The wall of memories (2)

Jasmine stared at the wall in disbelief. Did she push Vivian? She was still uncertain, but when she saw the next scene where Vivian tried to catch her hand again, it was more clear. She pushed Vivian again, shoving the latter off her with all her strength.

"Why would I push her?" She asked, in disbelief. She had been wondering what happened to her friend when all along, she could have been the one to kill her? She felt her eyes sting as guilt washed over her.

"You saw wrong." Said Dairon. "You tried to hold her but ended up pushing her, accidentally."

She was confused and his emphasis on the last word didn't make it easier for her to figure out what had happened. "How? You're saying something different from what I just saw. I clearly pushed Vivian, not once but twice."

He could see that too, but what he said was different. "It depends on the angle."

"How?" She looked up at him with confused eyes. He didn't make any sense.

"From a different angle, one can see something different from reality. Just like how in your world, surveillance cameras can accidentally record something flawed because of the angle." He explained.

However, she did not feel reassured. She blamed herself even more. Why didn't she hold onto Vivian? If she did, Dairon would have saved them both.

"However, I can feel what really happened." Dairon explained, oblivious to her racing thoughts. When he looked at her, he noticed that her eyes seemed to change their color for a second. She sighed and her eyes reverted back to their original color, but he knew better than to provoke her now, so he decided to withdraw his hand from the wall of memories.

A second before he did, he noticed something and his gaze shifted, making her see an illusion of the calm sea as he continued watching what happened.

The storm raged more fiercely and Jasmine seemed to have gained a burst of strength. A fireball left her hand and she fiercely threw it at an oncoming wave, which retreated.

Amazing!

His heart skipped a beat. Did she just strike an attack at the sea? He thought she would use the opportunity to return to the surface but she didn't, heading for the deeper waters instead. She moved at a speed almost as fast as lighting, and he had the urge to stop her even though it was just a memory he was seeing. She was heading for the Enchanted Circle!

No!

As he dreaded, she formed a giant fireball which she struck at the invisible walls guarding The Enchanted Circle. A flash of light filled the place as the rebound of her own power made her lose her balance and pass out. He closed his eyes and stopped watching her memory.

"I can see it now. That's when it happened." He muttered aloud.

"What do you mean?" She snapped out of her own thoughts and asked him.

"I mean you… how you ended up in the Enchanted Circle." He withdrew his hand from the wall. He was not lying, but he didn't tell her the truth either. So that was when her power was unlocked. The storm unlocked it? Or was it something to do with Vivian, who she had pushed? Or was it both the storm and Vivian?

When he calmed his mind and thought about it logically, he concluded that she must have felt her true nature unveiling, and pushed her friend away to protect her. But why was her first reaction to attack The Enchanted Circle? Did she have a grudge against the deities who lived there? Besides, how come she forgot all about it when she regained consciousness?

He had innumerable questions on his mind and it didn't feel right to secretly investigate her, so he decided to leave it be.

"Vivian was washed onto an island." He explained, and she nodded.

"Let's go. We cannot see anything about her beyond this point." He urged.

"Why not?" She wanted to know the exact island where Vivian had been washed, and hoped this strange wall could help her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder to urge her away from the wall. "That's because we were watching your memories. Anything that didn't happen in your vicinity cannot be seen."

She sighed in disappointment.

Then we can watch Vivian's memories instead.

She was yet to voice this out when she heard the cry of a baby and tilted her head to the wall.

"Mother?" She gasped when she saw Sophie, who looked much younger than she currently was. She was carrying a newborn in her arms, with tears of joys in her eyes as Harry hugged her.

"She's so beautiful!" Harry carefully took the newborn from his wife's arms. "She's just like a flower. Let's name her Jasmine."

The scene transitioned and the baby was now older, and had her parents' faces fill with joy.

"Jasmine, come to papa." Harry opened his arms out to her.

The little girl ran and hugged him, for him to envelop her in a hug. "Papa!"

Papa… The present Jasmine heard the cry in her heart. She knew it was her own inward voice, because she missed her father too much.

She didn't want to watch this anymore. She wanted something else, something that would get rid of this urge to cry. She wondered if she could see Dairon's past.

It was uncertain what happened, but she suddenly saw the image of a boy materialize. He was so adorable that she held back a gasp, until she saw his hair and face clearly. That was Dairon, and he looked about seven years old.

He was surrounded by a group of boys who looked older than him, and one of them pushed Dairon to the ground. He planted a palm on the ground to help him stand, and the older boy stepped on his palm and twisted his foot against it.

"He's gonna cry! Hit him!" One of the other boys shouted when they saw tears start to form in Dairon's eyes.

"Don't." Jasmine pleaded at them, but they couldn't hear her because she was merely watching the memories. They beat him black and blue and only left when his nose bled and he had bruises all over his face.

In the next scene, Dairon pounded his fists against the metal door of the room where his brother had locked him.

"Let me out, please! I'm your brother." He pleaded in a sad voice that broke Jasmine's heart.

In response, the other boy leaned against the door on the other side and laughed. "You're not my brother! What are you? Are you the devil? You deserve to die!"

She couldn't watch anymore and the memories stopped. She looked at the man before her and finally started to understand him.

"That's centuries ago. It no longer matters." He smiled when he sensed her gaze.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. She scorned him without knowing why he was so feelingless and selfish, and she felt guilty now that she had seen a glimpse of his past. He had suffered so much as a child, which is why such emotions as love and kindness were alien to him. How was he supposed to learn how to be kind when no one was ever kind to him? She should have been more understanding of him.

"It's okay." He had allowed her to see his past because he knew that she was curious, but he did not intend to evoke her pity. But when he realized that she was considering being kinder to him in future, he smiled constantly. He would really love that.

"How come we are able to see past memories?" She asked curiously when the wall reverted back to its ordinary self. It was magical.

"This is the wall of memories. It has been built using a special rock, created by the gods of time to help others relive their beautiful past. It's called the memory stone." He explained. "You just have to think about something and channel your power onto the rock, and it will show you the memory."

"Oh." She felt bummed. She didn't have any power to channel onto the rock and would probably need his help, which she didn't want to ask for.

He smiled at the fact that she was yet to know that not only did she have unique power, but it was incredibly strong as well. Trying not to ask who she was, he answered the next thing he knew she would ask. "Vivian is not on this island. I would know if a new inhabitant appeared. However, I can help you look through nearby islands."

"Thank you." It was rare for him to actively offer his help and she hoped he would keep his word.

She went back to her room and took a bath since she felt exhausted and sweaty. While she brushed her hair by the large mirror, her eyes widened at the sight of her hair. There was more golden hair, so much that she could no longer hide it amid her black hair.