A Life Once More-Chapter 41: A Heavy Call

Elize and I watched Ophi's way-too-loud laughter, then just ignored her.

"Thank you so much!"

"It's no problem. I'm happy you enjoyed the show. I still have a long way to go to be like my mom though." I smiled when I said that.

Elize stared at me.

I cocked my head to the side, which broke her trance.

"I can understand that! My mom is someone I'm trying to surpass too!"

"Oh? May I ask who she is?"

"She's an artist. You probably wouldn't know her, but your mom bought one of her paintings one time."

Thinking about home, I searched through all of my memories, but nothing stood out to me. I went to almost every room except Cain's, Euphi's, and Mom's. They've been gone, and that's a huge invasion of privacy.

[Plus, being with Kate]

'Okay bro. Why do you keep bringing her up?'

[Hey. I'm just stating facts.]

'There was literally no reason to bring her up...'

[Hmmm, yeah there was. You need a whole day to yourself.'

'A-are you worried about me?' I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

[Honestly, that would be an accurate statement.]

'JUST SAY YES! Why make it so complicated???'

"No. It's not. I was trying to think if I've seen the painting. My sigh was not intended to be disrespectful."

Her voice wavered slightly, and for a moment, I caught the smallest tremble in her hands as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

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"O-Oh. Then I'm sorry too. Most people tend to react that way."

"Don't worry about them." I smiled, trying to put more weight behind my words. "If someone can't appreciate your passion, then just find people who do."

Ring Ring~

'Mom?' I looked at Elize apologetically and signaled at the finally calmed-down Ophi. She nodded and just went back to browsing while I stepped outside.

"Hey, Mom."

"Eiz, I—I can't wait. I need to have this talk now!" Her voice sounded exhausted, and while it wasn't a video call, I could tell she was unwell. My heart stopped thinking about the stress I'd caused her. She's been nothing but a wonderful mom, and I've left her in the dark way too long.

'I should've just told her yesterday!' I kept this in my mind while I moved to a more secluded area. Obviously, in the city, I couldn't find a spot that was truly secluded, but I did my best—an open alleyway, which I took a few steps into.

"Okay, Mom."

"Yes?" So much fear was behind her voice that I couldn't even get the next words out without straining my voice.

"I-I've lost my memories, particularly ones related to myself."

Silence.

Silence was the only thing I could hear from the phone. I didn't take my phone off my ear for a second, but I knew lots of time was passing. Each second did a number on my mental state, even causing nervous ticks to reveal themselves.

"Really?!" There was a sharp crackle on the line, like she had shifted suddenly. I opened my mouth to respond, but she rushed to add, "W-Was it on Tuesday?"

Her voice wavered, thin and shaky, like she was trying and failing to hold herself together.

"Yes."

"D-DID SOMETHING CAUSE IT?"

"I'm unsure. I just blinked, and then the rest is history." Keeping my voice steady was harder than I thought. My throat tightened with every word, and I knew—knew—each one was cutting her deeper.

"I see. I-I'm so sorry I didn't notice." I heard it before I even processed it; the small, broken sob that slipped through the speaker. She was crying now. Whether it was from relief, guilt, sadness, or all of it tangled together, it didn't matter. What mattered was that I caused it.

"You have nothing to apologize for! You didn't notice because I didn't want you to notice! I didn't want to burden you, or Cain and Euphi." I gripped the phone tighter against my ear, feeling my own hands tremble just slightly with the weight of everything I was trying to shove down.

"Hehe~, you still have that trait about you." She laughed, albeit it sounded more depressing than joyful.

"Look, I'm still your son, so there isn't anything to worry about! I-I just have to make new memories, is all."

"Make new ones?" She paused. I couldn't help but worry that she didn't want to. Why would she even want to when years of progress have been thrown down the drain?

I clenched my jaw, hating how awful this situation made me feel and especially how bad I've made mom feel.

"Yeah, you're right! What have I been so worried about, haha~"

"You know, I've heard Convergence Week is coming up. How about we do something as a family?" It was the only thing I could offer that would truly cheer her up.

Convergence Week was a week-long holiday celebrating the day all of the continents came together into a massive supercontinent. It's kind of just like fall break and stuff, but they scratched fall break to make this week-long holiday. As for where I learned this, I have the chatty people in Biology to thank for it!

"It's in three weeks, right?"

"Yes," I answered.

"I will gladly do that."

"Phew~, good! Uh, I don't know where to go, so I'll leave it up to you, Mom!" I tried to pack as much warmth and energy into my voice as I could, feeling the slight crackle of the call against my ear. Whatever I could do to ease the stress I'd caused her, I would.

"Hehe~, okay. That's also something you've kept." Her laugh came through a little staticky, lighter this time, like a weight was finally peeling off her chest.

I leaned back against the cool brick wall behind me, the faint hum of city traffic buzzing in the background. A real smile broke across my face, one I couldn't have forced even if I tried. Sure, it might be a little awkward for a bit, but honestly... this conversation had gone smoother than I ever thought it would.

'I swear that I won't let this happen again.'