The memory of the right hand

Lola came back with two glasses of carrot juice, one for herself and one for Jessica. Jessicaahad been able to stop herself laughing by the time she returned. Lola sat down and gave Jessica her drink, which she gladly took.

"Thanks mum." Jessica said.

"No problem." Lola replied.

"Is your story nearly finished?"

"Nearly. Just a couple more things."

"Obviously the confrontation with Dave."

"Yeah, amongst other things…"

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The back door led to a long staircase down. It was kind of a spiral staircase. We had just left the door and it locked behind us. It was only then that I realised that I had left the DAS there.

"Dad." I said.

"What is it?" Dad asked.

"I left my DAS back there."

"Don't worry, just leave it."

"But anyone could activate another with it!"

"No, it's programmed so only you can use it."

"Oh yeah. Dad, was Dave a friend of yours?"

"Yes. Dave, Hikaru and I worked together in the same lab. We trusted each other and could talk about almost anything. However, that might have been the way I felt." About halfway down, I began to worry about Rachiel.

"Dad, I'm worried about Rachiel."

"How was she when you left her?"

"She felt dizzy."

"I hope she's ok. I do not want her to see Dave. Once we've talked to him, then I'll get her."

"How do they know each other?"

"They have a history. Let's just say they were very close friends." When we reached the bottom, I decided to ask another question, loosely regarding A.

"Dad, have you ever seen a ghost?"

"Never. Have you seen one?"

"You might say that."

"You have? That's wonderful!" This response caused A to smile, even though Dad couldn't see him.

At the bottom of the staircase was a large metal door. It led to the caves. There were hanging lights along the walls of the cave.

"Wow, this cave is huge." I exclaimed.

"There were several mines here in the past. Mines were dug everywhere. This cave is one of those mines. There used to be a path from the courtyard to the cave" Dad replied.

"Dad, where the lab is now, was there a courtyard there?"

"Yes, there was." As he heard this, A interrupted.

"Lola." A said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I've just remembered. I've been here before."

"In this cave?"

"Yes. I ran throught he courtyard in the mansion and found myself here."

"You ran away? Why?"

"Because I was being chased, yes. I remember now. I was being chased by uncle George. I just kept on running and running. Then I found myself in this cave"

"Why were you running?"

"I saw my father in the silver bird room covered in blood. I wanted to tell Diana what had happened. I went to her room but George was there. When I saw my face, I was overcome with fear. I was so terrified, I just ran from the room."

"A…"

"Lola, I remember. I was both terrified and sad. I was running so hard that it was difficult to breath. Tears kept pouring out and I couldn't see what was in front of me. When I made it to the cave, my knees gave way and I collapsed. When I thought of my father, sadness came over me and I began crying.

"A…"

"Lola?" Dad interrupted.

"Yes dad?"

"What is it? You were talking to yourself."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's a habbit."

"That's my fault isn't it?"

After walking along for a bit, my dad tried to make conversation again.

"Lola, I was thinking." Dad began.

"About what?" I asked.

"About your voice."

"What about it?"

"It sounds so much like your mother's"

"Really? Thanks. It makes me happy to think that. By the way, what was I like as a baby?"

"Well, to be honest, you whenever you were home, you were a loaner."

"A loaner?"

"It was probably because you missed your friends at granny's house, but you stayed to yourself pretty much all the time."

"Hmm."

"Oh, ha ha."

"What's so funny?"

"I just remembered a funny story."

"Don't keep it to yourself."

"There was one day when you were about 2 years old. I was walking home with you from granny's house. You were so miserabe and I tried whatever I could to cheer you up. Eventually, I threw you into the air and caught you again. You looked at me dead in the eye and laughed. So, I kept on throwing you into the air and catching you all the way home. When we eventually got home, I was crying from exhaustion. The effort was causing my arms to drop off."

"Ha. Serves you right for callime me a loner."

"Well, when I think of that, I just have to laugh. You were so cute back then."

We walked on further and eventually I saw a shoe in the pathway.

"Hey, is that A's other shoe?" I asked.

"Who's A?" Dad asked.

"A friend."

"A friend?" I picked up the shoe and then A remembered something.

"Lola." A said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I remember now. After I collapsed, I took my shoes off as my feet were hurting. I held onto the shoes that dad had bought me and walked towards the back of the cave. It was so dark and lonely but I had a feeling that my father would be back there. So I kept on walking."

"Why was your shoe here?"

"Because uncle George came in here."

"Then what happened?"

"When I saw him, I was so scared that I dropped it. I started to run again. I thought that if I didn't run, he'd shoot me."

"He'd shoot you?"

"That's what I thought. I thought he'd do to me what he did to my father."

"Why?"

"Lola, I heard my uncle and my dad talking in the silver bird room."

Flashback

Alex was peeping through a crack in the door to the silver bird room. There, his father was ni an argument with his uncle.

"George, give it a rest! What belonged to grandfather is mine!" Richard shouted.

"Richard. How many times must I tell you. He has no more assets to give either of us." George replied. Richard then pulled out a gun and aimed at George.

"LIES! You wanted it all for yourself! If you won't help me change his will, you leave me with no choice" This is what the story will be. You will be so distraught over your grandfathers death that you killed yourself with this gun. Tragic, don't you think? You could never shoot me! You don't have the guts! You lost your arm because you couldn't shoot during the war."

"RICHARD!" George snatched the gun and aimed it at Richard.

"What are you doing? Why?" George then shot Richard fatally in the chest.

End Flashback

"Yes, my Uncle told my father beforehand 'do you want the money so badly that you would do this? I do not know you anymore Richard. You are a different person!' He then took the gun from my father's hand. And what he did to my father, I thought he'd do to me.

"A…"

"Lola, are you ok?" Dad interrupted. I didn't answer and we kept walking.

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"So THAT's what happened." Jessica said.

"Yes, shocking I know." Lola replied.

"And it came from the only witness."

"Yep, a ghostly witness."

"Did you ever tell your father about A?"

"No, I never did."

"Oh, anyway, what happened after that?"

"Well, we kept on walking…"

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After a minute of walking, I decided to ask what dad knew about the Rabbit family.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Yes?" Dad asked.

"Wat do you know about the Rabbit family before Dave's time?"

"A little bit. I'm most intrigued by George, who was an artist."

"Why?"

"I'd seen some of his work before. I went to a small gallery ni manhattan. There, I saw a beautiful watercolour painting of a young boy and girl. It really stood out. As I didn't have the money to buy it, I wen to the gallery every day just to look at it. Then one day, the oowner told me the story of the artist. He'd lost his painting arm during the second world war but thanks to encouragement from his family, he was able to transfer his painting skill to his left hand. That painting was after he'd made that miraculous comeback. Unfortunately, just as it seemed his life was falling back together, he commited suicide. So when I came here and learned that George was that artist, I was shocked to read the writings he'd left behind. But I am still not sure what happened to Richard or Alex. That will probably remain a mystery."

After a few minutes walking, we finally found Dave standing in front of a bridge. The bridge was crossing a deep chasim in the cave. We couldn't see a bottom at all. Dad was the first to speak when we saw Dave.

"Dave!" Dad shouted.

"Robert." Dave replied.

"Why would you do such a thing?"

"I was giving another a test run, a sucessful test run."

"Why did you llie to me and pretend to be my dad?" I asked.

"Because I got to witness the reunion between a girl and her father after 11 years. At first, I was only acting. Then I looked into your eyes and felt my heart warm to you"

"Dave." Dad said.

"Lola, you have your mother's eyes. When I saw those eyes I wanted to be your father, even if it was for only a short while."

"You are horrible!" I shouted.

"Me?"

"Yes! You lied to me and hurt the people closest to you!"

"Closest to me?"

"You heard! Why would you treat dad and Rachiel the way you did? They were your friends!"

"You're wrong. Robert and Rachiel are no longer my friends."

"They were…"

"Lola, relationships between adults are more comiplex than relationships between people of your age."

"Why?"

"You see, sometimes the closer you are to someone, the more it hurts you when things go wrong."

"So is that why you hurt Rachiel and manipulated Dad's memory?"

"Dave…" Dad said.

"Why did you hurt Rachiel?"

"I didn't plan it that way." Dave replied.

"Why?"

"I didn't think that she would come here. I wanted to be your father and she was an obstacle."

"Rachiel didn't know about you?"

"That is what I agreed upon with your father wasn't it Robert?"

"Yes it was." Dad replied.

"Why did you want to be my father?" I asked

"Because I needed you to activate another II." Dave replied.

"Why did you manipulate dad's memory?"

"I already told you, I was doing a test on another."

"LIAR! You wanted to make dad believe that he killed my mum!"

"Why would you think that?"

"It's clear. How convienent would itt be for you if dad did it…"

"Are you suggesting that I'm the one who killed Hikaru?"

"Um…"

"Naughty naughty. You shouldn't accuse people of such a hideous crime without any evidence."

"Er…"

"Robert, did you fill her mind with this poison?"

"DAVE, STOP!" Dad shouted.

"Ohh, who knew you were capible of such fatherly words. It's kind of like riding a bicycle, you never forget how to be a father. Even though you abandoned her for 11 years."

"What did you mean when you said you needed me for another II?" I asked.

"Lola, your father wanted to complete another. He got financial grants from various third parties like ACME and continued to develope it. But he wanted to keep part of it for himself. He did this by implanting the biometric data of you into the system of another II. When I heard that another was complete, I came here. On the way, I checked the lab's PC notes and learned all of this." Dave replied.

"Dave." Dad said."

"Lola, your father is the horrible one. He pretended to be my friend but he then stabbed me in the back. That is why we aren't friends anymore."

"Dave, do you know who killed my mother?" I asked.

"Can you handle the truth?"

"Yes."

"Well, the sad truth is that your mother's killer has still not been caught."

"Why?"

"Because the authorities had no evidence and no witnesses came forward."

"Oh god…"

"But there was one witness."

"WHO?"

"Dave stop!" Dad shouted.

"Robert, she wants to know." Dave replied.

"Who saw my mum's murdur?" I asked.

"Lola, the only person who saw your mother's murdur was…you!"

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"YOU saw your mother's murdur?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, I was the only witness." Lola replied.

"But did you remember?"

"Very vaguely. I kept on remembering in that dream."

"Do you still have that dream?"

"Not anymore no."

"Anyway, please continue."

"Before I do, can you sit a bit more comfortably?"

"Why?"

"Because what's coming up is rather horrific."

"Ok." Jessica moved as far back as she could. Her back was leaving against the sofa.

"Now, where was I…"

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"Lola, Dave is lying. Don't listen to him! You don't need to think about that night anymore" Dad said.

"Robert, why do you always do that?" Dave asked.

"Do what?"

"Ignore the truth and see what only you want to see."

"Grr."

"Lola, you saw everything. You saw Hikaru draw her last breath."

"Stop talking about Hikaru like that!"

"Why? Do you want Lola to know the truth?"

"I don't want her to relive those tragedies."

"Ha!"

"Dave, that day when Huikaru lost her life, Lola suffered amnesia from the shock. When she saw my face, all she could do was cry. I was at a loss. You then came to me and told me of the research that you were doing here."

"Dad." I muttered.

"Dave, there was a reasons that I didn't tell you about another II. I'm pretty sure you would have guessed."

"Please Robert, entertain us." Dave said.

"The reason I didn't tell you was because I wanted to use another II to replay Lola's memory of that night and find Hikaru's killer. Then I would use another I tto remove that memory and replace it with a different one."

"Dad, I understand now." I muttered.

"Yes Lola."

"Dad…"

"Lola…"

"Stop it!" Dave shouted.

"What?" Dad asked.

"Stop' the caring father act."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me see if I got this right. Driven by the memories of the past and your sentimentality, you have spent the past 11 years lying to me? You must be the biggest idiot alive on this planet. You knew how to develop another but not how to use it."

"How to use another?"

"Let me tell you. By manipulating memories with another you can create any reality you want."

"NO! That is not how I intended it to be used! You should know better than anyone that another was made to be able to help people."

"Please Robert, that holier-than-thou attitude of yours is beginning to irritate me. I own another and I will decide how it is used"

"NO!"

"Come on, I footed the bill for the research so I should benefit from the results."

"Dave, you told me yourself that another would help the world. I thought that was why I was working on it."

"Pretty lofty words. And I was thinking it was your inability to cope that caused you to abandon Lola. I thought your weaknesses made you hide, not your grand goals. For 11 years, you revelled in your solitude and research without thinking of the cost to Lola. You call yourself a man. But that is whi I hired you"

"Dave."

"Robert, now that another is complete, I have no use for you."

By now, dad had lost his temper. He ran straight up at Dave and grabbed him by the shirt.

"DAVE! I won't let you use another like that!" Dad shouted. Dave threw dad offhim and then pulled out a gun. He pointed the gun at dad.

"Robert don't move!" Dave shouted.

"That's must be the gun from the golden bird room." I muttered. By now, I was terrified. I had already lost my mother and it looked like I would lose my father as well.

"Dave, what are you doing?" Dad asked.

"Lola, thoough you have only met your dad again, it is time to say farewell to him." Dave said evilly. My mind was in turmoil. I wasn't sure what to do. I then realised that there was something dad wanted to know.

"Wait!" I shouted.

"What?" Dave asked.

"I have to tell dad something. Please let me tell him who killed mum."

"Lola, I think you have nothing to say to your dad. You said yourself that you don't remember the face of the killer."

"But you said that I saw it. You said that I was the only one who saw the murdur. Dad worked so hard to create another to find her killer so let me tell him, even without using another."

"Without another?"

"All I need to do is remember and tell my dad."

"Ok, just for you, I will give you some time before pulling the trigger."

"Now Lola, think back to that night when Hikaru died. Out of curiosity, what happened that night when you werew with her?" Dave asked.

"I remember waiting for dad with my mum. We suddenly heard footsteps. Mum then realsied that there was an intruder in the burrow." I replied.

"Ok, Hikaru had realised there was an intruder, then what happened?"

"Mum told me to be as quiet as a mouse, completely silent. She then opened the wardrobe and put me inside."

"Robert, she's starting to remember now. Are you happy?"

Dave…" Dad replied.

"I'm only keeping you alive while Lola keeps talking. Lola, what else do you remember? The more you remember, the harder it will be."

"I know that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Lola, you replayed your father's memory with another. How did you do it?"

"I used the white DAS card to replay his current memory and then used the red DAS card to recover his true memory."

"How do you know that the red DAS card was his true memory?"

"Dad told me."

"Are you sure Lola? Robert has a tendency to see only what he wants to see."

"What are you getting at?"

"What if your father was lying and the memory on the white DAS card was his true memory?"

"What are you saying?" Dad asked.

"Dad…" I muttered.

"Lola, Dave is lying. Don't listen. You know that I didn't kill your mother."

"Lola, with your father in mind, try and remember that night. When you were in the wardrobe, what happened?" Dave asked.

"I heard my mum's voice." I replied.

"Now, what did she say?"

"She said that she wouldn't hand over another" By this point, Dave was at the edge of the chasm. One more step backwards and he would fall, but no one had noticed.

"Dave, you can still end this by dropping the gun." Dad said.

"Robert, we're reaching the climax. You will soon know who killed Hikaru. But when you do, your life will end." Dave replied.

"Dad…" I mumbled.

"Lola, think carefully about the next part as it the most important part. Did you hear anything else after your mum's voice?"

"I heard a scary noise, something I'd never heard before."

"Ok, then what did you do?"

"I opened the wardrobe and peeped out."

"And who did you see?" All of a sudden, my memory kicked in. The face of mum's killer began to appear in my mind, like a photograph developing. I first saw a shoulder, then a whisp of fur, then a pair of stony eyes. I closed my eyes to sharpen the image in my mind and then saw the face of Hikaru's killer.

"That face, it belongs to…" I thought to myself.

"Lola, when you looked out of the wardrobe, who did you see? Who shot Hikaru?" Dave asked.

"I-it was………"

(A/'N: Ohh, cliffhanger. Now, who killed Hikaru? Please say who you think in the review and all will be revealed in the next and final chapter.)