The man in front of me, Daimon Symfora, talked with my parents with eloquence — every single word was properly pronounced, his voice was melodious to listen to. He talked with respect and familiarity, all of which probably came from the countless days we spent together as kids.

Not that I remembered any.

While a little startled at first by my gaze — he termed it scary and unnerving — he got over it soon enough. He chatted with my parents for a bit. Both parties were catching up on each other. No one gave two shits about how I looked at him. That, frankly, remained the weirdest part of this entire charade.

Soon they were done. Well not quite, but they decided to call it a day. My parents at the very least. We still did not know where Mana had gone, and somehow everyone found it normal. A special case when inside the school perhaps? Soon enough, my questions were answered. A woman wearing a uniform — the non teaching staff version— came from the stairs on the other side of the hallway, with Mana in tow. Every staff member, be it the teaching or the non teaching, knew the Aika family. Apparently we had a huge hand in helping this school survive a rough time. What the events in question actually were? No one bothered to explain.

The small commotion died down, and my parents went to the Principal’s office with Mana. Much to her chagrin. It was only me and Daimon that remained. We stood in silence for a bit. Not knowing how to start our conversation. I didn’t know what to think of him. He may have been my childhood friend, but those memories were lost for me. He fidgeted around for a bit, scratching his hair.

”Umm…” He finally spoke. Thank god. “Eon?” I looked at him, waiting for his next words. For some reason, I refused to start or continue the conversation myself. Was he really my best friend? Or had something happened between us? Things did not click between him and me, the same way it did with my parents and my sister.

”Haa…” He sighed, exasperated. The conversation -- could it even be called as such? His efforts to start a conversation were talking a toll on him. 5 minutes of complete silence were enough to do the job.

“Hey man, dunno what’s gotten into you. But how about just catching up for old time’s sake?” He said, dropping his formality. Guess he just gave up. As for his question, I didn’t think much. I did not have enough information. And seeing how different I was from my previous selves, and how I influenced my surroundings differently, I knew I needed information. Whatever good or bad or gray that may have happened between us, I found it to be a requirement if I wanted to solve myself.

”Sure." One sudden thought later, " Did I call you with any nickname?” I asked, finally continued our conversation. He breathed a sigh of relief. Trying to force a conversation with anyone does end up building stress.

”Nicknames huh..” He pondered as we made our way to the stairs. Well, it was just me following him, but if I had to guess, we were going to the rooftop. A classic hangout place for everyone, be it the students or the teachers.

”You did actually. Dai. Been using that since we were kids. If I remember correctly, you said that you found my first name too long. Like, come on man. Daimon. D-a-i-m-o-n. It’s just six letters. Kinda stupid not gonna lie. “ He spoke, now in heavily informal language. It mirrored mine a tiny bit. I chalked it up to the “childhood friend” thingy.

Things were once again silent between us. But not the oppressive or awkward kind, as it was a few moments prior. It held as a “busy” silence, if that term even existed. Three floors had passed us so far. Each being a carbon copy of the previous. A small water dispenser that was periodically filled round the clock, and an actual clock above it. The dispenser lay hanging on the wall, it was the metallic kind. Did pipelines run through the walls and floors to supply water to it? Such random questions occupied my mind. And as always, a hallway extended from either sides of the stairs.

A floor once again passed, and another, and soon we opened the door to the rooftop. It followed the shape of the building, forming a C. Our entry lay at the middle of the curve, Rooms connected on both sides of it. As I took this sight in, accompanied by the towering hills in the background, Dai — let’s call him that — climbed up the mini building to the left. Some water tanks lay on top of it.

”Oi! Come up here!” He called. So I went, climbing the metal ladder to the top. I found him fiddling around with a container on the floor… I guess this was the rooftop? Whatever. In the time it took for me to comfy myself with the height, he brought out two foldable chairs.

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”…”

Daimon. Why are foldable chairs stored here exactly? Actually you know what, I don’t even wanna know. Bet I will want to throw a tantrum after hearing it.

”Hmm? What’s wrong? Have a seat.” He beckoned, adjusting to his own. Keeping my questions unanswered, I seated myself on the chair. It was comfy. Well, as comfy as a foldable chair could be anyway. At the very least it had a cushion, and it didn’t wobble.

Dai steadied his breathing, slowly taking the surroundings in. The sun was nearing towards sunset. The quickness of it probably came due to our positioning in the valley. It still had time though. So we enjoyed the rays.

”Eon. Do you never ever wonder why you have to deal with such problems?” He asked, his voice betraying his emotions. It was calm, yet suppressed. “Never mind, that was a stupid question.” He chuckled. I suppose I agreed on that. Then again, what would one even ask in such a situation?

”I was cursed.” He was startled with my sudden statement, his eyes meeting mine. Asking for confirmation.

”Well, that’s what the cathedral says. At the very least.” I continued, answering him.

”Wait, how long has it been since you lost your memory again?” He inquired.

”Today apparently.” I shrugged.

His eyes narrowed. “Today? And you’ve already been to the cathedral?” He asked, a tiny questioning edge flowing with his voice. He rubbed his eyes, and then gazed back at the outskirts. Did I forget to mention the “C” opened towards the outskirts; the hills occupying our view? Anyways.

”Is there something wrong with that?” I shot back a question.

”No… I don’t know how to put it. It’s not something… It’s not something Eon would do.” He said solemnly. The phrasing— it was off-putting.

Not something “Eon” would do huh. Right.

Sigh. “You just feel different. I already lost count of the times I’ve interacted with Eon when he lost your memory. Yet, none of those times, did Eon go to a cathedral directly. Did Uncle or Auntie think of that?” He said his words, ending them with a question.

”Yes, but not in the way you think.” I deliberated on whether I could share this information. Soon enough, I decided to shoot. But I would also follow where the arrow went. Whether it hit the bullseye or not, it wasn’t much important. What I needed to observe was the direction.

”Have I ever had memories or images come forth into mind soon after I lost them?” My first question. I knew the answer.

He rubbed his forehead for a bit, giving off a sense of internal debate. ”Somewhat yes. Eon… You. You don’t tell me these things very often, but I have heard about you yelling and shouting on certain mornings. All right on the day the memory loss occurs.” With hesitation in changing how he called the entity known as Eon, be it through acknowledgement, or through reluctance, he answered my questions. It was in line with what I had discussed earlier in the café. Whether that was good or bad, only time would tell. Next.

”It was different this time. I didn’t get any form of memory immediately. It was delayed. A bit after I entered the living room, to be precise."

"Say, what type of memories did I normally get when waking up?” My second question. His answer: “Hm... usually you would get memories about your parents, house, and Math. That last one is absurd though." He continued his quipping. " Like, the idiot has amnesia, and recovers from it. Somehow. SOMEHOW, MATH is the third thing that he remembers. Man, just how much did you — I mean Eon— I mean, ah f**k it! Just how much did you even like Math man?” The answer was line with what I had collected so far as well. Minus him fretting over what or rather, “who” he was referring to. And also him literally complaining about my love for Math. Except that weird last part, everything remained normal.

Normal.

Our following conversations, my reveal of the memories I unlocked, everything. His reaction to everything was normal. What one would expect when a childhood to react like when listening to such stuff. I kept the part of his involvement of the “Dining Table” memory to myself for the time being, only focusing on checking everything else. Checking, trying to find the reason for my reaction to when I met him. It was the memory itself yes, but I found difficulty in believing my memories to be the whole reason for it. There was something else.

Alas, I couldn’t find it. Everything was normal. The “click” that resounded when with my parents or Mana, it soon appeared with him as well. The sun had turned orange already. That’s how long our talk went. I didn’t mention much of the church, and he took the cue. Not asking anything regarding that. Instead, on one hand, he went for more mundane topics, like how I was feeling, and what difficulties I currently faced. The other, was him reminiscing about our time. And him trying to make me remember more memories. Some of which even succeeded.

The time soon touched evening, and our chat had to end. We made our way down the building, and saw most of the staff packing up their things. Daemon had most of the remaining periods as leisure; a reason why we could chat so long. He took his belongings, and we both made our way out. He informed me to carry a phone from next time as we both stepped outside the main gates. A phone. Right. Those exist. Once again, I somehow have the knowledge of everyday electronics, but not people. Anyways.

We parted, and went our separate ways. Mom, Dad, and Mana were already waiting in a park near the school grounds, they had informed me of it earlier. We caught up on what we had missed, and went home.

Things however refused to leave my mind. Everything was fine. The meeting, talk, and intimacy.

The entire interaction with Daemon; everything about it was normal.

Everything was normal. And that. Somehow, I found that to be the most abnormal part.