It was evening, a few hours past dusk. Lexi had spent the past hour or so staring at the ceiling. Soft snores echoed around the rooms as she contemplated. As thoughts occupied her mind, a sigh escaped her mouth.

What happened?

Six months have passed since she woke up in this church. She had arrived in the middle of summer, and now it was the midwinter. Her first week was spent in the medical room. The nuns kept moving in and out, constantly checking on her recovery progress. They asked if she needed anything… Information would’ve been great.

The nuns had said that she looked eight. She couldn’t remember. Didn’t even know she was a harpy before Nun Fauna pointed it out.

Is anyone looking for me?

Occasionally, she spotted other kids by the doorway. Like the nuns, they were from various races, and most of them looked young. They’re probably around my age.

Their heads would peek around the corner, eyes glimmering with curiosity. But they never entered. Sometimes they stood by the door and stared. Their gaze felt unnerving, so she would pull up the blanket and hide from them. Why do they just watch?

After a week in recovery, she spent the next two learning—relearning the common language. Nun Fauna and Nun Rose took turns teaching her the different characters and how to recognize them. She reviewed the lessons every afternoon and quickly grasped the basics in two weeks. They told her she probably recognized the language subconsciously—that her memories weren’t lost. Just hidden, buried in the depths of her mind.

That she would soon remember. She hoped so too.

But there’s been no information. No reports. No accidents. No fire. No missing child.

Afterward, she started learning the continental language, Lucinic. She definitely found it more difficult than common, and that meant she was actually learning something new. Knows common. Doesn’t know Lucinic.

Since Lucinic gave her trouble, she spent more time reviewing in the library. During this period, the other children began approaching her. They were somewhat cautious around her but the company was nice. One of the older kids, June a merfolk, helped her review. She was a few years older, had lived in the church since she was three, and didn’t ask for her name.

So… what happened? Why was I there? And why was there fire?

She lost hope after a month of silence.

Everything was quiet. Like none of it happened. Like everything was a figment of her imagination. Like it was just a bad nightmare.

It didn’t help that her memories blurred with time. Eventually, she resigned to her new life. She accepted. She accepted the new identification, new name, new home, new everything.

Lexi, eight years old. Creta.

She attended Lucinic lessons while reviewing diligently. It took over five months to grasp the basics of the language, but that made sense. She was starting from scratch, needing to learn both speech and writing. As she studied, Lexi grew closer to June and the half-orc Inu. June helped her practice and corrected any bad habits. Sometimes they would talk for hours. Or June shared the latest news while Lexi listened. Occasionally, Inu barged into the library and interrupted their study sessions. He would plead for help, but it helped their relationship grow.

When Nun Fauna introduced her name to everyone, the entire group rushed to greet her. Their grins were wide and full of genuine happiness.

She stiffly smiled in response. She didn’t know how to feel—didn’t know how she felt.

As time passed, she grew used to it, the name.

Recently, Lexi finished Nun Rose’s basic Lucinic lessons. She would soon be transferred into the intermediate class. But it would be boring.

June couldn’t make most of their study sessions because she was busy learning magic. Inu didn’t have time to interrupt since he needed to train. She hadn’t realized it, but her friends had distracted her from thinking.

Now that she was alone, her thoughts wandered to her past and present, maybe a little future too.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A child, who couldn’t remember her past, lived with people—strangers—who decided to care for her. The fact that she couldn’t remember anything beyond a fire made her anxious and worried. And no one else heard of or knew about the events.

These were some of the concerns that recently haunted her.

As the thoughts swirled in her mind, a soft knock echoed from the door. Her roommates twisted in their sleep from the noise.

The door gently creaked open, and Rose popped her head through. She glanced around the room and spotted Lexi staring at her. Rose motioned for Lexi to come outside.

Lexi stiffly nodded her head and shuffled out of bed. As she crept across the room, a roommate turned in her sleep. Lexi stiffened as she waited for them to stop stirring. Then, she slipped out.

“How have you been, darling? Are you having a good night?” Rose gently addressed her. She stood in the hall with hands behind her back.

Lexi simply lowered her head, avoiding Rose’s gaze. “It’s been okay.”

“I heard from your friend that you’re interested in herbs. Would you like to take an herbalism class?”

Her shoulders jumped a little. She slowly looked up and into Rose’s eyes before nodding.

A little startled by their distance, Lexi took a step back.

“Great. We’re starting tomorrow afternoon, so make sure to be there.” Rose stretched out her arms, revealing a bounded journal and quill pens.

She passed them to Lexi. “These are a gift for completing my lessons and starting a new class.”

“Thank you,” whispered Lexi. In her eyes was a spark of wonder and joy.

“You’re welcome, dear.” Rose smiled. “Now back to bed.”

Lexi stared at Rose for a moment before nodding and exiting the hall. She hugged the items as she scurried to her bed and sat on her bed. In the darkness, Lexi ran her fingers across the journal’s spine, feeling the ridges. Then, she placed the journal and quill under her pillow, closing her eyes for the night.

------

The next day, Lexi woke up to chirping birds and scampering feet. As she blinked awake, she saw her roommates rushing to dress for the day. Lexi got up, rushing to complete her morning routine, and followed them to the hall. It was almost time for morning prayers.

As their group shuffled into the praying hall, she took a seat beside Saxa.

Saxa was a seven-year-old reptilian, the younger sister of Nun Frida, and one of her two roommates. Lexi officially met her during a Lucinic class. Saxa was lively and a little sneaky, constantly playing tricks or sneaking away from the lessons. Despite that, she was one of the fastest learners and best students. She mastered the basics in four months and soon started learning tracking from Nun Alena.

“Psst.” Saxa nudged Lexi’s arm with her long green tail. “How long do you think today’s prayers are gonna last? Yesterday’s felt like forever.”

“I don’t know.” She paused. I should talk more. “But hopefully not long.”

Although this was a church of Yunar, Lexi didn’t worship the god. She knew nothing about and didn’t feel anything towards him. For her, morning prayer time was time she could have been reviewing.

But she couldn’t complain when everyone else made time for the prayers.

Everyone sat upright as High Priestess Allison stood on the podium and began the prayers.

------

“Hey! Lexi, right? Are you free today? Do you wanna come exploring with me?” Saxa promptly asked as they exited the dining hall. It was the morning, and she was already giddy.

Lexi shook her head. “I’m starting my herbalism today and want to prepare.”

“Oh! Then we can go tomorrow.”

Saxa shook her hand, promising to go exploring the next day. Lexi went to the library for her daily chores. Today, she was responsible for cleaning the library with Jules and Nun Alena. The three gathered around a table and distributed the tasks.

“Okay, I’ll dust the non-fiction and biography sections. Jules, adult and young adult. And Lexi will do the teens and children’s section. Any questions?” Alena divided the areas with her duster as she regarded the two. They quickly shook their heads. “Then let’s get started! This should take us two hours tops.”

Jules, an eight-year-old human, dashed towards his section with a duster. Lexi knew he was familiar with the library because she occasionally saw him grabbing a book. Besides that, she didn’t know much more about him.

Lexi turned towards the children’s section and began dusting.

In Creta, there were three public libraries: Yunar, Riolar, and the city library. Although the church libraries were generally smaller, many still visited. City dwellers sometimes visited after Monday prayers, but she mostly saw the local townspeople. They often came in the evenings after work.

Everyone was kind,.. maybe a little intrusive. They asked about Lexi’s interests, friends, and… family. While she knew they meant well, it still made her uncomfortable.

Alena frolicked as she cleaned, her dark gray tail constantly sweeping across the air and fluffy ears bobbing to a beat. She surprised Jules and Lexi whenever she seemed to appear from nowhere. Jules jumped in fright when Alena popped out from behind a shelf. He knocked his head against the shelf. Her seemingly limitless energy startled Lexi, causing her to knock over some books. Despite some accidents, the three of them managed to clean the library in under two hours.

“Great job team! Do you guys need any more help?” Alena exclaimed. The two shook their heads. “Welp. Then, I’m gonna go prepare for morning lessons.”

As Alena bounced away, Jules and Lexi watched her tail sway in a beat. Jules commented, “Sister Alena is really energetic.”

“... Yeah.”

After completing her chores, it was time for morning lessons. Lexi walked back to her room to grab her journal and quill. She met Saxa in the hallway, and the two headed towards their novice Lucinic class.