It was never effortless to love Aaron Warner. He was a difficult teenage boy who seemed to forget a lot of the time that that was what he was-a teenage boy. He'd always felt that loving or even caring for him would be impossible for all the world to...
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MY HEAD IS spinning by the time I wake up. My ears are still ringing yet I'm strangely comfortable. As I rub my forehead, I dare to glance down and the puzzlement encompassing me is incomparable.
I'm sitting in a child's twin bed. Pink sheets. Pink pillows. Pink fairy blankets. And there, on the floor, are toys, pink tiaras, pink princess heels and DVD's of Disney movies. There's a tiny TV in the corner and I realize that it's one where you can only watch DVD movies. Shelves and shelves of books and music records stand in the corner, dusty and old, like no one has dared to touch them in years.
Cautiously, I take a peek at the pink carpet on the floor and I swallow before letting my feet land on the soft surface. I have to take a few deep breaths before I can actually stand, my head throbbing and my pulse has rocketed sky-high. I feel so sick. Like I'm going to puke any second now.
With a brief closing of my eyes, I make my way over to the window, in desperate and idiotic hope that I can somehow tear it open and escape. But the view catches my breath, holding it hostage. I'm staring at a view of the sun setting in an orange-pink shade beyond the snow-tipped mountains that stand behind a glimmering, turquoise lake. This place is gorgeous.
It occurs to me then that I can't possibly be in North America anymore.
Did they—oh God.
They took me to Oceania.
Before I allow myself to throw up, I distract myself by opening every possible drawer in this place. Photos fall out; hundreds of polaroids and it kills me but I don't even look at them; I rip at the drawers, letting a million other toys tumble out.
But so does a letter.
Curiosity nearly kills me when I steal it from the floor and read through it:
M & E— All is well. The orphanage took the money and agreed to keep her. No sign of powers yet, but we'll keep a close eye on her. Still, I must advise you to put her out of your mind. I know that won't be difficult for you, M, but, E, you must. She, Ella, and Emmaline have had their memories expunged. They no longer ask about you or each other. This will be my last update. P. Anderson.
Finally, I dare to turn around and have to hold onto the windowsill when I see the polaroids clearly.
Three little girls stand in the first picture I see, all of them wearing matching purple summer dresses. They can't be older than five to six years old or so. One of them is blond, she stands in the middle with the biggest smile at the camera as they all eat their ice creams. The smaller girl, the brunette to her left, smiles at her.
I grab the photo, dropping to my knees and examining it again before turning it over and slapping my hand to my mouth: Ella, Eden, Emmaline, eating ice cream on Ella's fourth birthday!
The next one I snatch from the ground is of the same blond girl, doing a puzzle on a living room floor with a girl that has wavy brown hair and olive tanned skin. Eden & Nazeera playing before dinner.
The third one I study is one of the blond girl, hugging a blond boy with green eyes really tightly, so tightly he looks like he's turning blue. Eden & Aaron. He just told her she looks pretty!
I stuff that picture into my pocket for future comfort and focus on the next polaroid: it's just the blond girl. Eden. She's sitting on a little dock platform by a lake, smiling toothily at the camera with her thumbs up.
Eden for the last time.
The last time? What?
More pictures follow: more of this Eden girl with the two brunette girls, whom I assume are her sisters, and more of her with Aaron, with her father, pictures of Anderson and his wife.
The door suddenly swings open and in front of me stands the same woman from earlier—the one who claimed to be the supreme of Oceania—and she beams down at me, solemn and sad, like she's missed me.
"Hi, darling," she says. "Are you ready for dinner? Come on, it's getting cold, Eden!"
And I faint.
———————— 16.01.2024
i chose the name "eden" because it means "place of pleasure and delight" bc that's so mara coded ❤️🩹❤️🩹
