Ballad of Stolen Memories
Faye Valentine sat up suddenly, and looked around.
The room was completely dark, save for the faint red glow of the clock next to her bed.
She could hear Spike snoring quietly in the next toom, and rolled her eyes. Why had she suddenly jerked out of a deep sleep?
The dream. Bits and pieces of it came back to her, and much as she tried to hold onto it, the memory of it slipped away like sand through her fingers. She scratched her head slowly, and stood up. She wore a black button-up shirt that reached down to her knees, and her silky violet tresses were pulled back carelessly. She looked around the room for a moment, recollecting everything that had happened since she'd come to live aboard this ship, the slightly decrepit Bebop. She guessed it had been almost a year. There came a soft 'Thud' on the metal wall to the right of her, and she heard Ed mumbling in her sleep.
"Square..Root of..sixty-four..is...eight..."
"Wow. Kid actually does know something." She muttered to herself, and shrugged. She shivered a little, and pulled on a bathrobe over her nightshirt. Then she pulled a heavily packaged something out from underneath her mattress, and made her way into the 'living room'. She deftly hooked up the beta VCR that lay in the far corner of the room. She'd talked Ed into showing her how to do about two weeks ago, and was fairly quick to learn how. She pulled the something out of it's thrice bubble-wrapped box, and peeled the ugly pink packaging away from it. it was a videotape. A videotape that had been recorded years ago, before the explosion of the Lunar Gate. It showed herself, at least, she thought it was herself, as a thirteen-year-old girl, with all of her friends. This was the only bit of memory she had to hold on to, and, even if it somehow wasn't her, it still comforted her. It was physical proof that she'd been a child, that she hadn't been born and raised in that horrible Cryo Lab.
She turned the Tv on, and popped the tape into the beta deck. She pushed down on the button marked 'PLAY'. The beta deck made a faint clicking sound, then the TV screen went fuzzy. After a few moments, the tracking adjusted, and a picture appeared on the screen. It was of one of the other young girls, and she was giggling like the little girl she was. Then, the screen went fuzzy, and another picture appeared.
It was of the girl that aapeared to be Faye, and she was smiling at the camera.
"Hello, me. How are you feeling today? I'm not feeling too well, but that's ok, because I know that I can only get better. Whenever you feel like nothing can go right, just remember that things can only get better. And I'll still be here, cheering you on. Whatever happens, I'll still be cheering you on, from deep within your heart. Always." The little girl smiled, and the picture faded. Faye sat there, silent, staring at the waves of snowy static that rolled across the TV screen. She'd watched the tape a thousand times over, whenever no-one was around. The tape comforted her, but depressed her simultaneously. She'd never know who she really was, at least not before the accident that put her into a state of cryogenic freezing.
Spike smiled faintly from the shadowy doorway to the large room.
"Katherine..."
Faye Valentine sat up suddenly, and looked around.
The room was completely dark, save for the faint red glow of the clock next to her bed.
She could hear Spike snoring quietly in the next toom, and rolled her eyes. Why had she suddenly jerked out of a deep sleep?
The dream. Bits and pieces of it came back to her, and much as she tried to hold onto it, the memory of it slipped away like sand through her fingers. She scratched her head slowly, and stood up. She wore a black button-up shirt that reached down to her knees, and her silky violet tresses were pulled back carelessly. She looked around the room for a moment, recollecting everything that had happened since she'd come to live aboard this ship, the slightly decrepit Bebop. She guessed it had been almost a year. There came a soft 'Thud' on the metal wall to the right of her, and she heard Ed mumbling in her sleep.
"Square..Root of..sixty-four..is...eight..."
"Wow. Kid actually does know something." She muttered to herself, and shrugged. She shivered a little, and pulled on a bathrobe over her nightshirt. Then she pulled a heavily packaged something out from underneath her mattress, and made her way into the 'living room'. She deftly hooked up the beta VCR that lay in the far corner of the room. She'd talked Ed into showing her how to do about two weeks ago, and was fairly quick to learn how. She pulled the something out of it's thrice bubble-wrapped box, and peeled the ugly pink packaging away from it. it was a videotape. A videotape that had been recorded years ago, before the explosion of the Lunar Gate. It showed herself, at least, she thought it was herself, as a thirteen-year-old girl, with all of her friends. This was the only bit of memory she had to hold on to, and, even if it somehow wasn't her, it still comforted her. It was physical proof that she'd been a child, that she hadn't been born and raised in that horrible Cryo Lab.
She turned the Tv on, and popped the tape into the beta deck. She pushed down on the button marked 'PLAY'. The beta deck made a faint clicking sound, then the TV screen went fuzzy. After a few moments, the tracking adjusted, and a picture appeared on the screen. It was of one of the other young girls, and she was giggling like the little girl she was. Then, the screen went fuzzy, and another picture appeared.
It was of the girl that aapeared to be Faye, and she was smiling at the camera.
"Hello, me. How are you feeling today? I'm not feeling too well, but that's ok, because I know that I can only get better. Whenever you feel like nothing can go right, just remember that things can only get better. And I'll still be here, cheering you on. Whatever happens, I'll still be cheering you on, from deep within your heart. Always." The little girl smiled, and the picture faded. Faye sat there, silent, staring at the waves of snowy static that rolled across the TV screen. She'd watched the tape a thousand times over, whenever no-one was around. The tape comforted her, but depressed her simultaneously. She'd never know who she really was, at least not before the accident that put her into a state of cryogenic freezing.
Spike smiled faintly from the shadowy doorway to the large room.
"Katherine..."
