She stumbled back a bit and pointed at us. Maxwell Exited the kitchen and shook his head. “Ghosts don’t exist.”
“Then how do you explain this, those two were buried, I went to their funeral.” the young lady said panicking while trying not to choke.
“I can explain it very easily, the caskets were empty, in fact that’s common knowledge. They now teach this in schools.” Maxwell rested some fingers on his temple and shook his head in disappointment. The girl came close to us and poked us each on the forehead, probably trying to observe if we were real or not. Confirming that we were real she got furious and grabbed both of us by the caller.
“You two have ten seconds to explain why you pretended to be dead.” The girl began to count, it looked like flames were spewing from her eyes.
“Wait Collette, they don’t remember anything.” Maxwell said, stopping his angered sister. We both nodded. Colette let go of us and stared us both in the eyes. She sighed and walked into the living room and sat across from us, the coffee table resting between us. “So the leader of the Tranquil Guild dies and suddenly appears again five years later. What were you doing while gone”
I leaned over to Rin and asked if we should tell them, he shook his head no, he said that this can’t be shared with anyone until we’re sure of what’s going on. I nodded agreeing.
“We just sort of woke up in the forest near the Town of Wind.” I responded, scratching the back of my head. Colette just sighs.
“I suppose I can’t be mad at someone suffering from amnesia.” She got up and headed upstairs. “You still have my axe right.” She screamed at Maxwell. Maxwell rushed up to help her find it. I turned to Rin to get his thoughts on all this.
“The orb of Mae is said to grant wishes.” I made sure my voice wasn’t audible to anyone other than Rin.
“Yeah I saw it at the museum that night.” Rin put his hand on his chin and thought deeply.
“I’ve been wondering what wish got us sent here, in fact is it possible to make another wish.”
“Let’s try it.”
“But what to wish for.” We sat there waiting for a while. Maybe an idea would pop into one of our brains if we stay silent for a while. I remembered something that Max told me about.
“I have a house in this city, said no one can enter, even if they wanted to. Maybe I can enter.” I thought about what all treasures past me kept, what all secrets were stored in there.
“Let’s check it out later today, maybe Maxwell can lead us there. Who knows how many questions this can answer.” Rin got up and went upstairs, he turned back around and looked at me.
“Let’s do this tomorrow okay, I'm still trying to figure out how to open my book.” he continued making his way upstairs. I face forward and think about how so much has happened in a couple of days, am I just supposed to accept the fact that I had two lives.
“Which life is real?” I mumbled to no one in particular.
I decided to go upstairs, I ran into Maxwell and Collette as I went up. Colette stopped walking as she passed me, confused. I stopped as well and looked at her.
“Maxwell told me not to tell anyone about you two, it’s a real shame though. The members of our guild would love to see you again.” I nodded, she turned back around and continued walking.
“You look like you haven’t aged, yet your face looks less burdened.” she waved goodbye without looking back when saying that, but I could tell the small amount of sorrow trickling in her voice.
The night was long and restless as usual, and my dreams were plagued with memories that did not belong to me. I can’t remember much about them, I only remember that I saw Collette and Maxwell in it. Jolting up awake from the sound of knocking on my door I got up and went to answer. Rin was standing there with a coat in his hand, he was obviously ready to leave. “You’re lucky I respect people’s rest, unlike you.” he sneered, probably mentioning the time I dragged him awake.
“Wash up and get ready.” He left. I stretched and headed out to take a shower. I put back on the clothes that we came in.
“I probably have to buy new clothes soon.” I said as I yawned. I went down stairs and looked for Maxwell and Rin. Maxwell was polishing a sword on the couch while sin was sitting on the floor by the coffee table sipping on tea and reading the newspaper. Rin was the first to notice me.
“Let’s go.” He said finishing the tea and putting the cup in the sink.
Maxwell got up and we headed to the door, I fixed my coat before opening it. I opened the door and was instantly shocked by the amount of guards standing by the door. Maxwell grinned at my shock expression before pulling out a walkie talkie and twisting it around in his fingers. “I called the guards to make sure no one passes the house when you two enter, it would be pretty suspicious if two hooded figures are able to enter Keith’s house when it was impossible just a few days ago.”
“But wouldn’t word get out.”
“Don’t worry these guards won’t snitch. They’re the same set of guards that saw you two enter the city. They signed a contract to keep this a secret. It was either sign the contract or pay with their lives.” he then let out a hearty chuckle, Rin joined him. I looked at them both before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and met a big toothy grin.
“Guess who’s coming. I can’t wait for my rival to get his memories back.” Colette said with a smile.
“You’re not mad about us disappearing anymore.”
“Nah, I just can’t wait for the challenges that come with having a rival.” she was basically jumping from joy.
“Now let’s go.” she said as she slapped my back. We journeyed onward. Though my back still stings a little.
This house cannot be called a house.
“This Place is a mansion!” I said excitedly as I stretched out my arms. I wonder how much riches are stored there. We stopped right in front of “my” property, the guards blocked the street so no one could enter. Luckily my house was a little far from the rest of the city though it was still within the city walls, so the only thing in front of it were trees. Seems like even in this word I liked to live a peaceful life away from everyone, just me and my treasure. “A shame we can’t follow you inside.” Maxwell said as he tried to reach his hand past the concrete sidewalk, and the grassy field that surrounded my property. His hand stopped as if a wall was blocking him.
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“But this thing is stopping us.” he said as he leaned against the invisible wall. I nodded my head and started going to the house. Slowly I stretched my foot over the rocky concrete and onto the green grass, nervous that something would push me backwards. I rested my foot on the grass, surprised I was actually able to cross. I then fully walked onto the property. I can hear the guards that were observing the whole thing gasp and saying things like, “He truly is Keith.” Continuing walking I heard the sound of something bumping into something.
“Seems like I can’t follow you.” Rin exclaimed.
“Seems like this place is specially made for me.” I boasted.
“Seems like you’re letting this get to your head.”
“Seems like I am.”
Rin just sighs and shakes his head.
“You better bring back anything that can trigger our memories. I don’t trust you doing this important task by yourself so you better not fail.” He instructs.
“Alright.” I continued walking across the yard. I noticed a walkway leading up to the building and just walked there instead. Something about this yard is strange though. The grass seems nicely kept, no overgrown vines or bushes. The black rose bushes that surrounded the vicinity looked like a professional trimmer trimmed it every day without missing a beat.
“Didn’t you say no one can enter, this place looks very well kept to me.”
“Yes, this place hasn’t changed one bit from the day you disappeared.” Colette screamed from across the yard. Reaching the stairs that lead up to the front door I placed my hand on the railing and studied the texture. I’ve lived a rich life in my world, and had many houses scattered all over the world. But this house is exactly the type of house I’ve always dreamt of. From the creamy yellow color that covers the wall, to the gold outlines and white pillars that hold this house together, even down to the texture of the stairs that I’m feeling right now is exactly how I wanted it. I froze and stared at the door now in front of me. The doors were white as snow. Not a sign of dirt or dust present. Was I a wizard or something. There is no way a house can stay this well maintained for five years without humans; in fact, it would be more believable if it was cleaned by animals, but even they can’t enter here. I slowly placed my hand on the door, scared of all the things I would find. I opened the door and stepped inside. My mind was instantly blown away by the homeyness of this place. It was majestic, but it was also calm. The foyer was gigantic and two stairs leading up to the second floor can be seen on either of the rooms. The floor looked like white crystals, while the walls were a blackish purple color. In the middle of the two staircases that curved to the middle as it reaches the floor, there was a huge painting that hung from the wall that can only be described as a a family photo. It was me and Rin. We were sitting on a bench. We looked to be around ten or nine. A young-looking Simon stood behind us, his back was straight, and his posture looked dignified. Though we looked kind of poor we also looked proud. I stood there unable to move. A light smile formed on my face as I walked closer to this oil painting.
“You were always happy huh Simon.” I muttered as I placed my hand on the painting, a light smile on my face and I shook my head. Deciding to ignore this sense of familiarness I decide to look around the house. I feel like this will take more than a day. I split up my search into four parts. Downstairs left and right, and upstairs left and right. I walked to the nearest door on my right and opened it. There was a long hallway. Many doors were on the right wall. I realized what I’ve gotten myself into. This is going to take far longer than I hoped. Rushing through all the rooms I noticed that most of these were bedrooms and chambers. Some washrooms here and there. Maybe this side was dedicated to maids, butlers and servants. I know for a fact I couldn’t get that type of help very often. Mainly because I was a criminal, and the sum that they offered to pay if anyone caught me was far greater than anything I was willing to pay to work for me. Done with the side of the mansion I couldn’t help my curiosity and decided to break my order. I headed to the upstairs balcony and opened the door on the left. It looks like both the right and left door lead to the same place. I smiled at this discovery. There weren't as many doors up here as it was downstairs, but that doesn’t mean anything. The bedrooms there were far much bigger. I found what I assume is five guest bedrooms. I even found my bedroom. I entered it and looked around. The room was massive. The minute you enter you can notice that the whole wall straight ahead was windows while there were really big curtains covering it. My bed was a king size bed that rested on the right side of the room positioned horizontally to the viewer's eyes as you entered the room. The middle the room had a skinned lion as a carpet and a wardrobe as huge as anything I’ve ever seen before was on the left, this wardrobe looked like it was made with maple wood. On the walls laid medals and trophies and directly in front of the windows laid a desk. A grand desk with a throne as its seat, it felt like everything in this room revolved around this desk. I slowly moved forward as a suffocating feeling of dread and anxiety filled my lungs the further I went into the room. Looking around it felt like everything in this room that I was just admiring is judging me. Walking behind the desk and pulling out the chair I placed my hands on the table trying to catch my breath, I looked down on the table and the feeling worsened. On the desk were maps, books and blueprints. Ancient books that spoke of powerful weapons lay there.
“The situation in Mae is getting worse, the king is requesting backup.” I can hear the voice of my informant rushing into the room. My breathing becomes heavier as I start flipping through the pages more. ” Break the orb with the weapons of legend.” The book read, “My biggest mistake was making the orb.” The book continued. I raised the book and threw it across the room. “This doesn’t say anything about where the weapons are.” I shouted at the top of my lungs, sounds of panicking and shouting filled my ears. I threw the map and books off my desk.
“Shut up!!” I screamed before hearing a loud explosion. Everything turned white and all that I’m left with is the deafening sound of ringing. I soon came to and noticed my nails gripping into the desk. I looked around and realized that I hallucinated the whole thing.
“The country of Bok tried to get rid of me.”
I held my head trying to take in that burst of information before blacking out.
Waking up I found myself laying in my bed, my body was shaking and my breathing was heavy. This contrasted the calm and pleasant nature this bed fills me with. I stared at the roof thinking back to all I saw. Those memories just now weren't mine. Or well I don’t think it is. It felt all too real and so very painful. No one should ever have to experience that feeling. I sat up in bed and looked out the window. The sun was already up and I was ready to leave this place because I was worried that it may be haunted. My suspicions were strengthened because I didn’t pass out on the bed. I picked my stuff up on a chair next to the bed and opened the door as quietly as I could. Looking around the hallways that was filled with bright natural night during the day is now filled with the dark cold blue hue of the moon’s light. These lonely halls scream in sorrow knowing that it would be empty again. I opened the front door of the mansion and left. I noticed the guards still out there holding lanterns in their hands. Rin turns around to look at me. I stopped and remembered the painting in the mansion. I reached out my hand as if something was controlling me, I reached out to Simon who was standing in the middle of a field, some child ran up to him, I was smaller than I am now. They both turned to look at me without me seeing their faces.
I snapped back into reality.
Soon the photo became the only thing I could think of before everything went back to normal. Noticing my hands are still out stretched I waved to him instead and continued going back to them.
“Finally you’re out.” Colette says in excitement.
“What did you find out?” Rin asked.
“I’m going to have to talk about that later.” I spoke softly as I placed my hand on his shoulder. I looked at the house terrified.
“I’m never going to set foot inside that building again.” I said in exhaustion, feeling like I would collapse at any moment.
The walk back to Maxwell’s was long and silent, no one spoke a word. Rin glanced my way a few times, probably trying to figure out what I saw there. I’m still trying to understand what happened there. My body felt like it was taken over by someone, the silent mansion was instantly filled with life. It made no sense.
Entering the house I tried my best to go upstairs. Going inside my bedroom I flopped onto my bed. Rin soon entered after me and sat on the couch.
“So, what did you see there?”