Chapter 60: Mysterious Memories

In that dark corridor, that place where despair lies, we all collapse. We hide in our own thoughts, miserable and in pain. We wonder, why? Why did we succumb to such terrible events?

But that is the wrong question. The right one, is how?

“How? How… how did-did this happen?” Vega wasn’t speaking about herself, though she had a lot to be upset about. A constant harassing chatter in her head, unfriendly Oligarchs, and an invasion on the horizon. Oh, and being away from her friends didn’t help, but that was neither here nor there.

Vega was speaking about Ena! This girl she knew loosely, through paper and ink. Through secondary means, not by talking or by seeing. The scarecrow felt unhappy at what she was seeing, this girl wanting to see their loved ones. But Vega could not help.

She couldn’t help them like the priestess and the vestal, or the snakeskin in the sewer, or the mermaids or prostitutes. Vega was helpless. And she absolutely hated that.

“I see. This is what Kal-Kaliber designed. This is the obstacle.” Gripping her fist tight, Vega had no doubts about it. Helping people was her main drive for most of her life, but the problem now was being unable to do it. Vega believed it, feeling a great fury in her fibers. And she was right.

“Okay, now. How do I help her? How does this place function?” Trying once more, she pressed her hand at Ena’s shoulder. Paying close attention to both her hand and how Ena moved, she identified an off feature. Her hand barely phased through her, like how one moves through thick smoke. Her form slightly shifted as her hand moved before returning to normal.

“Right-right. The place did say-say there are Soul Gems in place, so that means magic stuff. Still, this isn’t what I had in mind…” Vega was vaguely impressed, but still did not understand the purpose for this. If this was indeed a memory, why bother showing without being able to interact with it, she thought.

What she did not know yet, that she could. But, don’t let me spoil the surprise!

“Just keep going… Everything is normal.” The distorted voice coming from Ena also added another idea to Vega. Sound and how it's muffled. Ena was the least muffled out of everyone, so that means there had to be someone who was normal.

“That’s the ticket. Just… find someone.” Vega nodded to herself and pulled her guitar out. Sparing no embarrassment, she searched throughout all the school, playing as loudly and obnoxiously as she could. Running about through classrooms, standing on railings and strumming together whatever random nonsense she thought of on the spot, and generally trying to find anyone’s attention.

All of this, mind you, did not find any success. No matter how hard or loud she played, no one would pay attention. Even if she ran up to their very eyes and screamed in their very ears, nothing would happen. Of the voice distortion that everyone had, Vega’s voice stood out like fire in rain. And yet, it too was drowned out and could not withstand.

What she did find, was an alarming amount of soldiers and guards stationed both in and outside the school. There were fortresses of wood and stone being set up along the roads. Classrooms once packed with students were becoming packed with weapons and armor. All she went, she found no listeners. There was only the soft talk of students and the clinks of bronze armor.

Inevitably, she returned to the side of Ena, finding her walking outside of the school and into the countryside.

“Huh. I still don’t understand. Is it because we’re both lonely or something?”

“Possibly.”

“Really-really?!”

“No.”

“Aw… wait. Ya still don’t see me do ya?”

No response, as it seemed Ena was thinking about a totally different subject that didn’t involve talking scarecrows going through an existential crisis. Well, I personally don’t know, but I mean, come on.

“Hmm. Ya are so close and yet so distant.” Vega walked side by side with her, imagining how a conversation would have gone. A bit of confusion, a bit of wonder, and perhaps a bit of friendship. If every introduction with everyone was like that, she would save so much time. But no, she wouldn’t even be allowed to have even the displeasure of an off meeting.

“Now that ya are so close, it is kind of hard to imagine you writing all those letters. There’s gotta be more to ya than meets the eye.” As Vega stepped in front of her, walking backwards because she knew she’d bump into no one, Vega pulled out the letters and held up to her face.

“Hello? Ena, there’s a girl-girl in front of ya who has something very private! Watch out, she’s about to tear it up!” Vega playfully held the letter against her pickax but soon realizing that not even threats would work, she put it back. “Come on, there has to be something I can do. This is a challenge after all…”

“There. Home sweet home.” Ena looked through Vega’s form, making the scarecrow turn around to see what she was talking about.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

A blue brick cottage, cozy and small, built into a small and lonely hill. Not but a few hundred feet away was the opening to one of the massive mountains, making the hill seem pebble sized. Distant from the school and any other adjacent steads and groves, the only companion to it was the small farm that could be likened to a garden. Full of spinach, rokage and onions, it was ready to be picked, since that was the first thing Ena did after setting her books down on a flat stump.

“Hey, let me help- oh right. Shit! This fucking blows.” Vega kicked at the stump, feeling a slight twinge of pain in her soul. She understood it was disrespectful of Kaliber and of the tower, but she could hardly care. If she couldn’t do anything or influence the situation in any way, who would mind if she kicked a stump.

I mean, I’d probably kick the stump too to be honest.

What got her to stop was the look on Ena’s face as she collected the ripened vegetables. This bookish girl was engaging herself in manual labor, the type that didn’t fit a girl of her caliber (Ha!). Not only this, she had a slight smile as the sweat dripped on her face. Though if she was alone and suffering from it, she could still do her work and have fun with it.

“Ya know, it’s kind of been a while since I’ve done anything related to farming.” Vega walked towards and knelt beside her, going through the motions of picking the vegetables. Even if it was fake, it was a little fun playing pretend. After a while, Vega felt it was a bit too monotonous and stopped.

“Ha! To think I was ever-ever designed to be on a farm. Haha! Designed.” As the scarecrow thought of the word, she returned to one of the letters. She took care to understand its lines, for it read…

“-The Yita Mountain is still very beautiful. I spend most of my freetime there, since there are not too many people to talk to. Hearing and feeling out the strings is a lot easier within the caves. I think I’ve come up with a few names.

Musician’s Hole

Earth’s String

The Cave of Doom of Mountain Super Death

Kaliber came up with the last name.

I’ve made a friend. Literally, I made a friend. Remember the farm? Perhaps that will give you an idea.”

“...made a friend?” The idea seemed a little comical. A little girl and Kaliber made a friend? Vega threw her head back and laughed, eventually falling down.

“Haha! That’s silly, everyone knows that ya can’t just make a friend! That’s… oh shit.” Vega came to the realization of an idea. One that interested her and disturbed her. One that she felt might answer a question, but spawn so many more…

“...what if I was made by her? And that… I just don’t remember?” She had to admit that the idea had sound logic. Her love of rhythm and sounds, a strange intellect and persona, tied together in an odd and magical form. Vega took off her hat and stared at the rose. She tried to imagine the rose in the garden, the place where Ena grew her crop. This memory, Ena’s visualization of events, had to be leading up to something big. Something magical. Something involving a scarecrow.

“Kaliber put this here. It has to be to remind me. Remind me of… birth. No… creation. Of me…” Vega pressed her hand to her chest. Finally, this was it. There could be no doubts about this, this had to be the obstacle. “To see how it started. To be helpless, then to realize my power. I understand now.”

Ha.

Haha.

Hahaha! Oh shit, that has got to be the worst interpretation to this entire place I’ve ever seen. I mean, let’s be fair, the scarecrow is a bit out of the loop of context. But come on! All the silence, all the distorted, this is not the signs of birth and the start of life.

Well, I personally never had a child or ever been married, so I might not be the right person on the subject. But, you’d have to be some type of insane to think this place, that memory was anything involving a happy thing like birth. Haha!

So, dear student, allow me to save you the trouble. This is not the answer to how. Vega would not find out how soon, but only another what?

Don’t worry, Vega and her adventures have yet to find their roots and ends.

What was I saying? Oh yes, back to the scarecrow being incredibly misled.

“Alright! Finally! Some answers!” Vega ran through the door and stumbled a bit, not feeling the weight of the door on her body. “Oh, I can phase through walls and stuff too. Cool-cool.”

The cottage was aristocratic to say the least. Rugs of big animals, shelves with lined silver etchings, and sweet incense constantly burning. Thinking this was her birth home, Vega stepped carefully around, taking in it all. It was less about being careful and more about being attentive.

“Oh! I have to draw-draw this sometime. Or make a song of it. Or both-both!” Vega was giddy with excitement, keeping her eyes as open as she could. The cottage had a kitchen, a reading room the size of a closet, and a window peering out to the landscape, which now was dimming to a purple.

The scarecrow tried to pick out the words, hoping to understand or to find any clues there. But, just like the school before, it was all in Tripolian. Nevertheless, Vega started doodling on whatever paper she had on the image of the cottage. If she managed to survive the next month or so, Vega had the idea that she could visit this place.

I mean, it had to still exist, right?

“Oooh, this place is so cool. I can’t wait. What will be my first word-words? I bit it would be… cookie! Or bread-bread? Stick? I got it! It has to be-”

“Jeez, what's taking her so long?”

“Well, not that but-who’s there?” Vega had her voice. A voice from above. As she looked around, she noticed a staircase leading up. “...hello?”

Just as she asked, Ena burst through the door carrying two baskets. Setting them down in the kitchen, she wiped her face and washed her hand in a water bucket. Vega considered staying there, to see who was up there with Ena. However, her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly went up the stairs.

There wasn’t much up her except another room for books and pencils, and a door which Vega knew had to be the bedroom. For some reason there was an odd rhythm in there. Like someone playing a guitar for the first time. She pressed close to the wall, and she could tell it was someone playing the guitar for the first time. On every failed string she could hear a small curse.

“...is… is that her?”

Vega hesitated, wondering if what she thought was indeed truth. She reached out for the door but pulled back. Should she really do this? After all, the Voice keeps on speaking about how the truth might not be what she wanted. That perhaps, the truth might not set her free.

But of course, as everyone might suspect, scarecrows don’t tend to listen to voices in their heads.

Her hands reached for the door knob, and she fell forward through it. The scarecrow entered the room.

Her animated eyes met Kaliber.