Hello There! Sorry everything is taking a while. I didn't realize it's been almost been two months. It's already October! Anyway here's the next chapter! Happy Fall!

Enjoy :)

-Joyful Wild

CHAPTER 26: THE FARM OF MEMORIES

Laylah sat on the floor on the rug reading a book. Or at least trying to. The last time she read a book was when she was seven years old but when you lived in the Deeps of Throg it was hard to keep up with it since there weren't any books there. And it wasn't like she could bring one from… Laylah looked up from her staring at nothing in particular. She couldn't remember where she was from before touching the Darkstone. All she remembered was darkness then waking up as creature and anything that might have happened was lost forever. It didn't feel good to have so much missing from her. The only thing she knew was that she was seven and there was a name. Laylah. She wasn't sure where it came from but it seemed to be floating around in her head before Murgah was able to give her a new name. A part of her felt like the name was very important to her but didn't know why.

She shivered as memories of the Deeps came to her one by one. To distract herself she looked around the room. The painted ceiling was high above her with a chandelier hanging right in the middle of it. She took in the details of the painting. The waves that crashed against the rocks all along the edge closest to the walls, the ships that sailed on top of them, the dragons that flew through the pink, yellow, and orange clouds making it look like the sun was setting. Even though the sun was in the middle where the chandelier hung. Her eyes travelled down the white walls that had hidden designs in them that would only show when the light hits it just right. The floor was made out of beautiful wood and in the middle of the floor was a round, soft, purple rug right beneath the chandelier. Even the door in front of her had its own details that were just asking to be looked at closely. And the room was just big enough to fit three beds that had a loft beneath each one. One on each side of the room and one against the back loft had a desk, dresser, and shelves along the walls. And each one had been set up and decorated for each girl that shared the room. The one on her left belonged to Sara, the one with the plants and books on the shelves and her bed sheets and blankets were decorated with purple flowers and vines on them. The one behind her was Leeli's bed, the one with a dog bed and hook on the wall to hang her whistleharp (although it wasn't there right now), some books and a few dog toys scattered around the desk. Her bed sheets were sky blue with a white paw print design. Then one her left was her own spot. Her bed sheets were teal with a deep blue bird that had it's wings spread out, the shelves had a few books and her desk had papers scattered on it that had been what she used to practice her hand writing.

Laylah went back to her book as her eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to concentrate. Remembering everything that Nia and Arundelle taught her so far. It wasn't long after they arrived in Anniera that Nia and Arundelle decided to help her with her education. She was nervous at first to admit that she was in her teens and still struggled to read small beginner chapter books but Nia and Arundelle had simply brought her a few books and took turns helping her read and write better. A knock came from the door then she said, "Come in." The door opened to reveal Artham standing behind it with a smile.

"Hey Laylah." Artham said.

"Hey Artham." Laylah responded putting a bookmark in her book.

"How's the reading going?" He stepped into the room looking around.

"Well, it's going a bit slow but I'm almost done with this book." She stood up and went to put her book back on the shelf.

"That's good. You're making progress."

"Yeah I guess."

"Laylah do you remember that painting that you saw of that farm."

"Yeah."

"Well, that's actually a real place."

"It is!" Laylah turned to him with surprise in her eyes.

"Yes and it's not far from here. And you remember the man I was talking to yesterday?"

"Yeah." Laylah answered with anticipation. Yesterday was a fun day where she discovered a game called Zibzy.

"Well, he said we could stop by today and I was thinking if you would like to go there."

"Can we?!" Laylah exclaimed. She didn't think that the farm in the painting would be real but now it is.

"Yes we can. Whenever you're ready to go."

"Well, let's go!" Laylah ran out the bedroom door and down the hallway in a second unaware at how Artham looked at her in amazement with how fast she got from one place to another.

"So how do you know this Tommy guy anyway?" Laylah asked. They both were on their horses in only a few minutes and on their way towards the Zackmen Farm.

"Well, me and Tommy McJoe have known each other since we were teenagers." Artham answered

"Oh, and he lives at this farm that was in the painting?"

"Yes. And I think that if you take a closer look at the farm you might remember more."

"Huh. But I don't remember the man you were talking to."

"That's probably because he just moved in there after another man lived there."

"Who used to live there first?"

"Another friend of mine named William Zackmens."

Laylah's heart skipped a bit all of a sudden.William Zackmens. William Zackmens. William Zackmens. Her mind couldn't stop repeating the name. It sounded more familiar than the painting of the farm. She tried everything she could to remember where the name came from but her head started to hurt. In her mind it was as if she heard the name over and over again and she was chasing it through her memories but was stopped by the darkness in her mind. The darkness was the earliest memory she had but she could still hear the name beyond. As if it was on the other side of the infinite black wall the blocked her from anything happening before. "Laylah? Laylah!" She woke up from her strange daze and realized she was starring off again and her horse had stopped walking.

"Laylah are you alright?" Artham asked.

Laylah turned to see Artham beside her with a hand on her shoulder and looking worried. "Did you say something?" She asked.

"I asked if you were alright. You just stopped and stared off into the distance."

"Oh, sorry it's just…" Laylah stopped again not sure of what to say. "The name kinda sounds familiar."

"Does it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, maybe that should help you remember." Artham pointed to something up ahead. Laylah followed his finger and took in the beautiful scene in front of her. It was as if the painting she saw a week ago had come to life! The green grass that was spotted with bright flowers. A big green oak tree stood up strong in front the farm and a few other trees scattered around it. And she could see a barn behind the house. Once they got up to the house they got off the horses and walked up the porch. Laylah walked slowly trying to take it all in. She blinked a few times and shook her head. She saw woman sitting on a rocking chair while holding a baby looking out towards the tree. She turned to see what the woman was looking at and saw a man pushing a girl on a swing that hung from one the tree's big limbs. But their backs were turned to her so she couldn't see their faces. Laylah turned back to the woman but she was gone. The only thing that was left there was an old rocking chair that had no sing of movement or being used. She looked back towards the tree again and realized the man and the girl were gone too, along with swing. She turned back towards Artham who was looking worried again. "I'm fine." She said trying to sound confident. She had never seen anything like that before. "Just taking it all in." She smiled. Really she was nervous about what she might find here.

"Laylah if you ever feel uncomfortable or you want to go back then just say so, okay?" Artham said.

"Okay." Laylah nodded. Artham turned to the door and that's when she first noticed that there was a note on the door. Artham looked at it then said, "Tommy says that he's in town for now and will be back soon. And the key is under…the steps?" They both turned to the three steps that led to the porch. Laylah walked down them then knelt in front of them and started pulling up at the top of them. The bottom step only creaked, the second step didn't budge, but the third opened with ease. Artham bent down to look inside, "Good job" he said and Laylah smiled at him. Once the door was unlocked Artham wiped his shoes on the door mat while Laylah wiped her bare feet and walked in.

Once she stepped inside she felt that Deja Vu feeling again. When she first walked in there was a white wall on her left and a closet on her right. Next to the closet was the entry way to what looked like a living room with a couch on the right of the room in front of a large window and a sofa on the back wall. She looked next to her right and saw a large, cushioned chair in the corner. She turned to her left and saw two book shelves standing next to each other and on the left wall of the room was a large fireplace. She looked down at the floor and noticed that the walk started with a deep red tile flooring but stopped at the living room which had a wooden floor. She continued to go forward past the living room to see another closet where the tile ended. On her left was the hallway that had a wooden floor, white walls, and had five doors in total. Three on the left side and two on her right. She decided to keep going forward and check out the hallway later. Ahead was the dining room that had dark wooden walls and a white tiled floor. There was a desk in the left corner of the room and on its right was a large sliding glass door. There was circular table that had glass in the middle of it and black, iron legs that seemed to swirl from the bottom of the table to the floor in the middle of the room. And around the table were four wooden chairs with cushions in them. The wall next Laylah had a white shelf and instruments in the corner. There was a beautiful painting of a lake hanging above the shelf. Then towards the very end of the room was a doorway and an opening with a countertop with four tall black chairs like what she imagined a bar would look like. She went through the doorway into the kitchen that had white walls and the white tile flooring continued into the kitchen. On her right was a tall cabinet and a door with a window in it that led to outside. On her left was cabinets on the bottom and the top. And wrapped around the kitchen until they reached the door in the wall ahead of her. There was a window and a sink beneath it on the left side of the kitchen and an oven on the wall ahead of her.

Laylah started blink again and shook her head. She realized she wasn't meaning to blink or shake her head. She looked at the door that led outside again but this time it was night instead of daytime. Then out of nowhere a figure stood in front of the window and burst the door opened. And without hesitation Laylah turned, aware of something slipping through her fingers and shattering, and ran through the dinning room down the hallway and went to the door at the very end on the right. When she entered the room there was a large bed and a man and a woman had jumped out of it. She was aware of the man saying something as he ran to her and…picked her up? That's when she realized how small she was compared to the man and woman. But how was she so small. Or were they just really tall? She felt the man's arms wrap around her tightly and saw over his shoulder that the woman had picked up a little baby from a crib that was at the foot of the bed. Laylah saw fear in her eyes. She didn't want to see anymore so she buried her head into the man's shoulder and closed her eyes. Trying to shut out the noises of screaming and roaring and a cackle of a fire.

Artham watched Laylah look around the house with wide eyes, taking everything in. He wanted ask her if there was anything she remembered but thought that he would ask that after she took everything in. She slowly walked around the house looking up, down, left, and right over and over again. He hoped that this would help her. He wanted to help her find a home. A family. Someone or something to call her own. He followed her as she walked around the house until she stopped and started to shake her head again. He wondered if she meant to do that and if she was remembering something. When she first did that she seemed to zone out. He wondered what was going on her head.

Suddenly she turned around and ran down the hallway. He followed her, "Laylah? Laylah!" Once he got to her she was on sitting on her feet and hugging herself with her eyes closed tight. He sat down in front her, "Laylah," he said in a gentle voice, "Laylah it's alright. Whatever it is you're safe now. It's not what you think it is." She began to whimper and plug her ears. Artham slowly put his hands on her shoulders to let her know that he was there and that she wasn't alone. She jumped a little but then began to relax before she started to cry. Artham gently pulled her into a hug and rocking side to side while making a shushing sound. It was only a few seconds later the crying stopped and she relaxed even more before taking a deep breath. They spent a minute or two in silence before Artham looked down at her and asked, "Laylah, are you okay?"

Laylah was silent for a few more seconds, "I…I don't…know. That's never happened before." She whispered.

"Was it a memory?"

"I don't know. But it seemed so real."

"What happened?"

Once she told him what he saw he wanted to ask who the man and women was but deep down he felt like he already knew. They were her parents. They just had to be. "Do you remember what the man and woman looked like?" Artham asked.

She shook her head, "Not really. They seem blurry now."

Artham stayed silent for a little bit, "Why don't we go back to the castle. I did tell everyone that we'd be back around lunch time and it's getting pretty close to that. Okay?"

Laylah nodded. "I've always wondered if I'll get any memories back but I wasn't expecting something so…scary."

So, they got up and Artham left a note saying that they stopped by and headed back to the castle. "Laylah," Artham said after they got back on their horses. "I think that man and woman you saw might have been your parents."

Laylah looked at Artham and he saw a bit of hope in the sadness in her eyes. "Do you think so?"

"Yes, I do think so."

Laylah looked back at the house. "But the man you mentioned earlier lived there first."

"Well, he actually had a wife and a daughter." There was silence for a while.

"Did they also have a little baby?" Laylah asked.

Artham thought for a moment. "I think so." Artham tied his best but the only thing he could remember about a baby was when William had come to him while holding his daughter Rose but before he could say anything the little girl exclaimed, "Mama is having a baby!". Artham smiled at the memory that he wished he remembered earlier. "Yes. Yes, they did."

"What was everyone else's name?"

Artham looked at her wondering why she would ask that. But seeing the pleading in her eyes he told her praying it won't make her panic. "The baby's name was Will Junior, the Wife's name was Laylah, and the daughter's name was Rose."

Laylah was looking ahead of her now in silence. "Rose?"

"Yes, the daughter's name was Rose."

"Rose." She whispered. Then for the rest of the ride there she was silent. The name sounded familiar to her. She whispered the name again but this time she heard it in her head by a different voice. It was a soothing gentle voice. She heard the voice from the other side of the darkness but she still heard. And she cherished every moment, every second, every time she heard the name.

Rose

Rose

Rose

Rose…