The Town That Forgot

At exactly midnight, the world around Elara reset - except this time, something was different. It was a dark night, the full moon shining glamorously through the window pane of her small bedroom, the white gleam shining off her lamp. Noticing the bright lights that emitted the room, she looked at the clock - it was 12:01. Elara, feeling something was off, sat up on her bed, looking out the window. She could see her village - small but cozy. Elara lived here for all her life, leaving the village only once in her thirteen years of life. There were wolves howling through the forest that surrounded their small village, and the fireplace that was just running strong a few hours ago was now dead, laying with no embers to spare. 

She looked up at the sky, seeing the dark clouds that enclosed the sky, moving towards the moon to block its beautiful light. A minute has passed, Elara still looking out the window. She saw the spruce forest trees, its leaves blowing with the wind. It was there, she thought, there was when she tried to leave her village. She was just nearly seven years old, having immature thoughts of escaping the cruel village. They were at the campfire, and it was the middle of winter, with small flakes of snow gliding to the ground. Curiosity overtook her, and she ran away, running with her small legs as fast as she could, brushing past the tall spruce trees. She ran and ran, hearing her parent’s screams for her to come back. She ran till she met something she'd never seen before. It was long and narrow, with water moving fast in one direction. She could hear a loud roar from the moving water, splashing her as it moved past. She could see glints of fish in the water, swimming happily as they zipped past her. She stopped, staring at this sight. It was beautiful, she could remember, only for eight hours, until the clock struck midnight again. 

Elara’s mind stopped. How could she remember this? This was nearly six years ago, with more than two thousand midnights past. How could she remember?

Everyone’s memories from the past day were always erased at midnight. People go about their lives blissfully, unaware of what had happened yesterday - or a year ago. Elara wakes up to the same place, the same faces, and the same routine everyday without thinking of the past. Until now. Her heart dropped, as she realized what was going on. Quickly rushing out of her bed, she opened the door, running to her parents room which was just across the restroom. The loud pounding on the door instantly woke her parents up. 

“Elara?” Her dad said groggily, making some noise of getting out the bed, then opening the door.

“Dad… I know this might sound weird but, do you remember what happened yesterday?” Elara said, trembling.

“No, of course not, is this what you woke me up for?” Her dad said, in a sarcastic manner.

“S-sorry. I must’ve had a nightmare,” Elara muttered, then slowly walked back into her room, the floor creaking from each step. Elara realized that she has to do something before the next day, where she forgets everything again. She couldn’t understand why this had happened to only her. With a sigh, she silently snuck downstairs, with a weird urge to go to the abandoned house. Seeing the familiar kitchen and living room brought a smile to her face, but she had to leave. Quietly opening the door, a cold burst of wind blew at her face. She didn’t know what she was doing, but some strange feeling inside of her kept nagging her to move to the abandoned house that no one could remember why it was there. It was obvious no one remembered why, as they lose their memories during midnight. She walked to the house in the dark of the night, the cold wind and constant howls of wolves made her shiver. She stood in front of the house that no one was prohibited to explore inside. Ignoring her old lessons, she opened the door on the old and rusted steel handle. With a creak, the door opened, and a blast of heat filled the air. That’s odd, it’s winter - how is it so hot here, Elara thought. Nevertheless, she continued to move on. The inside was simple, a fireplace and a few couches that seemed dusty and rusted. The odd part was that the fireplace was on, fire burning on what it seemed to be new logs. Elara jerked her head around, feeling a presence watching her. Shaking off the feeling after seeing nothing but the closed door, she found a book lying on the table. It was a leather book, consisting of nearly 50 pages. Having nothing to do, and going out this far, she picked up the book. The book was surprisingly heavy for its size, it was more of a leather notebook than a full size book. She opened the first page - nothing. Turning and turning, the pages were all blank. Until she flipped to the last page, a single phrase taking all fame to itself. ‘If you’re reading this, you’re next.’ She faltered, her heart dropping. On natural instinct, she turned around ; to see nothing. Looking back at the book, there was nothing on the page. It was blank. She shook her head, but knew that she saw the writing. The worst part is - it was her own handwriting. Everything was put together - she wrote this before her memory got erased. Memories flooded her mind of how the town erases them from existence. Her friends that had gone missing. Was she going to run or stay and find a way to stop this town from consuming everyone? A line nagged in her mind from her memories: ‘You’ve been here before. You tried to escape. Don’t make that mistake again.’

She knew what to do. 

February 1, 2025 , By Chris Shao