The Darkened War

Ch.39

Alyssa walked through complete darkness, one step at a time through what must've been an endless tunnel. Where it'd begun she had forgotten, and if she'd once known where she was going now she could no longer recall. All she knew was that she was walking. One foot after another, one step at a time, a pattern of her footsteps hitting the ground and echoing around her. There was no thought of why, it was simply what she had to do.

If time existed she couldn't feel it passing, so she wasn't sure how long it was before she heard a voice. It was a familiar voice, but she couldn't remember who it came from; perhaps it was another mystery that had been locked away in her past. It was the voice of a boy, and he was calling her name. She couldn't pinpoint where the voice had come from, whether it was ahead of her or behind, instead it echoed in the same way her walking did, and shouted out reaching her heart; begging her to remember.

Then there was light. Maybe she had exited the darkness, or maybe the light had made its way into the tunnel. Either way it spread around her, brightening until it was blinding. Alyssa closed her eyes tightly, and when she opened them, she was standing in the middle of an open field. The grass was tall, almost reaching her shoulders, and flowers of every color were scattered as far as her eye could see. The sun was shining in the sky, lighting up with color—a soft blue—she hadn't seen it look so beautiful in a long time. Everything was perfect as she gazed around, taking in a deep breath along with the scenery.

Suddenly in the distance there was a figure, slowly making its way towards her. As he grew closer, she saw it was a boy, grinning with such a wild smile that she couldn't believe she had ever forgotten it. It was as if she'd forced herself to forget, and now even when she tried, she couldn't remember. As he approached, Alyssa could make out his features—brown hair and eyes, and a crazy grin carrying far too much energy. He laughed as he came to a halt, stopping only a few feet away. Alyssa stared at him; he was like a word on the tip of her tongue that she couldn't make out.

Just as Alyssa was about to open her mouth and ask who he was, the boy frowned,"You don't recognize me."

Alyssa's eyes grew sad as she said, "No . . . I'm afraid I do not."

The boy sighed, looking up at the sky,"Oh well," He responded, and then turned his gaze back on Alyssa, "How about we play a game?"

Alyssa smiled and nodded,"What sort of game?"

The boy rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well . . ." He said, "I suppose any sort of game is fine. How about I name a color and you try to guess what I'm thinking of."

Alyssa nodded, her grin widening as she chirped, "Okay!"

So the game began. The boy would name off a color, and Alyssa would follow it by guessing what it could be. It wasn't too difficult, considering they weren't surrounded by much besides grass, flowers, clouds, and sky—but Alyssa was sure she hadn't had this much fun in a long time. The boy would pick up handfuls of grass and throw it on her whenever she guessed wrong, but she'd get him back, grabbing his arm and yanking him down into the dirt when he wasn't looking. Between his color naming, and her guessing, and his teasing, and her taunting, she wasn't sure how long the game lasted, but every passing second the boy only grew more and more familiar.

Near the end of the game, Alyssa walked over to the boy, and he gave her a loving grin. Something so familiar and comforting, and lost—it brought tears to her eyes.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked, "Don't cry."

"I have to," Alyssa said, "I remember who you are now."