Chapter Thirteen - The surprise encounter

Eighteen years. That was the numbers of years who had disappeared from her mind a decade ago, and who in the two recent years had come flooding back. First one, then five, then fifty. She was still trying to make sense of it all, trying to figure out how and why.

Adam had tried to explain – tried to make her see why. And she tried, she really tried. But a part of her blamed him. Blamed him for not telling her sooner, for just giving her one half of the story. But the other half understood him, understood why he did what he did. But she had to get away – away from the house, the pack, just for a little while.

She was glad to have the memories back, and she had never felt more at home in Adams arms than she had when she arrived the day before. Hugging him felt like coming home. It was an odd feeling, and the new memories had left a bitter taste in her mouth in the end. She tried to understand, tried to see reason, tried to not let her old memories overpower and cast the new ones aside. But still she couldn’t help but wonder where they had been if nothing had happened. If she hadn’t “died” in the first place – what then?

She had walked around town and the park for a while before her legs led her to the cemetery. She had to see it for herself, the grave, the headstone with her name on it. It was a bit morbid, but maybe, just maybe could it make her feel better. It hadn’t taken her long before she found it, a white stone in the midst of all the grey and black. It practically sparkled when the sunlight shined upon it, making the area luminous and magical.

‘Talia Evelina Bell’ Her name was engraved with curly letters reminding of a handwriting, her mother’s handwriting she guessed. She didn’t dare to read further. She didn’t want to relive the memory of that day. It had come back to her not many days ago, hitting her with great force. It had felt like a dream, but she was wide awake. Wide awake and remembering everything. Every touch, every tear, every drop of blood. The scent lingered in her nose still, a mix of blood and wet dog. She didn’t want to remember, shaking her head violently.

The sound of someone calling her name caught her attention, making her turn away from the grave and towards the source of the voice. The woman looked familiar; Talia knew she had seen her before. Or at least a younger version of her, but names failed her. Faces, places, everything down to the lingering feeling of touches. That she remembered. But names, she was still trying to figure out who was who.

“Is that really you?” The woman stepped closer, taking one slow step at the time. Right. Everyone believed she was dead. One small detail everyone had hid for her for an unknown reason. And that was one of the reasons she had to get away from Adam. That one small detail she had trouble wrapping her head around. “It’s me – alive and in person” Talia answered, trying to force forward a smile. Her lips curled upward for half a second before reclining to a line.

“How?” Talia would’ve liked to be able to answer that, but Adam hadn’t told her. Hadn’t been able to because he couldn’t. It was for someone else to explain – darling cousin Xavier. Once she got her hands on him, she was going to force a couple dozen answers out of him. “Your guess is as good as mine” Talia answered, keeping herself from shrugging. The woman was close to her now, so close she could reach out and touch her. Talia could tell she wanted to, wanted to make sure she wasn’t a ghost. And she couldn’t blame her.

“I’m sorry for staring – I just... I didn’t exactly expect to see anyone here and let alone you. You’ve been de… gone for almost a decade. I just – wow” The woman rambled, unable to keep herself from fidgeting with her hands and darting her eyes up and down, taking in all of Talia – from the shoes on her feet to the curls on her head.

“I’m guessing it’s a lot to take in” Talia said, and the woman nodded. “It’s a lot for me to. I didn’t remember everything until maybe a week ago, tops. I’m still trying to work this out, understand it – connect the dots so to say” Talia explained, and earned herself an understanding, and somewhat sympathetic looks from the woman. Like she understood, but at the same time didn’t.

“I’m sorry for your loss” Talia said, averting the topic over to something other than herself. “What?” The woman looked puzzled. “I’m just guessing you’re here because you lost someone and want to be close to them” Talia said. That’s what she considered to be a normal reason to visit the cemetery at least. And in a way, that was what she had tried to do. Visit her own grave to see if that could bring her closer to the girl she once was.
“Oh – yeah. I lost my mother just a week after you…” The woman looked down at the ground, studying her feet. Talia guessed it was to avoid showing the tears to the world. “I am sorry. It must have been hard” Talia wanted to reach out, to give the woman a comforting hand. But she doubted she was the right person to do so.

“It was – very hard. My father - let’s just say he’s never been the same. It was a difficult time for many families.” The woman looked up, blinking to clear her eyes of tears. “Many people lost someone they cared for – someone they loved. It was a chaotic time, but we all found peace in the end. One way or another, life moved on”

Talia nodded slowly. Time heals all wounds they say, but some wounds take more time than others. She herself didn’t remember much from that time. Her body was healing, slow and steady. But it took a lot out of her, and she had spent much time sleeping. Dreaming. Her body and mind working on finding a way to heal and shield her from the brutality she had experienced.

“Do you remember me?” The woman asked suddenly. Talia bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to, wanted to place names and faces together. But her memory was juggled, like it had gone through a blender.

“I remember your hair and face – but I can’t place your name” Talia admitted.

“Ariel” The woman reached out her hand, a smile now present on her lips. Talia returned the smile and took her hand, feeling some sort of familiarity. “You’re two years older than me and was in the same class as my older brother Noah. And we did cheerleading together” Ariel blushed a little at the last sentiment, like she was ashamed of being one of those girls. But Talia had only smiles for her, it was one name attached to a face.

“Ariel. I remember you” Talia smiled, her mind working to bring up pictures of cheerleading practice, of a high school, hallways, and lockers. “Thank you” Talia went to wrap her arms around Ariel, earning herself a confused look. But Ariel stood still, allowing Talia to wrap her arms around her in a hug. She felt stiff at first, before she relaxed and wrapper her own hands around Talia. “You’re welcome” Ariel said, making Talia smile wider. She had gone out to get some distance, to find a way back to the past. And she had found Ariel, a link to her life before.