Be this thy constant Aim

To take a shot at the memory game

Awaken from the state he slept

By the answers of which it kept

(It took him a whole day, but he made it in the town. Nothing was unusual compared to the other ones. There were just people walking, children playing, some stores were open and displayed goods. The squirrel climbed in a tree right next to one of them and didn't come back. But he didn't care, he was too preoccupied with finding what was there.)

"Ok, I'm here. I did what you wanted, Ana. Now what?!" (He asked rhetorically, unsatisfied of the sight, followed by him taking a walk through the town)

Going past a playground, suddenly an image of three children (two boys and one girl) playing so happily, like there was no such thing as time or space, came in my mind. The visualization caused me to feel…nostalgia."Is this my childhood?" was the first thought I had. One of the boys turned his head to greet an older woman…It was me! "Ari, it's lunch time! Come come, you can play as much as you want after." Said the woman.

"Ok, mom." responded the little girl, then turned around "I got to go, see you later." and ran towards the woman. When seeing her, I recognized the face immediately. It was Ariana, as a child. "Then the woman must be her mother," followed in my mind. "Sean…Sean…" said the boy that was standing next to my younger self. "I must leave… promised my dad I'll help him fix the T.V. Catch you later?"

"Yes, sure!" I responded. He then left and I sat there alone for a few seconds. When the visualization was over, I started remembering some things. This was the town in which I spent my childhood; those two were my friends…Ariana and Chuck…my name is Sean Aim…

(The amnesiac was then attacked by a feeling of grief, he started recollecting memories of his parents. His mother died in a car accident when she went visiting an old friend from high school. The driver was drunk and tried to end his days, but failed miserably by spilling the blood of two innocent people on his hands. He then served life sentence in jail. His father hung himself one month later on her birthday. Sean lived alone ever since)

"I b-better keep on going…damn…No. I-I can't cry. Not now…Got to keep my head up." I said to myself as I started to move.

After a few minutes of walking I turned back to my normal self, less crying self. Passing by Chuck's old house, I found myself standing in front of her…Ariana. She was there with her arms open, waiting for me to come. I rushed towards and gave embraced her. The perfume she was wearing had such a nice smell and her hair was soft.

"Hey, darling. How was it at the castle?" She asked while still holding me in her arms.

"How did you know I stayed in a castle?" I quickly replied, pulling backwards out of her comfort to give her a questioning look.

"Honey, are you making fun of me?"

"N-no…I'm sorry…One day I woke up and forgot everything and everyone. Somehow I got amnesia…If that sounds believable."

"Hm, sounds interesting. Let's talk somewhere more private, like my place." she said smiling, then grabbed my hand and dragged me with her.

(Ariana took Sean to her old house, where she lived in with her parents. She sat him down in the living room and went to the kitchen to grab some juice. In the meantime, Sean looked around the room and saw pictures of her parents, her grandparents…and one with both of them. He was wearing a tuxedo and she was in her wedding dress. The picture was taken on their wedding day. They looked very happy)

She came in the room and handed me a glass of juice. "Here, darling. You must be thirsty. Drink." she looked at me with a warm smile. I thanked her and took a sip of the cold beverage.

"This sounds weird…but could you tell me who I am?"

"You are Sean. We are childhood friends, oh and Chuck. Almost forgot him. Um…We all grew up here…You became a writer, a really good one. After some time, you proposed to me, and I obviously said yes. We are married for a little over a year…This reminds me, when you went to stay in the castle, you forgot your wedding ring home. I should give it to you once we get there."

I interrupted her briefly. "Wait. Why did I go in that castle?"

"Oh…Well you see, Chuck was always good at bargaining and worked at a store for some time. He became a salesman…His passion for the Medieval Era made him buy a castle and restore it as best as he could. Sometimes he uses it as a 'vacation house' for him and his guests. A month ago, you asked him if he could let you stay in there for a while, as inspiration for your next book"

"And I assume he said yes?"

"Of course, he can't say no to you." She responded slightly amused.

"Oh, almost forgot…I believe this belongs to you." I took out the silver plate engraved with her name from my bag and gave it to her. "This…this is from my bracelet. Thought I lost it. Where did you find it?"

"Long story…I found it in the castle, a squirrel had it stuck in her tail. That's when my first memory came back…the one of you." I responded.

"Aw, that's so romantic!" (She approached him and kissed his forehead) "Thank you, dear."

"You know, this is actually my parents' house. They are in a vacation at Paris. I come here every few days to take care of it…What a coincidence to bump into you on this day."

"…But how did she know? Damn, that woman can be so enigmatic!"

"What woman? What are you talking about?" She asked with a worried look on her face, her eyebrows scrunched in and a small frown formed on her lovely face.

"There was this fortune teller I met in a town, she knew I was in search of you. She read my past, present, and future with Tarot cards. Afterwards, in about two weeks, when I was ready to give up on my "journey" she suddenly appeared behind me telling things like 'Go to the next town,' and 'Trust me,'. She seemed pretty serious."

"Hm... interesting. Was she pretty?" (She asked rhetorically to make fun of him. He actually responded)

"She was in her 60's, I think. Her hair was grey and her eyes had different colors. One was brown and the other was green. She had a pretty well shaped face."

"Ok….Honey, I was kidding…Maybe we should go for a walk to freshen your mind,"

"Yes…That sounds nice"

"Oh! I have an even better idea. I'll call Chuck. If I remember correctly, this week is his break from job. We could stay at his castle. Just the three of us…like old times." She scurried around, searching for the phone.

"Whatever you say…Ariana."

"Hm? What's with that face? Did something happen?"

"N-nothing nothing." (Sean remembered the corpses found in the dungeon and wondered why he was keeping the bodies, or even if it was his doing.

The couple went to the castle where they were greeted by their childhood friend. The trio went inside and sat in the Great Hall to catch up with one another) "How are you, Chuck? How's your business going?" Asked Ariana.

"It's fine, it's fine…but I'm not here to talk about that. This is my place of relaxation after all." He answered.

"You're right, sorry. The what do you want to talk about?"

"How was your staying here, Sean? Did you like it?"

"Um, it was ok, I guess,"

"Hm? What? Don't tell me you don't like this." Chuck spread his arms open wide and motioned to the whole castle.

"Don't mind him, Chuck. He got amnesia while staying here and was a little confused since then. Heck, he was acting a little strange before we got here." she interfered.

"Actually… There's something bothering me about this place," I interrupted her.

"Well? What is it?" He asked me curiously.

"It's the two bodies you have in the dungeon! Why are those there? How did they end up like that?" I shouted. He stood silent for a few seconds, surprised by my loud questioning, then started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked irritated.

"W-What bodies? What's going on?" Ariana was a bit scared to hear my sayings.

"Nothing to worry about my friends. Come, I will show you….Can't believe you found it. I was saving this for Halloween, but whatever!"

(Chuck took the candelabrum Sean once pulled and like then, the secret entrance was revealed. He went in first and the other two came right after. Ariana, feeling uncomfortable, was holding onto Sean's shirt. The place was pretty scary for those unprepared. They arrived at the problematic cellar after a few steps.)

"There they are!" I shouted. "Don't tell me you tortured them!"

"Ha ha good one! Dear friend, you clearly hit your head or something. These are just dummies I ordered to be made. I thought it could add more originality to the castle. Also, can you imagine what show I can pull off during Halloween? Ha ha!" He replied with a smile, then approached one of the bodies and raised one of their hands. "If you come closer, you'll see right here. It's written "Made in China". As realistic as they seem, I don't think a Chinese fellow would murder someone and send him over here. Could you?"

I went closer to see if what he said was true, and indeed it was."Yes, I see…Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"No problem, buddy. I'm sure anyone would have thought the same."

"Ok, guys…I really don't like this place, can we leave now?" Asked Ariana. "Sure sure. Hey, do you want to go to the balcony? The sight is amazing!" He answered with great enthusiasm.

"Anywhere is fine by me as long as it isn't here."

(Things seemed pretty normal afterwards. They had a nice view from the balcony, they played some society games and listened to the history of the castle. It was pretty interesting. The trio went eventually in bed as night came. The next morning a knocking was heard at the entrance door. Chuck went to see who it was.)

"Excuse me for waking you so early, sir. I have a letter for Mr. Sean Aim. The woman who sent me told me he'd be here." The man held out the letter to him and motioned him to take it.

"Yes, indeed. He is here. I will give him the letter, but from whom might it be?"

"She didn't mention her name, and it isn't written on the letter. She told me that he will figure it out."

"Hm, interesting…Well then, thank you for the letter and have a nice day!"

"You too sir, and sorry again for the intrusion." Said the man, then left.

"Yo Sean! Wake up, sleepyhead. Some guy came a few minutes ago with a letter for you." Chuck shook Sean awake before shoving the white envelope in his face.

"Uh…What?...A letter?...For me?...From who?" I mumbled, still feeling sleepy.

"He told me a woman sent it and that you'll know who." While he was talking I tried to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes with the back of my hands.

I opened it. "What? No way! Why?What?" I said surprised. My voice woke up Ariana by mistake.

"Aw, what's with all the noise?" She grumbled.

"Sean here got a letter from some woman. What's it say, buddy?" Replied Chuck. "Tis..her…It was her…the fortuneteller, Ana Rai…".

"Hm, what's with the fortuneteller?" Ariana was worried of my reaction. "She sent me this letter…This farewell letter. According to it she died yesterday. "

"Wait what? Why did she wrote it to you? Didn't you tell me you barely knew her? And how did she knew you'd be here?" Question after question was asked, some out loud, and others to themselves.

"I-I don't know…And she left me her diary. It says here I have to go to her place to pick it up. Her address is typed at the end."

(The fog of uncertainty and mystery went down on all three. Sean and Ariana stayed for a couple of hours more and prepared themselves for the travel. She couldn't allow her husband to go alone again. She felt that if he left like before, something bad would happen.)

"Sorry we couldn't stay more, Chuck." I said.

"No problem, no problem. Hey, give me a call after you get some answers, this whole thing is weird. I'm really curious of the outcome." Said Chuck.

"Of course. Well, then…see you!" She said. "Goodbye." I said, then shook hands and we left, wondering what was in store for us.