Do You Remember?

The air was thick from the relentless heat of the sun, and I was glad to be hidden under the shade of my market booth. It was a Sunday afternoon, and countless townsfolk were bustling around, enjoying their free time to purchase items from the many surrounding stands. This stand was given to me by my Uncle, who had taken care of its business for many years. I had always wondered where my Uncle had found all of these beautiful artifacts - they certainly didn't all seem to be from where we lived - and he had always responded with the same words. 

'I knew of only one man who was brave enough to travel around the world and collect these little pieces of his journey to remember everything by." 

Though the one detail my Uncle would always leave out was who this man actually was, and he was doing this to protect me. 

'I can't tell you who this man was, but all I can say is that he is not with us anymore.' My Uncle told me. 'Now, we have to honour his memory by giving these artifacts away to those who can find a deeper connection with them, maybe through recalling someone special. Just like how he had used these artifacts to remember everywhere he had travelled to.' 

Wanting to know the identity of this "man" bothered me, though if my Uncle felt uncomfortable talking about it, I never pushed him. I trusted and was always grateful towards my Uncle. When my mother had passed, I was still at a young age - too naive to understand the ways of the world - and my Uncle graciously took me in his care. As I grew older, I began to notice the way he would carefully choose his words with me, as if afraid that he would reveal a secret I am not to be aware of, so I was left to contemplate the wide gap in my earlier memories by myself. What was he hiding? I would probably never know.

. . .

I gazed at the crowd rushing past until something caught my eye. It was a man of average height, dressed head-to-toe in black. The overpowering heat didn’t seem to bother him as he walked almost gracefully past other people in the general direction of my booth. What struck me the most was that nobody else cast a glance at him, though he was obviously out of place with the dark, heavy clothing. After reaching my booth, he offered a sincerely interested look at the artifacts displayed out in front.

“Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for, sir?”

The strange man looked up at me, and judging by his monolid eyes, he looked to be of Asian race. He was wearing a flat-brimmed hat, along with round-framed glasses, and a coat reaching down to his calves. “Why don’t you tell me? Do I look familiar to you at all?”

My ears picked up on a slight echo in his voice, though I quickly pushed this aside to ponder over later on. He seemed to be asking for a serious reply, but I still kept my guard up, like I was always told to do if confronted by a stranger. “I’m sorry, sir, you must be mistaken. Now, would you like to take a look at the other artifacts available inside the booth?”

The man only smiled up at me, and for a second, I was lost in the vague familiarity of that smile. “Well, that’s a shame. You really don’t remember?”

I had to admit that I was slightly curious about what this man was saying, but it also frightened me that he actually appeared to know who I was. “Excuse me, but, who are you exactly?”

“I’d rather not say in such a busy place like this. Would you mind accompanying me after closing down your booth? I have something that I want you to see.”

I wanted to deny his request because I barely knew anything about him - let alone his name - but something within me was drawn to trusting this man. It felt as if my heart was tugging towards him - a hidden connection that I wanted to seek the meaning of. As if controlled by a different person, I nodded.

. . .

My Uncle would still be away for the rest of this night, so I followed the lead of this man, who was still dressed in the same attire. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “Why are you wearing heavy clothes on such a hot day?”

The man kept walking, but I could hear great sadness in his voice as he replied. “It’s because I’m only a memory.”

I couldn’t even begin to comprehend what he meant by that, and as I prepared to ask another question, I froze at the sight ahead of me. A narrow river sat just before a dense forest of trees, with huge rocks interrupting the flow of its current. Fragmented memories flashed before my eyes at the sight of the river, and I tried to focus on them. I saw a younger version of myself, running through these grassy fields with my arms hanging out as if a could fly. Then, I was lifted up by a man wearing a fully black outfit, but his face was completely blurred.

I snapped out of the visions, and with a dazed expression, I stared at the strange man who was now facing me.

“Do you remember now, Amara?” He inquired in a gentle voice.

I was surprised when hearing my name, but truth be told, I still didn’t understand what he was talking about. “No, I'm sorry. I’ll admit that this scene is pretty, but I don’t understand why you brought me here. I think I should be heading back home now.”

Before I could turn around to leave, the man pulled out a picture from within his coat and held it out to me. “This is my gift to you. Keep it as your personal artifact.” His voice was filled with the same gentleness and love.

Taking the image, my heart began racing as I recognized the same little girl from my visions earlier, with her arms around the man standing right in front of me. Both carried joyous smiles on their faces, and there was a river flowing in the distance. The puzzle pieces were slowly joining together, and I gasped as more visions overcame me. I was back to seeing the younger me running curious fingers into the cold water of the river, and a male voice piped up behind me, telling me to be careful. I turned around and grinned to a man wearing a black coat with a short, black hat. Only then did I notice the wind whistling around us, which is probably why he was dressed in such heavy clothing.

“Daddy, look at this!” I turned back to the river and stepped onto a large rock a little ahead of me. I heard yelling from further back, but my feet automatically moved onto the next rock. Only one foot made it, and then I slipped, heard a splash, and finally, blackness.

My vision changed, and I opened my eyes faintly to see hospital lights above. There were two rushed female voices next to me, and I strained to listen to what they were saying.

“She was found unconscious on the land next to that river. The girl nearly drowned, but luckily, her father dragged her out in time. She’s in critical condition.”

“Will we be expecting the father here too?”

“Apparently, it was confirmed that he died after suffering an injury to his head. They’re saying that he probably slipped on a rock while trying to save her.”

“That’s awful, poor girl. I can’t imagine losing one of your parents at such a young age…”

That was the last thing I heard before the blackness consumed me again. I couldn’t take it anymore; these visions were too much for me to take in all at once. I forced my mind to snap back into reality, and I realized that I was by myself. Recalling all of the things I just saw, I walked around panicked, screaming for my father to come back. These were the missing memories that now filled the huge gap in my childhood, and I now realized what my Uncle was trying so hard to hide from me. I recalled how my father had loved to travel, taking me and my mother to various places in the world, bringing back artifacts that I could now label. After the accident, I had been released from the hospital, only to have my mother leave me behind shortly after. Now, I was simply grateful to have my memories of my missing parent restored once more, and I could remember them both equally and lovingly for the rest of my life. The photo my father gave to me laid at my feet, and I picked it up and held it close. I realized that there were dried tears on my cheeks, and when I heard a thought being said in my mind, fresh streams began silently falling.

My father’s final words to me were, “Don’t forget me again, okay?”