Misadventures in Paradise ↠ Peter Parker [2]

16 | The Spider-Man Loophole

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MISADVENTURES IN PARADISE
xvi. THE SPIDER-MAN LOOPHOLE

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   PETER PARKER WAS TORMENTED by memories. Memories which bruised the skin beneath his eyes and branded his skin in lines that were rough to the touch. Memories which bled into his nightmares. Memories which mocked every fleeting moment that no one would remember again except for him.

   When no one else remembered, Peter would.

   When no one else remembered, Peter sought the only person left who was happy to listen to him again and again.

   "I know it's kinda depressing that I've already visited a few times this week," Peter said to May Parker's tombstone, "but I don't exactly have anyone else to talk to. Unless you count the rats that fight outside my window all night."

   What once was a place of mourning for Peter had become a bit of a sanctuary with time. Peter visited the cemetery so often that the locals were beginning to suspect he was a lost soul haunting the terrain, desperately trying to claw his way into the caskets of his loved ones because he couldn't figure out how to cross onto the other side and finally go home.

   Home. He hadn't been to a place like that in so long. The closest he got was Aunt May's grave.

   "I guess they're better than nothing." Peter sat on the frosted grass. "You know I don't sleep much anymore anyway."

   It was the end of January. Two months since he lost everything. Two months since Peter Parker was erased from existence.

   At first, he thought starting over would be easy. But he failed to realize that although no one else remembered what happened, he still had his memories. Everyone moved forward, but he couldn't. He was still there, tethered to his past. The only person left to remember his losses. The only person left to honor the memory of May Parker. In the end, all Peter had was himself.

   Poor Peter Parker, all alone, digging his own grave with no one to pull him back to the surface.

   Brainwashing the world also meant every sign of his existence vanished, too. His home. Photographs. Legal documents. Public records. Academic accolades. Even May's tombstone didn't list her as a loving aunt or mother. 18 years alive, and not one memory lingered. Maybe he was a phantom, plagued with the obsession of a place he could visit because he couldn't return to the past.

   He really regretted not listening to Riley when she offered to help him flee the country and start over. He could've used some tips to rebuild his life. He regretted a lot of things, but he would never regret the choice he made in the end. No matter how brutal these past two months had been or how brutal the future months would be. This was better for everyone.