Echoes of the Forgotten

Fragments

• Fiction
• Fantasy

								
Chapter One: Fragments

Lila Vale woke to silence.

It was always the same, this feeling. A weight on her chest. An emptiness in her mind. Like something had been taken, but she wasn’t sure what. The fragmented dreams she had at night never quite made sense. Faces. Voices. Places. They vanished before she could reach them, leaving her with a gnawing emptiness. But today, something felt different.

Her fingers brushed against the cold metal surface of her tablet as it blinked to life.

“Good morning, Lila Vale,” the screen announced in a sterile voice. “Today’s task: Retrieve your assigned memory files from the city center.”

Another task. Another day. She knew how this went. The Authority—those who ruled this fractured world—kept track of everything. Everyone. Lila didn’t question the system. No one did. Memory was the enemy, after all. Or at least, that’s what they were told.

Forget the past. Embrace the present.

The slogan echoed in her head as she slipped out of bed, her limbs stiff from the strange, restless sleep she couldn’t remember.

Lila’s apartment was sparse, much like the rest of the city. Everything had been designed for efficiency. No personal touches. No reminders of a time before. No trace of who people used to be. The Authority saw to that. Memory erasure was a standard procedure for those deemed “disruptive” to the new order.

She could hear the faint hum of the street outside her window, a noise that seemed far away, yet inescapable. The city, like her life, felt like it was constantly moving but never truly alive.

Lila dressed quickly, slipping into the drab gray uniform issued to all citizens. A symbol of conformity. Her reflection in the mirror was a blur—dark eyes, pale skin, short brown hair she didn’t bother to comb. No distinct features. No distinguishing marks. Not even a family name to cling to.

As she fastened her wristband, the memory of her mother—brief, fleeting, and hazy—flickered at the edge of her mind. She tried to hold onto it, but like sand slipping through her fingers, it was gone.

She pushed the thought aside, reminding herself that memories were dangerous. They only made things complicated.

Chapter Two: The Retrieval

The city center was a stark, sprawling complex, a place of quiet efficiency. Screens flashed with statistics, reports, and reminders to follow the rules. Citizens moved like automatons, eyes fixed on their tasks, never looking up.

Lila entered the central hub where the memory files were stored, each one carefully curated and assigned. She swiped her wristband against the checkpoint, the door sliding open with a soft whoosh. Inside, rows upon rows of memory capsules sat in perfectly organized racks. Each one was a life—a carefully edited narrative.

“Retrieve the file for Subject 3149,” the automated voice instructed. “Data will be provided for processing.”

Lila nodded, though she didn’t know who Subject 3149 was. It didn’t matter. Memory was disposable. The capsules contained nothing more than fleeting moments, sanitized for the public.

As she slid the file out of its holder, something caught her eye. A strange flicker of recognition. The name on the file: Mara Vale.

She froze.

Mara Vale.

Her heart began to race. The name felt… familiar. Too familiar. But why? She couldn’t remember why.

Before she could think further, the automated voice chimed again, pulling her from her thoughts. “Processing complete. Return the file immediately.”

She shoved the file into her bag, her mind buzzing with questions. Mara Vale. Why did it feel like her own name was buried somewhere in that memory?

Chapter Three: The Awakening

Back at her apartment, Lila sat in front of the mirror again, staring at her reflection. Mara Vale. The name echoed in her head, louder now. But it wasn’t just a name. It was hers, wasn’t it?

She couldn’t remember her mother’s face, but she felt her presence. Like a shadow hovering just out of reach. She tried to push the feeling away, tried to focus on the file she had brought back. But her hands shook as she opened it.

Inside was a single message. It wasn’t a file. It wasn’t a report. It was a warning.

“Don’t trust the Authority. They control what you know, what you remember. Your sister’s still alive. Find her.”

The message was from a woman named Riley Myles, someone Lila didn’t recognize but who seemed to know her intimately. The words were a jolt, a shock to the system. They were forbidden—dangerous.

The realization hit Lila with the force of a tidal wave. This was no ordinary retrieval. Someone knew her. Someone who had survived the memory purge. Someone who knew about her sister, Mara.

Lila’s heart raced. The past she had been told to forget was starting to resurface. But why? Who was trying to wake her up? And why had they left her with only a sliver of the truth?

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

She froze. The Authority’s enforcers were never far.

Chapter Four: The Resistance

Lila opened the door, her pulse pounding in her ears. Standing before her was a figure she didn’t recognize at first—an older woman with a long, dark coat, her face obscured by a hood.

“Lila Vale?” The woman’s voice was low, urgent.

Lila nodded, her instincts screaming to run.

The woman stepped forward. “You don’t know me, but I know you. I’m Riley Myles. And I’ve been watching you. You have to come with me, Lila. The Authority is coming for you, and you don’t even know why yet.”

Lila blinked, confusion and fear swirling in her chest. “What are you talking about?”

“The memories you’ve forgotten. The life they’ve erased from you.” Riley’s eyes softened. “You were never meant to forget. You’re part of something bigger. Something that can stop them.”

Lila shook her head, fighting against the rising panic. “Stop who? The Authority? How?”

Riley’s gaze hardened. “The Authority controls everything—memory is the key. And they’ll destroy anyone who remembers too much. But I can help you get it all back, Lila. Your sister’s alive. Your family… they’re out there, and I’ll show you how to find them.”

Lila looked at her, disbelief still heavy in her chest. “Why should I trust you?”

“Because we don’t have a choice. The more you remember, the more dangerous you’ll become. And the more the Authority will try to erase you.”

Lila felt the weight of the truth settling over her. The memories she had lost, the pieces of her past she couldn’t touch, were not gone forever. They were waiting to be found. But only if she was brave enough to seek them.


And in that moment, she realized that the world she had accepted as her own—the one built on erased histories and stolen identities—was about to unravel.

It was time to remember.
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