Trip Down Memory Lane 1 A Girl Named Valera

It is also the time where the girl suddenly lost her important memories. Even though it is important for her, she wouldn't mind because she thinks that she doesn't need them when the place around her is enough for her satisfaction. So much that she immediately ignored the loss of her memories.

But then...

"I will never leave by your side, Valera."

Her eyes widened a bit and stopped focusing on the flowers. That sentence alone makes her curiosity grow wider. In that point in time, Valera stood up and looked at the sky, finally thought to herself-

'Who am I?'

Chapter 1-A girl named Valera

Valera walks back to where her memories began. She slightly remembered that the first thing that she saw was a big tree. It has a large trunk, big enough to support the millions of leaves attached in each branches.

She approaches to that tree to look for clues.

But instead of focusing on her memories, she unconsciously makes herself daydream.

The groups of waving leaves are enough to make her feel asleep. Valera's body felt weak, but she also feels calm.

"Hey! Valera!"

Hearing someone shouting, she escaped from the world of dreams and goes back to her senses. She looks around to find the one who called her.

"Up here!"

Valera looked up, but found nothing. She takes another but closer look.

She saw something floating between the two tree branches.

It's a spirit. She thought that it's a human that called her but it's just a floating ball of blue flame.

The spirit noticed her gaze at himself and goes down to her.

"Going out with your own again? You know you should've told me beforehand. I'm worried about you, you know?"

The spirit's voice has a deep but rather soft tone. It's like she's talking to a narrator of some sort.

"..." Valera stared at the spirit with a little bit of confusion on her mind.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Even if she's on her 20s, the spirit acts like a protective parent.

"...who are you again?"

"..." The spirit went silent.

"...I don't know what's on your mind, Valera. But if you're playing with me, I really don't know what to react."

"I'm sorry if it's rude but, I really don't remember who you are."

Valera had a sense of honesty on her face. The spirit noticed it and knows that she's telling the truth.

The spirit follows with a sigh.

"...Did you eat some sort of flower on the way?"

"?"

"As you can see, I am a spirit that acts as your guardian. As the t.i.tle states, I'm here to accompany you and protect you from any harm."

"And whose authority ordered you to do such thing?"

"...No one, apparently. I'm just here for my own intentions."

Then Valera remembered something. It is only a vivid image, but she saw a man holding his arms unto her, hugging her. She did not know that person, but as she remembered it, her heart skipped a beat. She tried to hold her chest to contain such emotion of hers. This representation of her memory gave her a light in a dark room filled with despair and anxiety. At this moment, she knew...

That person is important to her.

So much that forgetting that person makes her feel regretful of herself.

"...Valera?" The spirit called her again.

"Spirit, do you know about my past? Do you know the person I once loved?"

Valera spouted a few questions that the spirit felt confused of which question he should focus.

Then she said the last question that piques the spirit's interest.

"Who am I, Spirit?"

He paused for a second.

"Do you know what you're saying, Valera?"

"Hm?"

"Do you really want to recover your memories?"

"Yes." Valera answered without a second thought. He can see her eyes that she's determined to know the truth about herself.

"...Follow me." The spirit floats through south of the giant tree and Valera followed him.

As they walk around, she looked around to ease herself again. Even if she saw this scenery a few minutes ago, she can't help but feel amazed.

Around her revolves to an endless flatlands and a calm wind to move the gra.s.s and the flowers. She looked up and the scenery of the light blue sky and moving clouds that resembles most of the cutest animals she knew comes forth into her eyes.

This very scene has burnt into her memory, making herself declare this as the first new memory that she doesn't want to forget.

Few hours of walking and they're finally near the place that the spirit wants her to see. Although it is a 5 hour walk, she doesn't feel sluggish and tired. Instead, she's entirely focused at the place around her that she already forgot the time.

In front of them, lies the forest. The trees in that forest mostly resemble the tree she saw earlier. Most of the trees are enormous and some of them are bigger than the others.

Both the spirit and Valera enters through the forest.

As she goes past the gigantic trees, the scene in front of her seems to be much better than the fields.

Since the season is currently spring, the leaves are mostly green and only few of them are falling. Just the falling of those leaves makes her peaceful. The winds in this area is less slower and weaker than the time she was in the fields but the feeling of these winds makes her think that the world slowed down. The leaves of these trees blocks the light of the sun but the bits of it pa.s.sed through the tree's defenses, leaving a ray of light in the gaps of the leaves.

All of these make her go at ease out of tranquil.

And at last, they arrived.

In front of them is a well. It is mostly made of polished rocks and looked manmade. There's also water inside the well as well.

"Valera, this is a well that helps you travel through worlds. In those worlds contains most of your memories and going through all of them can help you remember what you once lost and forgot."

"Is that so...?" She looks inside the well. The water inside the well formed a whirlpool. Looking at it makes her doubt that she can travel through worlds alive just in that whirlpool.

"Just to let you know, Valera, the reason why I questioned you back then because in the past, you told me that you don't want to go there again."

"I said that?!"

"The reason is probably because you're afraid. You've been there once and at the time you came back, you kneeled while looking at the floor, and you looked like you saw the personification of fear itself."

"..." As Valera heard him, she thinks to herself a little.

"Even with my warning, you still want to go?"

Valera slightly knows herself as a person who just wants to be happy. She doesn't want to go to danger and risk herself even once because she just wants to be contented.

Then she remembered the person she saw in her memory. Just remembering that person's voice and what it did to her makes her feel more contented. More than the scenery she saw before. So much that she forgot the danger she will face in her journey. Instead, she is determined to know that person.

To make her feel contented once again.

Valera answered the solid Yes to the spirit.

"..." Despite his warnings, he still can't make her walk away. He just wants her to get out of danger. But a person who is scared of the risks he/she's taking, that person will stay underdeveloped, trapped in a cycle of his/her current self. Looking at Valera's determined eyes, the spirit remembers this saying and he can't help but to feel proud that she grew up as a human.

"Then I shall accompany you. As you guardian, I don't want to leave by your side."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" That person that she recalled makes her motivation spiked high. Valera gestures him to follow her to the well.

She hops to the well, places both of her arms to her sides and falls down feet first. The spirit followed her.

Because of the whirlpool, her position of falling has affixed and falls down even faster. The spirit followed her as fast as he can.

She thinks that for the first time in her life, even in her old memories, that she feels the excitement of adventure. With a few or more risks on the way, but with a happy end of the adventure, Valera starts her journey to obtain her lost memories and find the person she loves the most.