Reminiscence

Chapter .33.

R-E-N-E-S-S-E

"Damn these bozos just think it's okay to pass out on the floor of a fuckin' bar Jerry,"

"Yea, fuckin' bitchbutts. Let's wake 'em up, mate."

Something like a stick hits my head and I groan. I force my eyelids open and see that I'm lying on the floor of a bar with two middle aged cleaning men looking down at me disapprovingly.

"Watcha lookin' at lady? Geddon' up, we got cleanin' to do." The man says, his breath smelling like cloves.

I blink and rub my eyes. Then I use my sore arms to lift myself up from the dirty floor. How did I even get here?

"Hey Jerry, we got one more of 'em bitchbutts. Check it out!" The clove breath dude yells from the other corner of the room.

I squint in the darkness and see a figure slouched against the wall. Aiden? He looked like he passed out but when Jerry the cleaner dude tapped his forehead with a broom, his eyes opened a fraction and he groaned.

He groaned and said something like 'Mama's yellow sweater has ducks on it,' but I couldn't exactly make it out.

I forced my sore legs to lift my body up as I made my way over to Aiden. I bend and put my cold palms against his chin and lift his head up. His weary eyes meet my tired ones.

"What say we get out of here?" I smile wryly.

"Thought you'd never ask." He said with a weak chuckle.

I help him up and we walk out of Tapers, hand in hand. I get in the car and check the time. 5am. It's dark, and the streetlights are dim.

Aiden tightens his hold on my hand. He looks at me steadily with those hurricane eyes. "Wanna go to the beach?"

I'm surprised by his question, but the weather is beautiful, and I've missed seeing the sunrise. So I agree and we head off to a not-so-well-known beach. As we reach, I remember the spare clothes in the trunk.

"Hey I really wanna get out of these booze-smelling clothes. Do you mind?" I say, and twist the hem of my shirt in disgust.

"Nope. I'll pick a good spot and wait for you there, 'kay?"

I nod. He shuts the door and jogs off toward the shore. I climb to the backseats and reach over to get my clothes. It's still a little cold so I decide to bring my coat too. I take off the smelly, dirty top and jeans and throw on my old tattered blue Shawn Mendes merch T-shirt and some shorts. I get out of the car and splash my face with some water from my bottle.

I look over to see Aiden sitting on the sand and staring at the ocean. Light is slowly beginning to filter through the sky, and he looks peaceful. Not me though, my hangover is just beginning to hit me like a ton of bricks.

Scratch that, make it three tonnes. I groan and set myself down next to him. I hear the waves splash, and realize that it's been long since I've come here. I look at Aiden.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask gently.

"Yeah. For now." His voice is dazed.

"How do you think he...you know, made us black out like that?" I let the curiosity seep through my voice.

"Pressure points. Located in the delicate areas of your body, like the back of your ear. We should be thankful his goons didn't paralyze us."

"I don't know what to do anymore." I sigh.

"Do you need to?" He looks at me.

"Do you always have to give me deep answers? You make Shakespeare look like a rapper!" I whine.

He laughs and his eyes twinkle. "Let's just.....live in the moment. And as long as he doesn't chase us, we don't need to worry, right?"

"We do. He called you brother. He obviously has something to do with your loss of memory." I argue. I was worried if we'd let him get away with this, he'd do something to derail Aiden's life once and forever.

He shakes his head, smiling. "You don't get it, do you?" He takes my hand. "Maybe I have a chance to just start over. The important thing is, we found each other, and now we have a chance to relive everything I forgot. I don't need to chase after how I lost my memory. All that's important to me is finding who I forgot. My family is out there somewhere, and only if he has something to do with them, we will go after him." His voice holds the weight of what he feels.

I rub my thumb gently along the delicate bones of his fingers and look at him.
"I see it now." I say and meet his gaze.

"And I'm glad you do. I'm glad."

"I don't see it though, what does he gain in all this? Making you lose your memory, stealing your identity, destroying all the evidence related to your disappearance?"

Aiden smirks. "Maybe I just had an awesome life."

I snicker. "Yeah, right."

"I still have to find my mother and brother though," His features turn distant. I watch as the wind picks up a lock of his dark hair and it brushes against his forehead.

"Yeah, we'll work on that. Now, like you said, let's focus on the moment." I say, and point toward the gleaming golden yellow disk emerging out of the ocean, looking ethereal. It never ceases to amaze me.
____________________
A-I-D-E-N

There is no one who can look more beautiful than her in the light of a sunrise.