Our Darkest Memories

~ Lost Memory

Quietly, I shoved it in the pocket of my black vest and closed the zipper.

"Hey Morgan, I think I found what we need!" The sound of Raiden's voice came from two isles away from me and I hurried towards it.

Raiden stood in the aisle that was right below the collapsed roof. He pointed towards something on a shelf and I slowly walked towards it, stopping in front of him. The dim lighting of the moon through the hole in the roof lit up our faces and I could distinguish the shape of a chord with little lightbulbs. The rest of the shelf was also filled with all kinds of lights, including some Christmas decorations.

"Do they work?" I asked, looking at the light bulbs.

"I haven't tested them out yet."

"Okay, they look good. Let's hope they work."

He put a step towards me and I could see his gaze resting on me. His hand came to my face and he tucked a little strand of hair behind my ear.

"You know, you don't have to hide your scars."

I quickly glanced down and scratched the back of my hand.

"I do. It reminds me of how weak I was."

He snickered unbelievably and looked me in the eyes. "Weak? Morgan, I don't think you even know the meaning of that word. You are a powerhouse. A whole tornado would try to make you fall down and you would still not lose your balance."

I could only stare at him. Did he mean that? No one ever said something like that before to me. But I knew that if there was more lighting, that I would see that there was only be sincerity in his eyes.

My thoughts were shaken off by a small buzzing and my eyes darted towards the sudden wall of light coming from the shelf. The little lights that were previously just laying there were now sparkling, and I noticed Raiden holding the end of the chord.

"Seems like they work," he said with a soft, husky voice.

I nodded, unable to say a word, and started to put the lights in the little basket.

"So-" I cleared my throat, "-I think we have everything now. Let's get back before Blaze realizes we're gone.

We silently walked towards the car, where we were planning to spend the night for once. I closed the passenger's door after Raiden insisted that he'd take the uncomfortable driver's seat, and leaned back. Quickly, my exhaustion took over and I fell asleep without saying another word.

*****

"Hey Blaze, would you mind helping me with my hair?"

It was the evening after Raiden and I made our preparations, and we had agreed that I would try to distract Blaze while he would make everything ready. The sun slowly started to set already, and it would probably be dark in an hour.

We never left the camping site that we moved to after the incident with our parents and had gradually made it a little more home. We would probably leave this place, but not before throwing this surprise for Blaze.

Blaze was just coming back from getting some wood for the fire, and she dropped a handful of the twigs and branches she found.

"Why? What do you need?"

"My hair is growing too long. It's annoying me if I have it loose and I want to cut it shorter."
I raised the scissor that I found somewhere in Raiden's backpack and waved it in the air.

"Sure."

She moved towards me and together we made our way to the car after explaining that there, I could keep an eye on what she was doing in the mirrors. It was a strange request, but she didn't question it. She didn't even know it was her birthday today. She could never remember the date.