ONE (Book 1 in the Amnesia Archives)

Chapter 30

I was frozen in shock, staring at the familiar figure with a look of confusion and horror. This lady who I thought had been dead for years was standing in front of us in flesh and blood. Or at least I thought that she was flesh and blood.

Upon further inspection, I realised that she wasn't made of flesh and blood at all. The woman in front of me seemed to almost be of the same materials as Onyx and Senka. She was completely monochrome, and her movements were fluid.

Her hair was black and inky, and it fell like a waterfall around her slender shoulders. Her skin was a light grey colour, and she wore a dress which blended seamlessly into her hair. Her features were motherly and peaceful. Her black eyes were like staring into the void which provided comfort and release after you screamed into it during a stormy night all alone in your room as you fail to sleep.

Senka had seemed to sink into the woman, causing the woman's head to lift and tilt from side to side. "Finally," she said. Her voice sounded incredibly familiar yet distorted at the same time. I was unsure if I was simply hearing Senka's voice, or if I was hearing the voice of our old babysitter.

"What?" Aknon asked, completely speechless. "What?"

Our babysitter cleared her throat before actually looking at us with a sheepish smile, "Hi." She gave an excited wave. "Again, hello, hi, yes it's me."

"Who?" Prin asked, probably not understanding why I and my siblings reacted in such a shocked way. "Who are you?"

Our babysitter grinned, expression brightening as she stepped forward. "Senka," they replied with a shrug. "I'm the same person you've been travelling with."

I shook my head and stumbled backwards. "No, you're not Senka," I denied. "Senka is a little adorable doll who just sank into your shadowy flesh. Senka is my doll." I sounded like a true child, but I didn't care. "You're our babysitter."

She nodded. "And what beautiful babies you were." She reached out and stroked my head, just as she used to do, her hand trailing down my cheek and tapping my chin before she turned to Sarphi and Aknon. "All of you have grown to be beautiful adults."

I felt myself beginning to come out of my shock. I slowly turned to face her as she moved to Sarphi and Aknon and did the exact same thing she'd done to me. It was something that she'd done when we were children to calm us down.

"And Prin," she said as she turned to the young girl. "You're absolutely perfect for our little girl. And now I can do what I've wanted to do for ages." 'Senka' brought Prin in for a tight hug, swaying them side to side. "Such a precious being, perfect for this lot."

Prin looked mortified as she just let herself be squished and rocked. "Erm, thank you?" She sounded very unsure, the tone completely defining this entire situation. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understand." At least she was being polite.

"I'm the one who used to babysit these three," Senka replied, gesturing to my siblings and me. "Of course, it was a very hush hush situation. But I was able to look after them rather well, if I do say so myself." Her chin was high, and her eyes were glimmering.

"But how can you be the same person?" Sarphi asked, shaking her head. "And how come you were a doll? And why didn't you tell us?" Sarphi's expression was growing more and more insulted the more she talked. "She left us alone for years in that traumatic house and then we came on this adventure all on our own."

"What?" I asked. "No, our babysitter was with us for absolute years, she saw us off when we began adventuring."

"No, she didn't." Aknon shook his head. "She left around six months before we began adventuring."