The three-story house

Part 12: The Lost Memory

James!

Yes.

James!

"Yes!"

"How did you...?"

" I know my name?" he finished my question.

"Yes. How did you know your name was James?"

"Indeed, a while ago, you started calling me James. To my surprise, no one seemed to be surprised. That is why I figured it out."

"I see. So do you remember anything about yourself, James?"

"Yes, a little bit about my mother. I remember my mom calling me "my sweetie" and hugging me.

"What did she look like?"

"I cannot remember her face, only her beautiful voice like that of a singer's, and that is all."

"I see. So do you remember anything about me!?" I accidentally spilled the beans about my dream.

"So you do know about us?" he asked.

"I just dreamt about you and me, but I still do not remember."

"I may be able to make you if you want to remember us. I mean everything about you."

"So you can erase memories and recall them too?"

"Yes! I just knew it when I remembered about myself, but still, there are so many things I can't remember, especially about my childhood."

"So you want me to?" he asked again.

"I was eager to know about me, but now it scares me, and I do not know why."

"But... what if I die in the fight with the red snake?

I may regret that I had not known about my past!

Make me!"

He came closer to me and put his palm on my head. Then he asked me to close my eyes. After a minute or so, even though my eyes were closed, I saw visuals spinning around, and then the pieces came together to form scenes. So my memory finally arrived!

My memory 

Since I was a child, I knew I was different. No one except my brother ever appreciated my weird gift. I dreamt of the past, future, and strange things. Whenever I went to a haunted place, I visualized the ghost or the creature in my dream exactly as it was. I felt the energy, so I could tell whether it was evil or harmless. But, more than that, sleeping about horrible future events that I could not change was the hardest. In other words, sleeping was a real torture for me.

On countless nights, I tried my best not to sleep or tried every superstitious thing that I believed might keep me from dreaming. Nothing ever worked. Then my only family, my brother, passed away. I could not save him from death, even though I had dreamed of it. I could not...

My life was so measurable that I could even take my own life without regret.

I wanted to go somewhere where I could find myself in a new light. So, I went abroad.

There, I met James. We were both weird and special. That is why we quickly became close. He erased my memories of how I was being discriminated against for being different and of how my brother died. Thanks to him, I was able to lead my life happily. He was my savior!

Then I suddenly remembered that he told me about his mother: that she was a judge in a strange place, and she was killed there. Then the jury sent James here when he was a child for his safety.

He also mentioned that judges in the village wore only white clothes to symbolize innocence and purity. They also did a strange ceremony by covering them up in a white cloth and fasting for several days. It made them contact with the center of the earth and reached the core energy, which sharpened their unique abilities.

Because he had the ability, he told me he would be called like his mom.

One day, that time came. He did not want to go, but he needed to know about his mom's death. That is why James left me, promising we would meet again. Then he followed the small flame that appeared in our room and disappeared along with it.

I was lost and lonely again. Every day was unbearable without him. His smile and his words always cheer my soul and brighten my life.

Seven months passed, and he did not come back. I knew there was something wrong.

But then one night, I dreamt about a woman. She was wearing an old garment and looked a little pale. She put her hand on my head and whispered, "You will be there soon with my son... Her voice shuddered there, but she continued, "But you have to forget about everything so that he will be safe.".

She erased my memory and called me to this place! I cried.

I came back from the past, and now James was holding my hand.

"Who erased your memory?"

"Your mom, I guess."

"But she passed away a long time ago!"

"She contacted me in my dream! She erased my memory and called me to the village to help you!"

"My mom was a judge!?"

"Yes. She was, and she died when you were only seven! And you went here to know why your mom died and who the killer was."

I was still grabbing the knife. But I knew we needed to reveal the secret of James' mother's death before making any moves. My intuition told me that there was something strange about the two women I dreamt of: the woman killed by the red snake and James's mother. Was the woman his mother?

They looked similar, but James's mom had a voice, a soft one, but the other one had no voice at all and looked paler.

James!

"I think the judge I dreamt of was your mother". "Thus, the red snake killed my mother!?"

"I reckon so. But we need to ask the leader about it. I do not want to make any assumptions."

We rushed to the leader's room. When we were about to knock on the door, he opened it beforehand and looked unsurprised as he was waiting for us.