"Some Doors Don’t Close All the Way"
---
Emily didn’t mean to return to her mother’s house. Her feet simply took her there.
She needed space. But more than that, she needed answers.
---
Her mother opened the door slowly, brows raised in surprise. “Twice in one month? I must be dreaming.”
Emily gave a tired smile. “Do you want me to leave?”
Her mother stepped aside wordlessly and gestured her in.
Romeo wasn’t home — probably at school or at his piano lesson. The silence in the house was heavier than usual.
They sat at the kitchen table. The air between them was thick with unspoken things.
“I found something,” Emily said finally. “A letter.”
Her mother looked up from her tea. “From who?”
“From someone I’ve been remembering… Ryan.”
Her mother exhaled through her nose. “Still chasing ghosts.”
“No,” Emily said quietly. “This time, the ghost wrote back.”
She handed her the folded paper. Her mother hesitated — then read.
By the time she reached the last line, her expression had shifted. Less stern. Less dismissive. More… shaken.
“Ryan…” she murmured. “I’ve heard that name before.”
Emily sat forward. “Where?”
Her mother hesitated. “Years ago. I worked at a youth literature program before I met your stepfather. There was a boy — quiet, brilliant, always scribbling poems. I didn’t know him well, but he was… unforgettable.”
Emily’s heart raced. “Did he ever mention anyone… important to him? A friend? A lover?”
Her mother paused. “There was a girl. I don’t remember her name. But he used to wait outside the library for her. Every Thursday. Rain or shine.”
Emily leaned in. “What did she look like?”
“Brown skin. Short curls. Walked like music. The kind of girl you don’t forget, even if you try.”
Emily whispered, “She’s the missing piece.”
Her mother frowned. “What are you even doing with all this? You’re chasing someone who’s—”
“Gone?” Emily interrupted. “Yes. But if someone’s love was erased to protect a lie… don’t they deserve to be remembered?”
Her mother was quiet for a long time.
Then she said, “You’ve changed.”
Emily blinked. “Is that good?”
“I don’t know,” her mom replied honestly. “But it’s strong. And that matters more.”
---
That night, Emily searched every archive she could find.
Old yearbooks. Poetry magazines. Library newsletters.
Until finally — a name.
> “Arianne Cole”
Assistant editor, student writer, poetry contributor…
And the girl who stood beside Ryan in a blurry, torn photo.
Emily whispered her name like a spell.
Arianne.
The girl he tried to erase.
The girl who might still remember the truth.
---
YOU ARE READING
The memory keeper PART 1
Romance"When Emily discovers she can absorb and relive people's memories through touch, she's overwhelmed by that until she falls in love with Ryan whose memory she was reliving but struggles to reconcile her feelings with the of their situation. Reliving...
