Episode 3: The Missing Memories

Lily’s desperate message hung in the air: “Help me.” The boys exchanged confused glances, each wondering what she truly needed help with. Just then, the school bell rang, but none of them were in a hurry to leave.

Paul turned to Lily, his expression serious. “We have to get to class. Let’s meet after school at Nathan’s. You can explain everything then.” He started to walk away, with Travis immediately trailing behind.

“Are you serious?” Travis whispered urgently to Paul. “I’m not going anywhere!”

“Sure,” Paul replied calmly, not looking back.

Lily watched Nathan, her face a mixture of worry and determination. Nathan extended his hands to retrieve his sketchbook, looking at her with concern. “We’ll meet after class, okay? Don’t worry, we’ll help you.” With that, he turned and walked away.

After school, the three boys made their way to Nathan’s house. When they entered his room, they found Lily waiting for them, her expression still tinged with urgency. Travis, who had been reluctant to come, had ultimately followed his friends.

They all sat on the floor, and Lily joined them, her presence still ethereal. The atmosphere was tense, and after a few moments, Paul broke the silence. “So, Lily, what do you need help with?”

Lily opened her mouth slightly, and the boys leaned in closer to read her lips. “Find me,” she spelled out.

Travis scooted back, fear creeping into his eyes. “What?!”

Nathan felt confused. “Find you? But you’re here…”

Paul, always the analytical one, pressed further. “Do you want us to find your body?” He added, “Where is your body?”

Nathan chimed in, his expression serious. “And what happened to you?”

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Travis shrank back even more at these questions, clearly frightened by the implications.

Lily hesitated, her lips parting as if to respond. The boys watched her intently, waiting for the answer that would shed light on her situation. Finally, her lips spelled: “I don’t know.”

Paul’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You don’t know? How can you not know? Did your death happen so suddenly that you didn’t realize you were gone?”

The flood of questions seemed to overwhelm Lily. She looked lost as she mouthed, “I don’t remember.”

Paul frowned, his mind racing. “You don’t remember… Great.” Lily looked at Nathan with eyes full of worry, Nathan turned to Paul with the same look on his face, only for Paul to shrug his shoulders.

Travis piped up with a shaky voice, “Maybe she’ll remember something if she sees herself in the news?”

All three slowly turned to him, surprised by the suggestion. It was actually a good idea. Paul remembered his computer at home. “Let’s change locations and head to my house. We can look it up there.”

The others agreed, and they walked to Paul’s house. Once inside his room, Paul sat at his computer and began typing furiously: “Lily Gaunth Petruel.” The screen filled with information about her case.

“Lily, why don’t you take a seat?” Paul offered, gesturing to the chair. She sat down and began scanning the screen, her eyes darting over the text and images.

A few moments passed before she turned to them, disappointment written all over her face. Paul raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

She shook her head sadly, clearly having not recalled anything from the information.

The boys sighed in unison. “What now?” Travis asked, still in disbelief. “What if we summoned a different Lily?”

The other three shot him exasperated looks. How could one person come up with both good and utterly ridiculous ideas?

Lily returned her focus to the screen, and then suddenly, she spotted a photograph of her family. Her expression shifted, and she began to say something, but the boys couldn’t read her lips in time. Nathan blurted out, “What’s wrong?”

The room went quiet as they all watched her, hoping for an answer. Her lips formed the words: “I remembered my family!”

Paul groaned in frustration. “And that’s it? Nothing else? Great, that’s super useful.”

Nathan noticed the melancholy in her eyes. He has no idea how a dead one's spirit could feel after seeing their devastated family. What was in her mind? “I’m so sorry,” he said softly, wishing he could ease her pain. But she showed no reaction.

Paul paced around the room, deep in thought. “Alright, we have three days until break. Lily, take some time to think and remember the details. We’ll go to your town, and we’ll figure this out.”

“Yeah,” Nathan added. “Don’t worry, just try to recall anything we can hold onto.”

Lily nodded, her resolve firm despite her earlier fears.

Just then, Travis, with a look of innocence, interrupted, “Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. If a summoned spirit’s wish isn’t fulfilled within ten days, it might get stuck in this world and could turn into a vengeful spirit.”

All three turned to him, eyes wide in shock. Paul exclaimed, “Where did you get that information?”

Travis replied innocently, “My mom told me.”

Nathan buried his head in his hands, overwhelmed. “Ten days? So we only have eight left? And three days until break? What are we going to do?”

Realization hit Travis, and panic set in. “Oh no… And she doesn’t remember anything… We’re running out of time!”

Lily, Nathan, Travis looked at Paul with despondent eyes. He could read “Come on, Paul. Say something," in their faces. “Okay, listen,” Paul said sharply. “No panicking. We only just learned about her wish today, so the countdown starts now. We have these three days to plan how we’ll search in her town, and she’ll use that time to try and remember. If we stick to the plan, we can make it.”

As expected from the brain of their trio, he filled them with hope. The boys nodded, a renewed determination in their eyes. The countdown had begun. Would they be able to help Lily before it was too late?

***

To be continued...