“Sleeping too late Peggy Ann, tsk tsk tsk.”
I stopped and spun around at the sound of Gee’s voice. She was sitting on the hood of her little black sports car.
“Gee?”
She rolled her eyes, “Last time I checked.”
I walked toward her, “What are you doing here?”
“I have something that belongs to you. I thought I’d bring it back. If I recall correctly you were real attached to it.”
What was she talking about? I was beside her car when she reached into her pocket and pulled something out and held out her hand. Slowly she opened it and nestled in the palm of her hand was a small gold brooch. It was a heart shaped filigree with pale pink stones. I’d seen this before. My heart pounded in my chest as I reached out and touched it.
“What is this?” I asked lifting my gaze from the brooch to Gee’s curious expression.
“I think you know. You should know. Why don’t’ you take this brooch and put it in your pocket. Think about it. See if a memory doesn’t find its way inside.”
I picked up the delicate brooch. It looked old but well cared for. My head started to spin as I held it. She was right. There was a memory here.
“Where did you get it?
“Why it’s a funny thing you should ask me that. I found it in your room. Right where you left it.”
How had she found this in my room? I didn’t remember ever putting this anywhere in my room. I looked back up at her to ask but she was gone.
I ran the pad of my thumb over the stones.
“Can you take this and give it to me after my soul leaves my body? I want to keep it.”
A sharp pain sliced through my head. I reached out and grabbed the side of the car to keep from falling.
“I gave you this brooch. I told you that I wanted to take it with me. You said that could be arranged and you slipped it into your pocket”
Another hot blaze rocketed through my head. I sank down to the cement below. What was happening? There were memories attached to this brooch. Things I’d forgotten. I dropped the brooch into my lap and grabbed my head with both hands as the pain grew stronger.
“But you never saw me again. Because your soul was erased off the charts. The only reason I remembered you was because of this brooch.”
“AAAAAAH!” I cried out in agony. With each memory that surfaced the pain in my head grew stronger.
“So, I came to watch you. To see what about this soul was so unique.”
I knew him. Dank. Oh god. I knew him. Tears blurred my vision as I curled up in a ball on the hard ground. No one could see me tucked away between two cars. I bite my lip to keep from making any more sounds as the memories laced through my mind one sentence at a time. Each touch. Each moment. I’d forgotten it all. A sob escaped me and I fought back the wail growing in my chest. How had I forgotten him? I loved him. He was everything to me. How could I forget him? I’d sent him away. The sobs grew louder and I gave up trying to keep quiet. Between the shattering of my heart and the explosion in my head I was unable to do little more than wither on the ground and weep.
Chapter Twenty
Dank
The room was dark when I arrived. Gee had called me here. All she’d said was, “It’s Pagan.” I’d come immediately but I hadn’t expected it to be Pagan’s dorm room she was calling me to. I scanned the room and found Pagan curled up on the bed asleep. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet. The curtains were closed and the lights were off. Was she sick?
“She remembered,” Gee said from the corner of the room where she sat watching me.
“What exactly did she remember?” I asked taking a step toward the bed where Pagan was sleeping.
“Everything, I think. Hell I don’t know. She hasn’t talked. I don’t know how affected she is yet. If she’s hurt, mentally, I expect you to extinguish me. I can’t live with the guilt.”
Panic gripped me and I rushed to the side of the bed and knelt down beside her. What had Gee done? She wasn’t supposed to remember everything until the Deity decided it was time. I had been hoping for some small memory to come back to her but never had I wanted to harm her.