Memories (Jella)

Chapter 4

Alyssa tries once more to pry the thing from Ella's grasp but has no luck. She decides to sit in the room and wait.

After an hour, Alyssa looks at Ella and sees that her eyes were closed. She comes to the bed to examine her, and her breathing is more regular. Alyssa starts to leave, but was stopped.

"Alyssa," Ella says, heavily. Like she's been drugged.

Alyssa turns around, and Ella is looking at her, though still curled in a ball.

"What is it?" Alyssa asks, relieved because at least Ella remembers her.

Ella watches Alyssa, until Alyssa moves back to the chair, and then pulls the chair next to the bed.

"What kind of – person – am I? Was I?"

Alyssa frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I mean – I had a flashflood of images run through my head. I hurt people. I – killed people." Ella's thinking, how could a girl like Jema ever like her?

Alyssa looks at Ella kindly. "Well, Ella, at one time you were a part of a Black Organization or a syndicate here in Philippine. Do you remember what it is?" Ella shakes her head no. "Well, you were a member of it and basically you guys did some bad things."

"I can somehow remember it," Ella says, clutching her fist tighter around the object.

Alyssa nods. "You – you did hurt, and kill people. But you turned good and joined the Light, you fought them and betrayed your boss, you were an instrument in freeing the world of some evil tyranny."

Ella processes the information. "So, I was bad, then I was good." Alyssa nods. "Was it because of her?"

"No. It was because you saw what your boss really wanted, what his ultimate goal was, and you did not want it to happen. So you came to us – me, actually – and offered to be a spy. Like I said, you were very helpful. Without you, countless lives would've been lost.

Ella nods, and then lessens her grip on the box. She slowly sits up. "All I can see are bad images and the horrible things I did."

"I can't even imagine what that was like."

"They just hit me, like a stray person."

Alyssa smiles. "What's in your hand?"

Ella looks at her, and then tosses the box to Alyssa. "I remember we were friends," she says.

Alyssa catches the box then nods to Ella, and opens it. It's a ring, a silver ring, with a dark red garnet between two small pearls. It's not huge, it's not small; it's perfect for a person whom it was intended.

"Wow, Ella. I had no idea."

Ella shrugs, and motions Alyssa to return the box. She does, and Ella looks at it once more. "It was specially made for her. Lots of special charms put into it. The band is a unique pattern, crafted for just this ring. My name, and all that it carries, was put into this ring. I was going to ask her the day after I was attacked, Christmas Day."

Ella then looks up at Alyssa. "I know what you're probably thinking. Very atypical of me, and oh, so cliché. But the truth is, it just happened to be that day that I decided I wanted to be with her and marry her, so I placed an order for the ring that same hour. The old man message me when it was ready, and I went to pick it up that night." Ella looks at the ring again, sighs, and puts it in the nightstand.

"Ella, we didn't know you were going to ask her to marry you."

Ella smirks. "Isn't that the idea? A surprise?"

"Well, yes, but – she had no idea, either."

Ella shrugs. "I have been spontaneous only a few times in my life. That I can remember." She chuckles. "But I'm pretty sure this was one of those times. I did not tell her a thing. Didn't talk about it – nothing. I wanted it to be a complete surprise."

Alyssa then looks at Ella with sad eyes.

"It's okay, Alyssa. Life isn't fair. Believe me, I know."

"So, you remember?"

"No. Just more and more of her, and now – all of that." Ella scrubbed at her left arm. "I can almost see it, trying to burn through my skin," she says. "I'm scared, Alyssa. What if – what if I don't remember? Tomorrow. I could wake up completely oblivious."

Alyssa stands. "I know. We're all worried about that."

"We?" Ella says and laughs. "We. Right."

"Just try and rest. Okay? I'll see you first thing tomorrow."

Ella nods, and a wave of exhaustion hits her. Alyssa then leaves. Ella crawls under the covers, and shivers, not because she's cold, but because she's scared to go to sleep; scared to wake up.

Ella has the same dream she's had every single night.

She smiles as she leaves the jeweler, the ring safely tucked in her jacket. She takes four steps after turning left, and she's surrounded. Three people in all, black hoods up and guns drawn, pointing at her heart.

She stops, her smile frozen, then gone.

She knows these people. She'd sent them to their deaths, but these had survived. Vainly, she reaches for her gun.

With a cackle, the closest person – another member – her Aunt – disarms her.

"Stupid little niece," she says, drawing back her hood. The others did the same. "Did you honestly think we wouldn't come for you? That we wouldn't find you? That you were safe? You betrayed us all. I lost my entire family – your family – because of you." She circled her now; she stood staring straight ahead.

When she was facing Ella again, she sneered, then jabbed her gun at her throat. "We found you, Ella. And we're going to have some fun with you, before we kill you." Her Aunt cackled again,

They hit and beat her leaving signs of trauma. Finally, through a concussed headache, Ella tried to fight back but just before she does, her Aunt hit her with two heavy shots at once and then...

A flash

She wakes with a start, and sits straight up in bed. She looks around, and she notices everything is in color, and she finds it odd. Then she realizes that it's strange to take note of the presence of color, and then she further realizes that it's something new for her to know it wasn't like this yesterday.

Yesterday.

She lunges for the nightstand and pulls open the drawer. Grabs at the front left corner, puts her hands around the small black box. She pulls it out, opens it, and sees the ring.

And this morning, she remembers everything. Except the two years she was in the hospital; but before that. Everything.

Why she left the Organization. How Jema first caught her attention; when she'd kissed her the first time to get her to shut up, and how they'd kissed for a good ten minutes before they knew what had happened.

Their first date; what she wore; the first time they'd held hands. Everything.

Alyssa. Tots. Dennise. The Organization. Her parents. Her award from the Government of Philippine for a valiant service—an award she gave to Jema.

The night she kissed her goodnight and went to pick up a ring. And everything in between.

The realization almost makes her physically sick. It was just – there – and she knows that it wasn't always there, so easily accessible.

Then, something whispers in the back of her mind, she stands and goes to the stack of books. Creamline High: A History, is actually brown not black. She frowns.

The door opens, and Alyssa walks in. "Good morning, Ella. How – "

"What color was Jema wearing yesterday?" Ella interrupts impatiently.

Alyssa frowns. "Red."

"You're sure. It was Red."

"Yes. A Red blouse and black pants. Ella— "

"What color is this book?" she asks, holding it up that was Black only hours before.

"Brown. Ella, what is this about?"

Ella looks at Alyssa. "Yesterday, they were Black and White."

"Yesterday."

Ella nods.

"You remember yesterday?"

Ella nods again.

"Then, surely you remember that it's a big deal for you to remember yesterday."

And then Ella falls onto the bed, staring at the wall in front her. "Yes," she says, nodding. Then she puts her head in her hands. "It's all true, isn't it? It's been almost two years."

Alyssa nods, and Ella's reeling. Jema was really with Tots. It hadn't been a terrible nightmare. All of it —

"Ok I'd like to ask you some questions, Ella."

She nods.

"Who did I talk to when you wanted to be a spy?"

"Your cousin Michelle who works at the Central Police."

Alyssa nods. "And what did Dennise say to me when I returned from the bar drunk?"

"She said, 'Alyssa Valdez, put on a sweater, you're going to catch cold.' But she was grinning and hugging you and crying at the same time."

"What did Michelle plan to do for Tots on Christmas Day that you, uh, missed?"

Ella whips her head up to meet Alyssa's gaze. And she's really angry. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because you are one of only three people who knew the answer."

Ella glares at Alyssa. "She was going to take her to the amusement park, Which, I'm guessing, never happened."

"Uh, no. We were all there actually."

Ella sighs and runs a hand through her hair. There's a constant, dull, ache in her heart and her gut.

Alyssa smiles at her warmly. "If you think you're ready, you can gather your things and follow me to my office."

Ella blinks. "You want me to leave this room?"

"Yes. I'm going to discharge you."

To be continued...