them turn their heads towards her; always made them try and reach out to her.

"I believe Amelia Rose was her name, though I had never had the pleasure to make her acquaintance. My mother told me that she actually spoke to her once, but sometimes I doubt the truthfulness of her statement. I believe that she merely dreamed of talking to her, or maybe she wished it for so long that she ended up believing it. The truth is that when Miss Amelia first came here, everybody was mesmerized by her fair angelic beauty and her powerful personality, though they would never have admitted it. There wasn't a single person in our small town, man or woman, that didn't want to make her acquaintance."

She paused and as she did so it seemed like time almost stopped. She took a look around. Everybody was staring at her, waiting breath in their throats for her to go on with the story. Somewhere in the distance a clock struck four.

"Her father was a wealthy investor from the West. I think New Orleans was the city they came from, somewhere from America. I don't remember quite well what he dealt with back home, but I know for a fact that they came here when World War I started. They were on a trip at first, but at the outburst of war they decided to stay here. I don't think that her father was married, my mother never mentioned a wife. People at that time came up with their own personal conclusions to the entire situation. One more tragico-romantic than the other. Some said he was a widower, that his beloved wife died in their mansion back home, and seeing he couldn't handle living in a place that reminded him of her, he decided to move as far away from it as possible. Others believed she died while giving birth to Miss Amelia. There even were some rotten mouths which suggested his wife left him because he was an alcoholic and an abusing husband. But I doubt that was the case."

The old lady went at the side of the road to seat on a bench. Although she was very energetic for someone her age, she still was pretty old and after standing for more than a half an hour she needed some rest.

"In the late twenties and the beginning of thirties this house was the center of entertainment for the entire area. The greatest parties I have ever witnessed were held here."

Her gaze was turned to the red-brick house that was standing tall in front of them. When she talked about it, it was like the house was becoming a real part of her story, as if it was trying to come forth and relate its roaring years itself. It stood proud in that swelling darkness.

"Yes, Amelia really caused an uproar at that time and many people judged her for what she did. She was soon transformed from the angel she was so taken in by the gazes of the others to a low-life demon, which cares for nothing than to indulge in sin."

As she was saying this Mrs. Tomoko Katsumi's mouth twitched, in an expression of disdain, but the ones witnessing it didn't know whether it was because of what Amelia did, or because of how easily the people back then spitted on the lost angel's image.

"Her father died to a severe infection. Back then we didn't have much medical aid. Everybody expected her to mourn after her loss. I honestly can't imagine what they expected of her: to lock herself in the house, to brake all contact with the outside world and never live again? No. I think that no matter what she had done, it would have still look outrageous to them. She brought that in them. So when she started to organize those parties and was seen with all those different men every night, she really did became our Discordia. People have gone crazy. They were arguing on the streets as to why she did those things. It was insane. And I'm sure she noticed it, too, because soon after, the parties stopped and she withdrew from the world in this lonesome mansion. And she stayed there decades after decades, until she was swallowed within."

The front door opened and the paramedics came out carrying the body of a woman on a barrow. Mrs. Katsumi could only thank the heavens poor Miss Amelia was not wrapped in a black plastic back. That image would have been too horrid for her to handle.

The body was covered with a white sheet. She wanted it away. She wanted so much to see her one last time. To see her angelic figure; her kind and smiling face; her deep blue eyes; her silver hair. They all wanted it. There before them two paramedics were carrying a monument, a legend, the person they will never forget.

When they put her inside the ambulance their hearts' skipped a bit. It was like everyone was loosing a bit from themselves tonight. Even the ones who only knew her from stories felt the strong connection.

Another bell sound was heard. Somewhere in the distance, a clock struck five.

The ambulance's doors were shut and the car started to move. As it was fading in the distance so were the figures of the people. Mrs. Katsumi stood there a little while longer despite her daughter-in-law's pleadings to head home as the morning fog had already began to settle in.

How lonesome the mansion looked. How lifeless. The tiny sparkle that shone from inside it, that kindled of mystery has faded away.

She that suddenly felt a weight swinging from the side of her gown. When she looked down she came to eye with the figure of a small girl. It was little Ai, the daughter of Ayaka Beniko, a neighbor of hers who worked as a librarian for the local library. She was a kind and cute girl but terribly shy. Her mother was aside talking to another female person. She thought she probably didn't notice her daughter leaving.

"Hey swettie." She said and started taking little Ai to her mother when the little one spoke.

"She told me to tell you she's sorry."

Mrs. Kazumi was surprised. She didn't understand what the girl was talking about or who she was referring to.

"Who, swettie? Who is sorry?"

"Miss Amelia. She's sorry. She never meant to cause such an uproar."

"Miss Amelia told you that? When?"

"Last night. In the garden. I lost my ball and went in to take it. She was plucking some lilies from her garden. She said it was for her trip and for…."

"Ai, come honey. We're going home." Ai didn't have the chance to finish her sentence.

Mrs. Kazumi was stunned. No one has seen Miss Amelia for over five years and now, the very night of her death she chose to show herself to a little girl?

She smiled. "Amelia Rose. There always was something magical about you."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When the corner announced that Miss Amelia died of natural causes it came to no surprise. She was pretty old. But the mystery regarding the circumstances of her death still lingered.

Who announced the authorities? She was leaving alone. When asked they could only answer that the person who called was a woman who wouldn't state her name. That didn't bring light into the matter. On the contrary, it only made the suspicions greater.

But the community was shaken one mouth after her death. Seeing that Miss Amelia didn't have any relatives, they all expected for the state to take the property and sale it to the highest bitter.

The surprise was all the more great when the local press got hold of an interesting piece of information. It would have seem that Miss Amelia had a will, and in this will she expressed her desire for the house and the surrounding property to be handed over to two of her relatives. Unfortunately they couldn't find out more as to who the two heirs were, nor what they were called.

So when the two inhabitants settled in, the neighborhood was again awoken from its deep slumber.

A/N Thanks for taking the time to read it. I hope you enjoyed it.