I awoke to warm blankets and a sore spine. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned over in my cot. I was back. I did not know how I made it to the human world, but there I was, safe in my cot. Turning over to grab my phone, the numbers 0715 flashed and my world began to spin.
It was morning briefing, and a junior officer had shoved a clipboard into my hands. Commander Stone was laying out the Organization's tactics for the day. In the haze of the moment I had sat down at the main battle table.
Glancing at the cheap wooden table, I noticed how long it was, and how my fellow officers sat a distance away from me. Pulling out my notes, I began to scribble, a habit I have always found calming. Commander Stone started to scold me. They always did hate my artistic drive.
That was when I noticed who was at the table. Of course, Commander Stone was there, but there were some surprising faces. Traverse was there, their wildcard grin an almost soothing sight in the dullness of building the resistance. Their hair was twisted in a mess of black, only to be combed back as much as possible. My heart fluttered at their sight, but I knew this was too good to be true.
Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around Traverse, and let out a deep sigh, trying to keep it together. I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment. Their embrace felt so nice, like nothing could hurt us while we were together. I was wrong, but if only for a second, things felt right. I could spend my whole life standing there.
It was not to last, however, as I pressed myself closer to my partner, I could feel them fading, as if their very existence was no more than a memory. I squeezed tighter, but it was to no avail.
I now sat above the meeting room, as if peering through a window. Beneath me was Darx, their large frame taking up two chairs. I shuddered at their sight, remembering the countless arguments I had to face. They were junior to me, but time and time again had attempted to step over me and my command. Each of my reports was ignored. Commander Stone, was laughing with the figure, sharing a drink, pacing up and down the length of the table. Turning to Darx, Stone pulled my binder from the shelf and handed it to Darx. They had taken my place.
I glared, attempting to push down to the scene beneath me. The world started to shake and I could feel a soft whisper chanting something. I continued to bang on the invisible glass, until I heard a large CRACK! And I was brought back to reality.
I was in Eda's room, and the girl was hunched over a book, facing the mirror. She was muttering to herself as she read.
"Why can't I get it right?" She said.
Getting up from bed I peeked over Eda's shoulder, reading what she was attempting to do. She did not even seem to notice, so absorbed in the spell.
'Tabula Rasa, the memory spell. Start with a clean slate'
Wrapping my arms around the child, she jumped at the touch before realizing it was me. She relaxed. This gave me plenty of time to reach over her and rip the page right out of the book.
Stuffing it into my pocket, Eda spun around and snapped, "Give it back!"
"You'll thank me for this one day," I tried my best not to react.
"No, I won't," Eda glared.
"It hurts now," I kneaded my brow, "I get it, but are you really saying you'd rather end up like that kid? Maybe you can prevent stuff like that from happening. You can't do that if you forget."
"I hate you," she muttered.
"Because I'm right," I frowned, leading the girl to bed, "How about we go back to sleep. Things will be better tomorrow."
"Promise?" Eda yawned, already climbing into the bed.
"Things can only get better," I gave a soft smile, glad it was too dark to see the tears slipping down my cheek, "It has to. . ."
