Fragments of Memory

Turmoil followed. Cameras flicker in her eyes. People started pushing just to get closer to her. If it weren’t for the security in the area, Airi and her friends wouldn’t be able to dash out of the atrium.

They ran as fast as they could.

She was confident that her friends were trailing, but when she looked behind and checked… they were nowhere to be found. She could only see several guards from the mall forming a barricade between her and the swarm.

She ran, not knowing where to go.

Some mall-goers gave her scrutinizing looks, thinking she was a random lunatic sprinting in the mall.

She kept running, constantly checking her back when…

Thud!

She bumped into a person who instantly grabbed her, covered her mouth, and dragged her to an empty hall.

Her back felt warm against the person’s chiseled chest. She was enclosed in the stranger’s warm embrace with his muscular arm wrapped around her waist. His other hand was still covering her mouth.

“Don’t you dare make a sound.” Jiro’s lips lightly brushed the side of her ears. His ragged breath was warm under her neck as he rested his chin. His labored breathing hinted that he probably had been running, too.

At first, Airi’s body was tensed and shaking from shock and exhaustion. Her hair stood on end upon hearing his voice like that. But the longer she stayed under Jiro’s protective gesture, the more relaxed she became.

She reached for his hand, covering her mouth. Jiro only loosened his grip a bit, allowing her to hold his hand, but still not letting her go.

“Let’s stay like this for some time,” he whispered before drawing a lungful of air. His hug tightened a little bit, yearning and longing as if telling her that it was a compensation for all the years she had disappeared from his life.

She felt that his body was relaxing as he slowly exhaled.

They stayed like that for no one knew how long. She just let her exhausted body lean against his. But the moment people’s voices and rushing footsteps came closer, her head spun and throbbed. Obscure, blurry flashbacks invaded her mind, causing her body to tremble once more.

She shook her head to wash away the blurry images of the nightmare-like and unrecognizable memories invading her. ‘What are those?! What’s wrong with me? ’

She burst into tears and struggled to let loose of Jiro’s back hug, as if something horrifying had come to her.

“Hey! What are you doing? What the—are you crying? ” he whispered in her ear. “Shh… Calm down. I’m here. No one’s going to hurt you again.”

He tightened his embrace. It was a tight hug expressing concern and protection, not intending to scare her even more.

“Please… It’s me, Jiro. Don’t be afraid. Please.”

Airi’s struggle suddenly stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief but panicked, realizing that she had passed out.

He scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

“You really make it a habit to be unconscious whenever I’m around. What am I? Your comfort zone? ” He chuckled to himself. He adjusted the way he was hugging her. Slowly, he sat on the tiled floor of the mall and let her sleep on his lap. “At least, you’re comfortable.”

He removed his tuxedo and used it as Airi’s blanket. Then, he pulled out his phone and called one of his bodyguards to let him know where they were.

**

The school quadrangle was filled with excited third- and fourth-year students for the prom. The girls wore dazzling long gowns, while the boys were in tuxedos and slacks. Their eyes glimmered with joy as they got the chance to dance with the person they liked or even loved.

I watched them with a somber heart.

After Jiro gave those letters last year, everything became awkward. Yes, we hadn’t been talking on a personal level, though he had been bugging me. But it was I who was the problem. I tried to avoid him even more. But I also noticed that he had been avoiding me, too. Did he see me crumple the letters he gave?

Those questions bothered me. But what initiated the few crevices in my heart was the rumor circulating on campus—Jiro was being linked to Jane, our former classmate. And then, there was this rumor about him being shipped with Frea, one of the archery players.

I just convinced myself that all the attention he gave me a few years back was just nothing. Perhaps he was just testing me because I was the most aloof girl in class. Maybe he and his friends were just betting on whether he could make me fall for him.

Thinking about that brought tears to my eyes.

Despite that, I still took my chance of attending the prom, though I disliked crowded places, to see him…hoping the rumors weren’t true…assuming he might invite me for a dance even if I didn’t know how to.

I patiently waited for him in the sea of idyllic students. And right there. Right in front of me—a few meters away—there he was! Not just standing or chatting with his friends…he was dancing with Frea! Her arms wrapped around his shoulder. His hands on her waist!

The crevices in my heart turned into huge cracks like potholes on roads. And each cracked piece began to pulverize…the invisible dust from them began to choke her, along with more tears attempting to pour.

Without a second thought, she stepped out of the quadrangle and rushed to the school gate. She didn’t even tell her friends.

On her way out, she bumped into Marlon, their former classmate.

“Airi? Are you going home? It’s still early.”

“I I-I don’t feel really well,” she said and went on.

“I was supposed to ask you to dance.”

“I’m sorry. I have to go.”

Once outside the campus, she kept walking without any sense of direction. Her vision blurred because of tears. Remembering what she saw earlier felt heavy on her chest. Her heart weighed heavily in her chest.

She didn’t mind where she was going. The alleyways got darker with fewer and fewer streetlights. Until she realized that she had forgotten her purse…which meant that she didn’t have any means to contact anyone because her phone was in it.

Her steps became heavy with despondency and worry for her safety. She was in the obscure area a few meters away from their school. She had never been in that place. She knew no one there.

Just when she thought she was alone, footsteps from behind alerted her senses. She was groping her way out of the dim-stricken alley. She stopped and listened. The footsteps halted, too.

“Where do you think you’re going? ” A male’s voice made her grab the lid of a trash can in front of her.

She remained quiet, preparing herself for any possible attacks.

“A girl like you shouldn’t be alone in this perilous area,” he continued.

Airi couldn’t help but shiver the more the man’s voice echoed in her ears.

Then he heard him chuckle.

“You’re probably lost now…and forever! ”

Her head spun due to exhaustion and fear. Her legs went limp and numb until she couldn’t feel anything anymore.

When she opened her eyes, an unfamiliar room greeted her.

“Good thing you’re awake! ”

An old woman’s worried face was the second thing she saw aside from the roof without a ceiling.

“Where am I? ” she asked, still feeling numb and tired.

“You’re probably lost now…and forever! ” The old woman’s face became distorted and hideous. Her canine teeth turned into fangs. Her skin sagged like overcooked noodles as her facial hair grew thicker and longer.

“Ahh!!!”

Airi’s voice filled the placid room, sweating despite the AC being on. She drew in a lungful of air, seeing that she was back in Jiro’s room.

He stirred awake and rushed over to her when she screamed.

“Hey! It’s okay.” He hugged her, feeling her trembling body in his. He rubbed her back to calm her down. “It’s just a nightmare.”

In a broken response, because of too much sobbing, she said, “What’s going on… with me? I’m…remembering events… of an accident… and kidnapping.”

“Shh. It’ll be fine.”

“I always have nightmares of running away from something or someone.”