Memory

“Who’s Ethel?” My heart dropped as I heard those words. I felt as though my ears were deceiving me, so I kept looking at Eren. He was not joking. “T-The girl! You met her! Look, she’s right-” Ethel was nowhere to be seen. Where is she?

I ran around the ground, desperate to find her. I darted back home. I burst in through the door. “Ethel! Where are you?” I yelled out. Why do I care so much about her? I’ve barely known her. Maybe she just left. That definitely didn’t happen. She would never leave just like that. I ran to her room. “Ethel? Are you in here?” No reply. “I’m coming in.” /i announced as I opened the door to her room.

Her stuff was gone. All of it. It seemed like no one had even come in here. All things seemed normal. All but one. The bed had a small piece of paper on it. It had her name written on it. Is she actually gone? Is it possible she was kidnapped. That seems unlikely. It’s hard to kidnap someone in a house, especially in this neighborhood. Could a teacher know? I’ll go and ask them.

I was late to school, but that didn’t matter. As I entered class, I saw Ethel. She was sitting there, looking sad. “Where were you?! I was looking for you everywhere!” I yelled pointing at her. Her eyes lit up as she saw me. Others started to see her as well. “Excuse me, this is a classroom! You may do this later, but for now, sit down!” The teacher scolded. I sat down on my seat. “Ethel, where were you? I was so worried. Are you okay?” I asked. She smiled back. “I’m fine! You don’t need to worry. I’ll explain after school, okay?”

We barely talked during school despite our seats being next to each other. I kept thinking why she disappeared. I finally gave up. I’ll just ask her after school. The bell rang. Time to ask, I guess. We walked home in silence. As soon as we entered the house, she ran to her room. I tossed my bag to the side and dived on the couch. Ethel changed her clothes and came downstairs smiling. “So, Ethel, about today-”

“I’ll explain. I became invisible again. Once you came back, I was visible. I had a dream similar to that. I was invisible, but this time, even to you. Nobody could see me. I was so scared. That’s why I was sad. I’m fine now. So don’t worry, I’m fine” She answered. Her fake smile slowly diminished. This is what she was worried about. How can I help her? As soon as she realized that she was no longer smiling, she gave me a fake smile. “Like that’ll ever happen! I promise! That will never happen!” I reassured her. “To prevent this from happening again, give me your phone number.” She looked confused. “What’s a phone?”

Ethel knew nothing about our world. She had no clue about technology. That’s why she didn’t have a phone. “It’s this handheld device people have. We use it mainly to talk to people over long distances,” I said, handing her my phone. “I’ll get you one too. I’m kinda feeling tired, so I’m going to sleep. Can I have my phone back, please?” I asked

“No, I want to see how it works. I’ll give it back later.” She was completely engrossed in my phone. I walked upstairs. I went to Ethel’s room. All her things were back. They were back to normal, except for the note. It disappeared. Why did her things go missing? I wonder... I used the landline to call Eren. “What?! You called?! God has bestowed upon me a miracle! I shall remember this day for the rest of my life.” I interrupted. “Yeah, cool. Do you remember Ethel now? The girl in our class? The one who sits next to me?” Deep down, I hoped he’d say yes. “No, sorry. The seat next to yours is empty, man. You must really be tired. Try and get some sleep.” He hung up.

The next day, Ethel made some friends. All of them could see her. She seemed a lot happier now that she told me her dream. I still have to stay nearby, or else she turns invisible. Even at home, Ethel seemed happy now. I got her a new phone so we can stay in touch. Even if I’m far away, I can talk to her but she’ll remain invisible to those around her.

“Ethel, we’re out of food. Can you please go to the shop nearby and get the things?

I’ll give you the list.” I asked, going through the empty cabinets. “Um, yeah, sure. Give me the list and I’ll do it.” She answered. I handed her the list. She dashed out the front door immediately with a look of determination on her face. I realized a couple minutes later that I had to go with her, or else she’ll remain invisible. I followed her to the shop. I decided to stay outside the shop. As I peeked in, I saw she had everything we needed. She was trying to carry it by hand to the checkout counter, but someone helped her out by giving her a cart. She put it on the counter, but the cashier didn’t see her. “Excuse me, miss? I would like to buy this,” Ethel asked. No response. “Can you see me? Hello?” No response. I rushed into the store. She seemed like she was about to leave. She didn’t see me as I entered the store. I bought the things and went up to her. “Haha, I realized I forgot to give you the money to buy the things.” She payed no attention to me. I heard her whisper under her breath. “This isn’t fair.”