Chronicles of Mystery

Eyes like the sun

Everything had turned gray, colorless except for the white dots that chased him wherever he went.

He managed to push his way through the crowd, jostling, nudging around him. The panic was gradually lessening as he moved away from the mass of people gathered and no longer felt their gleaming eyes on him.

He manages to settle in a place isolated from the party, near the children's building, sitting in a corner in the shade. He let himself fall against the wall, letting it support him instead of his legs, placing all his trust in its solidity against the world that seemed to have become soft, fluid and murky.

He took his head in his hands. He had to manage to control himself, to get back to the party as soon as possible. Otherwise, what would they think of him? He tried to catch his breath but it was interrupted by repetitive gasps. He swallowed. A huge lump blocked his throat, preventing air from passing.

Why was this happening to him now?

And suddenly he remembered why this day was so special. Why he was so tired. It was the anniversary of the day his sister had disappeared. That was exactly eight years ago. Eight years she had left without warning, without explanation and without him ever being able to find her.

Helen was her name. She was three years older than him. Or at least, she had been. She had left him when she was fourteen, and he had never seen her since.

It was on a party night like this. Liam remembered having fun without restraint all evening, like an eleven-year-old kid who would have been made euphoric by the return of the Sigma squadron which had taken over from the old squadrons, rendered obsolete by the loss of all their members, celebrating during this evening their first great mission. When the evening was over, he had been unable to find Helen anywhere. She had vanished. He had tried asking the others to see if anyone had seen her during the night.

But, to his surprise, no one remembered her. No one had ever seen her. It was as if she had never existed. As if Liam had made it up.

Yet he knew she was real, he remembered her perfectly. He could still see her face clearly. But everyone around him said otherwise.

It was as if he had gone mad. Everyone seemed to think he was delusional. No one, absolutely no one believed him, even though Helen lived almost from birth in the sanctuary. There was no longer the slightest trace of her presence, everything had disappeared, just like her.

They all thought he was lying, that he had made it all up. He himself was beginning to doubt what he had seen. What if they were right? What if Helen really didn't exist?

He had spent whole nights asking himself the question again and again. Torturing his mind endlessly. He had never found any evidence that could indicate that Helen had really existed. The cold invaded his body just thinking about it.

His sister was gone, but it was as if she had never been there. No one had ever helped him find her. No one had ever listened to him. Even David ignored him. So he didn't talk about it anymore. What would have been the point ? For everyone to take him for a madman? He had tried to pretend he had forgotten too, but he couldn't erase the memories from his memory. He was still haunted by Helen, by her ghost that he alone had ever seen.

Eight years now that she had ceased to be there. Eight years. Would it happen, one day, that he would have lived more years without her than with her? And how would he feel?

The hardest part so far had been when he had turned fourteen years and that had even exceeded that age. He had become older than his sister. And yet he still hadn't seen her again. He was the only one who could still mourn her, still perpetuate her memory. But who would do it after him? If no one remembered her, she would sink completely into oblivion, as if she had never really existed. He wasn't sure anymore.