This chapter is unbeta'd, but I have to thank Hummingbirdff for helping making sense of my word vomit! :) If you haven't already, go check out her own TT25 collection!


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The Twilight Twenty-Five

the twilight25 dot com

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Prompt: 12. Forgotten

Main character: Edward

Rating: T

Word count: 390

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It's been almost two centuries since my heart ceased beating, yet I'm still at a complete loss as to what to feel when visiting this desolate place.

Facing this marble countenance, so cold and solid, the irony is not lost on me.

If asked, I couldn't even tell you why I still come here anymore. It's pointless and macabre; perverse even, in a way.

Still, it's something that we do; a sick family tradition, if you will. Every few decades or so, one of us would feel nostalgic enough to visit the place that marks the origin of their own winding road toward eternal existence. To reminisce about all that happened and who we used to be, and to mourn everything that could have been but never was.

As if we need a tangible reminder. As if it would be possible for us to forget anything. Once known in this post-life, even the most insignificant bits and pieces of a moment long gone will stick with us until the day we crumble into dust.

It's a blessing as much as it is a curse. As much as there are memories you desperately want to cling to, there are just as many you'd like to bury into the deepest pit imaginable, never to be thought of again. With our kind, these memories—whether they are pleasant or painful—can either anchor us enough as to not completely lose our essence in this new existence, or further foment the fuel in this ever-raging fire we wake up to and continue to carry within.

Even more disturbing and disruptive than forgetting about yourself and leaving all you were and those you knew and loved behind, is the inevitable acceptance that people will leave you behind. And you are forced to realize that with every last breath that's being taken, a bit of you dies, too. Your beliefs and achievements, your looks and personality—all forgotten over time.

You'll fade into nothing but a name and a couple of dates engraved on stone. Years pass, and suddenly, there will be no more visitors to bring flowers or light a candle, no tears from mourners whispering into the silence of an early morning that they miss you. No more goodbyes and promises to meet again.

Eventually, it will be like you never existed at all.


Thanks so much for reading! :)

-Sue