As I analyzed the faces around me, I felt someone watching me. Were they the same three people I had described in my mind? The man mumbled something, and I tried to listen.
— "(...) Me?..." — Slowly, I began to understand the words coming from his lips.
— "Do you remember your name?" — the Greek-looking man asked.
— "Y-Yes... my name is Kēdeia," — I replied, my throat scratching with every vibration of my vocal cords.
The man gave me a brief smile, as if trying to comfort me, or perhaps it was a nervous smile. He then introduced himself.
— "I am Hubris." He hesitated, as if testing the name on his tongue. — "And she is..."
— "Lascivia," — interrupted Hubris, finishing the introduction.
Even though it was the first time they introduced themselves, they looked at me as if expecting some kind of reaction from me. Perhaps a spark of memory that would light up on my face as I heard their names.
I turned my gaze to the man beside Lascivia. He seemed to understand the question my eyes were asking.
— "My name is Invidere," — he replied.
The coldness of the sand was still present, but now, with my mind more alert, I began to feel the weight of the situation. My head ached, and I found myself trying to remember something... anything that could explain where we were. But there was nothing. Nothing but my name.
— "Are you okay?" — Lascivia's soft voice pulled me back to reality. I looked at her, unsure how to answer. Okay? How could anyone be okay in a situation like this?
— "Where... are we?" — My voice came out hoarse, as if I hadn't used it in ages. The words burned in my throat, as if they were also covered in sand.
— "If only we knew," — replied a man with torn clothes, standing near the tide. He held a cell phone that didn't seem to work, fiddling with it as if that would solve something. — "None of us knows. We woke up... just like you." He shrugged, as if that were the most reasonable explanation, though nothing about it made sense.
I turned to the other two — Hubris and Lascivia. They seemed to expect something from me, as if I could be the key to solving this. I didn't want to disappoint them, but I had nothing to offer but my name.
— "I am... Kēdeia," — I said softly, as if confirming it was a relief. At least I knew that much. Hubris nodded slowly, his eyes still analyzing my every move.
— "All we remember are our names," he said, as if rehearsed. — "Nothing more. Just... shadows." His voice sounded distant, yet carried a strange weight, as if expecting more from me than I could give.
— "This is madness," — I muttered, more to myself than to them.
The tension in the air was palpable, but words no longer seemed useful. Then, one of the other figures in the distance let out a bitter, sarcastic laugh.
It was a burly man, his face marked by worry lines and accumulated anger. His hands were clenched into fists, as if he were always on the verge of exploding. His black eyes, almost threatening, gleamed with impatience, and his dark hair was as dense as the night's darkness. Tattoos covered much of his body, suggesting a turbulent past, like that of a delinquent. His name? Ah, yes... it was Roth, at least that's what my ears told me.
— "Madness? This is way worse than that," he growled, fists clenched. — "Waking up on a beach with no memory? We must've been kidnapped, or worse!"
— "I disagree," — said Invidere, looking out at the sea, where darkness stretched endlessly. — "This feels more like an accident..."
A Pleasant View
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