Flood of Memories

'This room. . .' mused Megami, 'I feel like I've seen it before. But where? If it weren't for the fact that these people don't seem to recognize who I am, I'd say I stayed in this house when I was younger. But they can't possibly remember every person they meet, especially if they just seek shelter for the night. I bet I had to do something like this before, with the rest of the team, and we rented out this room from those two. There's no way I spent more than that here, else I would have probably been recognized as Megami here.'

Lilka and Ashley ran to the beds, each choosing one to sleep in. Since it was late, Megami knew it was time to put the two of them to bed anyway. She walked over to the bed where Lilka was bouncing on, and gave her daughter a glare. The child giggled, and settled down. Same went for Ashley. Once they had lay down, Megami tucked each of them in, and kissed them goodnight. Then, she went back downstairs.

"I guess you're not tired yet. Well, you're still a young woman, don't need as much sleep as those of us who are middle aged. Or the very young. I take it you left so the twins could get some sleep," Tesla stated. He remembered very well when Virginia was that age, and her mother had trouble getting her to settle down. When she finally did, Ekatrina had to leave the room, or she'd just keep asking questions.

Megami replied, "Of course they're asleep. I can't let them stay up any later than this, else they don't want to wake up in the morning. They'll be staying here tomorrow, can catch up on as much sleep as they want, but once I'm back from the ruins, we all have to get going. I don't want to spend my life stuck in a town, I crave adventures and treasures." She sat down, poured herself some juice, and drank it all down.

Tesla looked at her. "You remind me much of my nephew; my niece's husband. He loves to go on treasure hunts; thinks of it as good income for their team. It was always the two of them, as well as two other men they met one day. I wish you could meet her; she was a really nice girl. But no one has heard from her in over three years, most people have given up hope entirely. The only ones besides us who are still confident are the members of her team, and only her husband is searching for her. One member went back to his home in case she stopped by there for whatever reason; she can tell him what is happening. The other is still on a journey, but doesn't do much searching. He's also returning home more often, since his grandmother has become rather angry about how he never visits, and he doesn't like gaining her wrath."

"Save me the sob story," ordered Megami, "There's nothing I can do for someone who just vanished. I can't even solve half of my own problems, let alone those of total strangers. Those stories aren't for me anyway; I never liked listening to them. I just want to be left alone to get some peace and quiet." With that, she left the house to look for a spot to sit and think. Megami ended up at the cemetery, no one else came there at this hour and it was nice and silent. She sat down on the cool wet earth, and suddenly felt weird.

In front of her, Megami saw a young girl standing near a grave. The girl appeared to be ten, and had brown hair and blue eyes. In her hands was a small paper flower, which she placed on it. Taking up the white flower that was already there, she twirled it between her fingers. It seemed to perplex the small child.

"Who leaves these at Mommy's grave? Uncle and Auntie don't, and Daddy's gone. I know I don't know where to find flowers in this Wasteland, so it couldn't be me. But who could be able to find the flower that Mommy loved so much in life, and would give some to her so freely? I always see them," she stated.

Megami thought, 'The Wasteland has been slowly rejuvenating for ever since I can remember. Is this a ghost from long ago, a child who died and still visits her mother's grave?' She took a look at the stone the girl was standing next to, and the child didn't notice her. On it, was the name Ekatrina Maxwell, the sister-in-law of her hosts. Next to it was the grave of her husband, Werner, which looked newer than the first. But the child didn't notice it at all, thinking her Daddy wasn't dead, but gone away. Megami waved her hand in front of the child's face, and nothing happened. Then, the girl stood up, and walked into the house.

Noticing that she'd returned to her hosts' home, Megami was stunned. They told her that their niece was a Drifter, and an adult. So why would her ghost take the form of a child? Before she could try to figure that one out, she saw an older girl walk out of the house towards the grave. Again, she picked up a Tiny Flower, in wonder at why it was there. When she took a closer look, Megami realized it was the same girl, only several years older than when she'd been out before. Now, the woman, who was about eighteen, was telling her mother that she was finally going to fulfill her dreams and be a Drifter, and help people out there in the Wasteland. She seemed excited; there was no knowledge of the dangers in her future. When she left, Megami shook her head. It was only the night's air; there were no ghosts in this lonely graveyard.

The next day, she prepared to saddle her Hikari for the long journey. Packing a light lunch, Megami gave both her children a small hug goodbye. In the room, of course, with the others not around to see her. For she was only stone outwardly, but her heart was truly in the right place for those two children. Knowing they were safe, and would behave for their hosts, she left for the stables. There, she got Hikari ready, and galloped out of town, towards the east where the ruin was said to have been found, past Southfarm Station.

It appeared to be some sort of giant building made of glass, but glass would be too easy to shatter. Megami deduced that something must have been added to make it tougher and more durable. Either that or it was a glass like stone that she didn't know about, for diamonds would be way too expensive to build with.

'It makes sense,' thought Megami, 'This is The Soul Mirror, so why shouldn't the ruin look like a mirror of some sorts? I hope there're some rare treasures inside of this place, this better not be a waste of my time.' She walked up the stairs, towards the entrance. But when she got there, Megami froze. A voice was in her head, and she didn't know where it came from! She'd never heard it before, and it was deafening.

=If you wish to enter here, you must be willing to face your fears, Drifter woman. For I see you, your past, your present, your future. If you wish to come into my sanctuary, be willing to let these be shown to you, your memories,= it told her. Megami just scoffed, this thing didn't scare her. She'd get the treasure whether she had to fight for it or not. The woman then put her foot on the first step, and started to climb.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I know the ghost scenes were quite cheesy. Well, remember, nobody knows that Megami is Virginia, not even if she's still alive. So she would think that her flashbacks are just the ghost of the woman who "died". And = is my new version of telepathy. Well the asterisks don't work anymore so I had to find something else.