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You paused to think about it for a minute. She had a good point, whoever she was. Ms. Disembodied Voice seemed to understand that you were missing something crucial as well. And it was a person, you were sure of it now.
If losing your memories of that person would change you, then you’d like to compare your life with and without them.
<span class="mu-r">“Can you show me both memories before I make my decision?”</span> you asked. <span class="mu-r">“When did it start? Or end? Like…at what point are my memories real again? That’d be the point where she showed up, right?”</span>
Right. It was a she. ‘Vic’ was her name, or something.
<span class="mu-r">“If you can’t show me without endangering my mind, can you give me a verbatim of meeting the real Vic for the first time? That’s probably not how it works, right?”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“I’m capable of doing both. Brace yourself, Benjamin.”</span>
Suddenly, the world around you began to shift. On both sides, you saw two parallels of a familiar memory. One was real, and the other was a warped reflection of the other. You just had to figure out which was which.
The scene on our left was hazy, and mired in the bright, fuzzy filter of your childlike naivety. You and two other kids were playing together. One you recognized immediately as your brother, Richard. The other girl must have been…’Vic’, probably. Both sides were entirely harmless, innocent and wholesome without any mental tampering.
Both sides blurred once more, revealing a scene that you didn’t need any help remembering. Some of the older boys had cornered you and Rich after you handed their asses to them the week before. Except this time they brought their big brothers to back them up.
The two of you didn’t stand a chance. It didn’t help that the other members of your posse bolted as soon as they realized that they weren’t being targeted. You didn’t know what was worse. Getting your ass kicked, or getting grounded for fighting when you’d finally managed to limp on home.
You tried to tell them that you hadn’t started it, which was technically true, but your dad wouldn’t hear it. The only upside to that whole thing was Richard insisting that he be grounded right alongside you.
Of course, he hadn’t <span class="mu-i">really</span> been grounded, but you still thought it was pretty cool of him to stand up for you. It was one of those brotherly bonding moments that you could never truly forget, mind-wipe or not.
You glanced at the parallel memory, and saw the situation playing out the same. Except…that girl was there again. She was too small and frail to join in and back you up in any meaningful way. So instead, she called over some adults and got the fight broken up before any real damage could be done. Some of the older boys even got in trouble with the police for the incident.
You’d made fun of her for being a nark the entire way home, but you were secretly grateful for her interference. You knew you wouldn’t have been able to take them, even with Rich's help.
(Cont.)
