Garry and Ib stood frozen in place, their eyes wide in shock and fear. Roy was confused at what had spooked them so. He looked at the girl, unable to sense any clear danger from her. He walked up to the police and began to try to understand the situation. For Garry and Ib, their time they experienced in Guertena's painting came back full-force. It could not be Mary; they had burned her picture ten years ago, thus burning her existence. Ib's heart felt as if it had stopped, and Garry's was beating out of his chest. She felt Garry wrap his arm around her waist, as if ready to defend her at any moment… but from what? Mary had also grown like Ib and Garry had, but how? All noise around them seemed muddled, and their vision tunneled around the girl who looked like Mary. Roy appeared to be flustered, and before Ib realized it, Garry had begun to walk over to the group.

"There you are, Mary!" he called out to the girl. The girl's eyes widened as she locked them onto Garry. Both he and Ib comprehended that was in fact her name, but he did not falter. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"You know this girl?" one of the policemen asked.

"Yes, sir," Garry replied, "she's a friend. See, we came to the exhibit not too long before it closed, and we lost track of her. She has narcolepsy, so she more than likely sat down somewhere in the museum and fell asleep. We're very sorry, but we're happy you found her."

Ib could not believe how smoothly Garry told the lie. If she was in the police's shoes, she would have believed it. Roy must have believed it as well, for he had a smirk on his face that seemed to tell her he found the story hilarious. The police exchanged glances then laughed, humored by the story. They took the handcuffs off Mary's wrists and put them away.

"It's quite alright. Just keep an eye on her and make sure it doesn't happen again," a policewoman politely warned.

"Thank you so much," Garry nodded. When the police drove away, Garry exhaled a sigh of relief. Ib slowly made her way over to Garry, Mary, and Roy, unsure on what would occur once she got there. When she did, she was amazed at Mary's beauty. Somehow or another, she had matured into a young lady around Ib's age. Her golden hair was long, and her eyes were the color of the sky on a cloudless day. Naturally, she had developed the features of a young woman, and she wore a light green dress that was comparable with the one she wore ten years ago. She was around Ib's height, perhaps slightly taller.

Despite feeling uneasy, Garry smiled at Mary, who nervously smiled back at him. "That was a close call, huh?"

"Thank-you," Mary quietly spoke, "but… why did you do that? We've never met before."

Garry and Ib's eyes widened in shock. Never met?

"Um, what do you mean by that?" Ib whispered.

"Was… I not clear?" Mary questioned, not trying to sound rude as she did. "We've never met."

"Are you certain? I know it's been a long time, but ten years ago-"

"We saw you here," Garry interrupted Ib. "It was a brief exchange. We were very young, so it's possible you forgot."

Mary smiled and giggled apprehensively. "I'm terribly sorry. It seems I have forgotten. But… that's not the only thing I've… forgotten."

Roy took off his jacket and put it around Mary's shoulders. The night was cool, and Mary had goose-bumps on her skin from the chilliness. "Forgotten? How so?"

"Thank-you," Mary smiled at Roy for his kind act. She hugged the jacket closer to her, letting its warmth sink into her skin. "I mean, I just… woke up here. In the museum. I don't remember what I was doing before then, or where I was… nothing. I woke up in a storage room, and I was trying to find my way out when I set off the alarm. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to cause any issues."

"Haha, well, looks like I wasn't lying after all," Garry laughed.

Roy took a look at Mary's head in order to check for any bumps or bruises, but found none. "Well, that's certainly odd. What about family? Do you remember them?"

"I… don't think I have any," Mary replied. "Not that I recall, anyway."

"Well, you have lost your memory, so here's what I propose. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the police station. See if anyone has sent in a missing person's ad about you. Sound good?" Roy proposed.

Garry and Ib were stunned at just how nice Roy was being to a total stranger. He had been really nice to Ib after their slight accident, so they conjectured he was just an exceptionally nice young man. Mary was even astonished at his kindness.

"Sounds great," Mary agreed.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Roy asked. "I live in an apartment complex about three miles from here."

"Hold on a moment," Garry intervened. "Do you live at Hamilton Plaza?"

"Indeed. Apartment forty-two C," Roy answered. "Why do you ask?"

"You live in the same complex I do," Garry laughed. "We could have totally met there!"

"Imagine that," Ib giggled.

"I have a question for you, as well," Mary spoke. "Why are you being so nice? What do you want?"

Roy looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she had asked him. When he did, he was visibly hurt by her accusation. He exhaled sadly and smiled. "Can't a guy just do something nice for a girl without being accused of trying to do something terrible?"

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your… your feelings," Mary stammered. "I do need a place to stay…"

"Well, you're welcomed to my place," Roy stated. He held out his hand to her. "My name is Roy, by the way."

"Mary," she giggled as she shook his hand. She then looked at Ib and winced. "Oh my goodness! What happened to your eye?"

"Baseball accident," Ib replied.

After this, they went to their abodes for the night. Ib and Garry, surprisingly, fell asleep rather easily. Roy allowed Mary to sleep in his bed while he slept on his couch. Mary felt guilty for doing so, but she was very grateful for Roy's kindness and hospitality. The next day, Roy had to work so he left Mary some money in case she got hungry or wanted to go anywhere. He entered his room quietly, gathered his work clothes, entered his bathroom, got ready, and left- all without disturbing Mary's sleep. When she awoke, she saw the note Roy had left her. Again, she felt guilty and awkward for all of Roy's aid, but happy nonetheless. Roy worked at a restaurant full-time as a cook in order to afford college and his apartment. Due to his work schedule, he could only take twelve credit hours per semester (since it was summer, this did not apply), but he was determined to finish college as a culinary artist in order to own a restaurant of his own.

At around one in the afternoon, Garry knocked on Roy's door, Ib with him. Her eye was worse than it was the day before, and again she had no makeup and was wearing relaxation clothes. They checked on Mary to see how she was doing and stayed with her until Roy was to get off work. Ib fixed some lunch since Mary was too shy to use the money Roy had left behind for her. Nora and Allen came over as well and introduced themselves to Mary. When Roy came back, he was definitely surprised to see so many over at his apartment but was really laidback about it and introduced himself to Nora and Allen as well. He told Mary that on the way back, he stopped by the police station to see if any missing person's ads concerning Mary were there, but sadly there was not. Mary just smiled and told him not to worry about it; Garry told her in the meantime, they would work with her to help her get her memories back.

"What about a place to stay? I can't just stay here…" Mary spoke.

"And why not?" Roy asked.

"I can't. It's rude, Roy. I can't keep taking advantage of you."

"Taking advantage? Mary, I offered you my place to stay. I don't mind it one bit. It gets kinda lonely every once in a while, so it'd be great to have some company," Roy smiled. "So, don't feel bad at all."

It was settled that Mary was to live with Roy. She did not have any clothes, makeup, or anything of the sort, so Garry, Allen, and Roy agreed to split money and have Ib and Nora take her shopping. The boys accompanied them and immediately regretted it when they entered the mall. In about thirty minutes, the guys simply handed over their credit cards to the girls and found recliners to relax in. Later that evening, they ate supper and returned back to Roy's apartment to set up an area for Mary to have. While they were out, Roy bought an air mattress so that he would not have to sleep on the couch, and he inflated that. Mary thanked everyone for being so generous to her, and she promised to repay them.

A month passed by.

It was certainly different having a female in his apartment. Roy had, of course, girlfriends before, but never had any actually stayed with him. They found each other very easy to be around, and they laughed together often. Naturally, they had their arguments, but for the most part, they got along exceptionally well. Mary had gotten a job as a waitress in the same restaurant Roy worked at so she could help contribute to the monthly dues and everything else. They helped each other with chores around the apartment, but Mary let Roy cook since he was so great at it; he offered to teach her, but she was really shy about it.

Garry and Ib also became closer to each other as they spent nearly every day together. Everyone expected the two to become an established couple any day. Ib's eye was better minus for a small scar (to which Roy apologized for consistently). Nora and Allen had moved very quickly, but were madly in love with each other and living together. Garry and Ib thought it was just meant to be. Day by day, Garry, Ib, Roy, Nora, and Allen tried to help Mary recover her memories, but it nothing seemed to work. It frustrated Mary to no end, but they all encouraged her to keep at it and to not get discouraged.

"These things take time, Mary," Nora said with a smile on her face. "There's no need to rush it. We're here for you. Okay?"

One day, Roy returned home from work on a day Mary was off, surprised to see the place nearly ransacked. Mary stood at the window, her back toward him, crying loudly. Roy, concerned, started toward her but stopped. A pair of open, bloody scissors was clenched tightly in her hand, which blood dripped from. He slowed down and became cautious.

"M-Mary?" he stammered.

"The rose… where is my rose?"

"Roses?"

"Yes… my yellow rose. I can't live without it!"

Roy swallowed hard. "You've never had a yellow rose, Mary."

"Do you think I'm stupid?!" she screamed at him as she wheeled around. Her eyes were filled with anger and hate, which was something he was not used to seeing from her. She clenched the open pair of scissors tighter, blood flowing faster from her hand. "You bastard! You must have stolen it from me! I can't find it!"

Roy took a step toward her, but she took a step back, so he stopped. "I-I'll find your yellow rose, okay, Mary? I'll be right back."

He turned around to walk out and head to town to buy her a yellow rose. Just as he reached the door, he heard her gasp and the scissors hit the floor. "Roy?"

He turned around to see her eyes wide, as if she had woken up from a horrible nightmare. Her wounded hand was unclenched, and she looked around the apartment in bewilderment. Highly perplexed, he made his way to her, stopped in front of her, and looked into her eyes; she was back. Nearly hyperventilating, her legs became shaky, but Roy steadied her.

"Wh… what… R-Roy? I…" she stammered, unable to get a word out.

"Let me see your hand," Roy softly ordered as he gently reached for it.

"What did I do?... What did I do…?" she asked. Soon, she began to sob. This confused Roy as well.

"Why are you crying?" he asked. She continued to cry, unable to tell him the answer. "Mary? Why are you crying?" he questioned again, this time wrapping his arms around her. She cried onto his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him as well, gathering bunches of his shirt in her fists, her blood soaking it. "Shh… It's all right, Mary. Nothing to worry about. It's all right…" he whispered into her ear in effort to calm her down. She wept harder onto his shoulder as he sat there quietly, letting her cry until she could not cry any longer.