Unknown Memories

The cave was there just as Silandra had said, below the third hill from the large tree west of the river.

Elen looked at it, her feet were slightly aching from the walk that she had to take, breaths rushing in and out hastily.

Slowly she took the steps towards the cave. It was mid-day so everyone was busy, no one had come to the memory saver.

When she first heard that there was a cave below the hills west of Rivara River, she had refused to accept it. But now that she looked at it, it did look believable.

It was like an entrance to the hill, somehow the ancient looking stones fit with the verdant hills surrounded by green grass below the bright blue sky and a shining sun.

She could hear the serene sound of the rustling river.

She entered the cave, the floor was all black and brown stones, Elen stumbled twice.

An old lady was sitting on a chair, her arms rested on the table with a grey cloth over it. She was wearing what looked like an old dress, the cloth covering her hair but leaving her face exposed.

She had wrinkled cheeks and an old face.

She was motionless as Elen slowly walked towards the chair facing her and sat down.

There was nothing but silence.

"I am," Elen stopped.

She stayed silent for a moment, feeling almost scared.

"I am here to store my memory of my wedding," she finally said.

The lady did not speak.

She stood quietly and walked towards one of the cupboards.

With old hands, she picked up an empty vial.

She walked back and sat down.

Elen and the lady faced each other again, a dreadful silence and an eye contact that felt as deep as the ocean.

"The fourth finger of the left hand," the lady spoke, her normal voice seemed daunting but had a soothing demeanor, "is the one of love. Place the hand on the table."

Elen did as she was told.

The lady held the finger, her touch feeling surprisingly normal. She closed her eyes and started mumbling what seemed like incantations.

She opened her eyes after a few moments and inserted the vial in Elen's finger.

She went again to the cupboard to arrange a few things.

"Do not try to think about the memory for 3 days, keep yourself away from those thoughts or your entire memory will get disrupted. I will give you a liquid made of honey and lemon, drink a cup each day. Come again tomorrow near this time, your memory will be ready by the third day," the lady said.

She took out the vial from Elen's finger.

"Go," she said.

Elen walked away quickly, and left the cave as fast as she could.

She did not understand why she did, but it felt the right thing to do.

Her marriage would now forever be with her, the memory being stored in the vial, with her having access to it at any given time, being able to relive the memory vividly and lucidly.

She had met Ornel when she was eleven, sixteen years later they were finally married.

Both of them had decided to save enough money to store their memory all those years ago.

Ornel was a farmer's son and she was too, neither of them had a lot of money.

The moment was surreal, each second an epiphany.

Elen went home.

The day passed by and Elen found herself taking the path to the cave again with her friend Amma.

She needed to retrieve a memory for her aunt that lived east of the river.

There was another person in there as well.

Elen recognized the vial that the lady had used on her. A blue liquid was slowly starting to form inside it.

A similar looking vial was placed on the other man's index finger.

The man left after the lady told him to, Amma finished her business and paid the old lady.

The lady took Elen's finger without saying a word and closed her eyes for a moment.

"You are fine," she said, and went back to the chair.

Elen and Amma exited the cave and walked towards their homes.

"How can the memory be relived?" Elen asked her friend.

"You put it over water and put your hands on the same liquid," Amma replied.

She continued, "The vial is unbreakable, it is some sort of magic, and the liquid cannot be spilled as well, so there is no way of anyone losing their memories."

They talked and walked, and reached home.

Finally the day came to retrieve her memory. Elen went to the cave with the money and saw the lady on leaving.

She gave the money to the lady.

"I need to refill my bottle, stay here for a while."

Elen did as she was told.

She sat at her chair.

There were two vials, one was hers, and one was the stranger's. Hers was the left one, she remembered.

She had already paid for it, and there was a bowl of water, so she decided to try it.

It was the other man's memory.

The memory surrounded her, vividly running in her mind.

The man was standing in a room made of wood, a long axe in his hand. Before him was a women lying on the floor with two children in her arms, the floor beneath and around her was red.

Elen's heart pounded furiously, she could feel her swear even inside the memory.

The woman looked at the man, and before Elen could comprehend anything, the woman ran like the wind and crashed her head to the man's axe.

Elen snapped out, she fell out of the chair, panting, gasping for breath.

Her hands were trembling, dread and horror running through her veins and bones.

A sudden realization, the lady might return any moment.

Her body forced her back to the chair, she wiped her sweat and tried to calm down.

By the time the old lady returned she thought herself to appear normal.

The lady handed her the vial and Elen left without a word.

As soon as she got out of the cave, she ran like she never had. Only hoping that the old lady did not have a way to find out.