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The Cave

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WHAT WAS she doing out here? I could barely see her face, but I could see she had blonde hair, like mine.

"I didn't mean to startle you," she said, and something about her voice irked me. Perhaps it was how much it sounded like mine.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I heard you crying. Is everything alright?"

I sniffed. "Yeah. I'm fine." I couldn't break down in front of her when didn't even know who she was. She could be wandering around without a sense of direction, just like I was.

"Are you sure?" she asked, her round eyes peering up at me.

"Yeah, I just found out my family had been keeping something huge from me," I said, not exactly sure why I told her that. Maybe I just needed someone to talk to about it all.

"I'm sorry about that," she said, and then she offered with an open palm, "Can I show you something? It would make you feel better."

"I'm, sure."

When her icy fingers closed around mine, a chill shot through my body, causing me to jerk away in response. The sudden sensation caught me off guard, leaving me feeling unprepared and unsettled.

"I'm sorry, my hand always gets cold. It's a kind of disease where my body—"

"Overreacts to cold and temporarily reduces blood supply to your hand and feet," I completed.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I had it worse when I was younger. It's an autoimmune thing," I said.

"Autoimmune," she sounded like she was testing the word.

"So, what did you want to show me?" I asked, eager to see what she was referring to.

"C'mon. It's like a cave! It's fascinating and bright! You'll love it, I'm sure," she gushed with her little arms swinging wildly. It brought a smile to my face.

I looked at the dense trees surrounding us, wondering how she knew where to go.

"What exactly are you doing here? Are you lost?" I asked, and she chuckled. Again, it sounded like mine. Who was she?

"If I was, would I know where to take you then?" she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Okay, you're not lost. What are you doing out here, then?" I asked as we trudged on.

"I live here."

"Here? Where? The houses are a far distance from here."

She laughed. "No silly. I mean I live here."

I looked around before settling back on her. "In the forest?"

"Yes."

"And your parents?" I asked.

"They're—ah, here we are," she said, and I stopped in my tracks when I saw a cave with bright green light emerging from within.

The girl had already started striding, so I followed her and when I entered, a breath left my lips as my eyes marveled at the magnificent sight.

The source of light was the crystals on the wall, which glowed green. The ground was smooth, and the roof had threads of crystals that glistened like icicles falling from it, and a blue glow filled the space around.

What was this place?

I turned around, and the girl was no longer there. Where did she go?

"Not to worry, she's still here," I heard from behind me and spun to see a man. He wore a bright blue robe and had long black hair that fell to his shoulders. His eyes were darker than night even with the glow that surrounded us.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"This is my dad," I heard the girl say from behind me. I turned again and there she was with her back to me. She was wearing a blue dress that stopped at her knee.

I recognized that dress. It was oddly similar to the one that my mom bought me for my ninth birthday. Who was she?

I got my answer when she turned, and my eyes widened in response. She was... me?!

"My name is Clara," she said.

I blinked as she walked around to stand beside the man with me turning on the spot and eyes glued to her. "That's... that's not... you look so much like me when I was younger. How is that possible?"

"Hello, Clarissa," the man said.

"What... how did you know my name?" I asked.

"You will get your answers at the end of your quest," he said.

"Quest? What quest? What do you mean?" I asked.

"First, let me introduce myself. I am Allistair. Keeper of the Cave of Memories," he said before he turned to walk further into the cave, with the girl by his side.

Cave of what now?

"You can find here all your memories. Including the ones you try to repress." he turned to give me a pointed look as I moved one foot in front of another.

"Why did she lead me here, and why does she look like me?" I asked and the girl who looked like younger me chuckled.

"You have a lot of questions," she said with a smile. My smile.

They both stopped in front of a door before turning to me.

"I know how you feel, about your mother and your stepmother," the man started.

"How do you know that? Is that why I am here?"

"So I'll give you three chances."

"Chances for what?"

"Three chances. One for a set of memories, or you can say an important peak in your life. You will get to live in this memory for a while. These three are important because there's a lesson you have to learn from them. There's something you have to achieve at the end of the set of memories. Only once you learn such can you move on to the next chance," he explained.

"And what if I don't learn this lesson? What will happen?" I asked.

"You will be stuck in that memory till you do," he said and I drew my brows together. "You'll be stuck in your head," he added.

"And why should I do this?"

"The universe has brought you here, and now for a reason, before you can truly move on to the next phase of your life, you have to do this." He paused before he added, "Your mother did the same."

"You knew my mother?"

"Yes, Lucia. You look so much like her. It's sad what she became. She forgot everything she went through here and the parting words I gave her," he said, and then I remembered everything that happened.

I shook my head no. "You've got to be lying. This is crazy. My mind is just playing a sick game on me."

When the little girl exclaimed, "Does this look like a game to you?" I could sense her underlying frustration. It reminded me of how I sounded when I was also feeling frustrated.

My eyes darted around me. How could this be real?

"So what is this? Is this magic, or some kind of phenomenon? Plus, magic isn't real."

"How ignorant can you be? The truth is right in front of you, and you still can't believe it."

The girl had her brows furrowed, and her lips set in a thin line. The same way I always did whenever I was angry.

It was uncanny.

"I am not ignorant of anything. And all this can't be real. I'm just gonna go back now and have a good sleep, which I deserve. Plus, my grandma's the only one I care about now, and I don't want her to worry. Even though she also didn't tell me the truth," I said and turned to leave, but stopped.

There was no path. Behind me was a wall of crystals.

Okay, what's going on? I can swear I just came in from this way.

"One thing about the cave of memories," Allistair started, "Once you enter, you can't leave until you do what you do what the universe brought you here for."

"Pity she won't remember this," the girl muttered behind me.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, turning back towards them. "I didn't ask to be here," I said and turned back to the wall behind me.

There's got to be a way out.

"The only way out, now that you have come in, is through the final door," came Allistair's voice, yet it sounded distant.

I turned again, and they were no longer there.

"Seriously," I groaned before saying to myself, "I guess I've got no choice."

"You have seven days for each chance," I heard, but was sure he wasn't there.

"And what happens if I don't finish it by the end of the seven days?" I asked anyway but got silence as my reply.

Great. They're gone.

This must be a silly dream, but I'll get it done with.

I opened the door, and I moved into a blank space. It was all gray and there were three doors.

Three chances.

I went to the middle door and opened it. As soon as I stepped through, a bright light surrounded me. I felt dizzy and my vision blurred just before I fell onto something soft.

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This chapter was pretty short. Is it me, or did those two seem strange?

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The Sparkling Authoress
Mis. A

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