Burn In Violet

11: Laughing Death

Chapter 11: Laughing Death

“A gate is meant to be a nexus for happenings.” – Evan Grimm

*

“Magic came into this world three years ago?” Holly paled.

“Yes.”

Holly’s eyes were wide, her suspicion confirmed. “But I had been staying in the library for fourteen years.”

Silence followed her words. Akemi was wiping away her tears, holding her glasses with one hand. Apparently she didn’t hear.

“B-but… Holly, are you sure about that?”

“Dead sure,” Holly confirmed.

Mimi thought for a few moments. “Did… did the library have a clock, or a calendar?”

“I remember my entire childhood in there,” Holly replied. “There was a clock that showed the time and the date. Heck, I remembered seeing that the year was 2014, when I was small!”

“That just doesn’t make sense!” Mimi shook her head. She paused before offering a suggestion, “Are you sure… that you didn’t lose your memory or have false memories implanted in you?”

This caught Holly off guard. Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t find a suitable answer. False memories? False… memories? “False… memories,” she spoke almost mechanically.

“I hope not, though!” Mimi ended the sentence with a nervous chuckle. “But it’s just possible, implanting fake memories into people’s mind, making them imagine years that never happened.”

The girl who never was.

Years that never happened… Flashes of Holly’s past flitted through her mind, of Emi teaching her how to read, singing her a lullaby, cooking her dinner…

“No,” Holly bit her lip. Her eyes steeled with resolve. “No way.”

“Probably not,” Mimi dismissed.

Emi’s voice played in Holly’s head. You’re special, Holly! “I said no way!” Holly yelled, and seeing Mimi and Akemi’s looks of shock, relaxed. “Sorry.”

Evan appeared in the aisle, staring at her with accusing eyes. “No one shouts in Mimi’s face and gets away with it.”

“I’m sorry!” Holly pleaded, bowing quickly, a moment before she tottered and fell out of pain from the sudden movement. “Ow!” It sent tears into her eyes. “I’m sorry!”

“Evan, I made her upset, it’s my fault,” Mimi tried to calm the situation.

Evan sighed. “You can walk?” he asked Holly who had a hand on her chest, her eyes teary.

“I guess.”

“We’re teleporting.”

“What?”

Evan left as quickly as he came. Akemi scratched her head.

*

Outside, the rain had abated, but the oppressive clouds were still overhanging. The wind was quite strong. Holy found it quite an awkward task to walk around in her new clothes. Being Mimi’s, they were quite big for her. “Mimi, the waist part is kinda loose,” she whispered, and Mimi quickly covered her reddening face.

“I know!” she yelled, exasperated, making heads turn in their direction.

Akemi was standing hand in hand with the boy she brought with her. He still had not said a word.