That One Forgotten Friend
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Felicity looks at the sky above. The rising sun seems to make the world feel calm and warm. She closes her eyes and allows herself to relax.

- So you really don’t remember? Anything at all? - Asked Hugo, trying not to sound sad. Of course he couldn’t do that very well.

- Nothing. I’m sorry. - The girl replies, ending the sentence with a sigh. - I’m hungry.

- Hey don’t be sorry about something you have no control over. I get it. - He thinks for a moment before pulling a candy bar out of his backpack. He hands it to her.

- Thanks. I mean it.

The girl looked up and stared at the tiny black dot at the distance. She couldn’t tell what it was. There was no detail, no shadows, no lights, just a floating black cube at a fixed point in the sky.

- What is that? - She says, pointing at the dot.

- What’s what?

- The dot.

- What dot?

- That dot!

- I don’t see anything.

Felicity searches her backpack until she finds a pair of binoculars. With them, she stares right at that strange thing, trying to make out anything. Again however, she sees nothing but a perfectly round black dot in the sky.

- It’s just... Floating there. I don’t get it.

- Oh! That must be your marked way point! Your glasses show you a little dot on top of the coordinates you set. You don’t remember that either?

- I didn’t. I couldn’t remember anything.

- I mean, we wouldn’t be able to navigate these woods without help. - He chuckles lightly. - This place is a maze!

Felicity takes off her glasses and stares at them. Can they really do that? She asks herself what else those glasses can do. As if reading her mind, Hugo tells her.

- I actually got you those as a gift, you know? Best ones I could find with my budget. The can also scan for synchronized devices, display holographic text, play music and some other things. You’ll figure them out in time.

Hugo gets up and stretches. He picks up his backpack again and starts walking. When he notices that Felicity isn’t with him, he stops and turns to look at her.

- Shall we? We’ve still got a lost city to find, Blue.

- Okay. - The girl answers, looking worried. - Can I just ask you something?

- What is it?

- Can you tell me some stuff about me on the way? About us?

Hugo looks at the ground. He’s clearly sad about what happened, but when he looks back at her he has a sympathetic smile on his face.

- Sure. That’s what friends are for, right?

The two start moving, going back to the path and leaving the village behind. Meanwhile Hugo tells Felicity about times they went hiking. The sights they had seen, the pictures they took, the things they brought back home.

He told her of how they met in high school. It was very embarrassing for both of them, but Felicity laughed throughout the entire thing.

- In fact your glasses should still have some pictures! Here, give it to me really quick.

He puts on the glasses and starts swiping at apparently nothing in front of him, getting more and more concerned. Eventually he returns them to her.

- It’s erased, Blue. I don’t know why.

- Well I certainly didn’t do it. - She responds - Maybe it was like an automatic thing?

- No, they don’t do that normally. I don’t know, I’m getting some bad feelings about this place. Let’s find that place and get outta here.

- Sure thing!

She puts her glasses back on, and without much thought holds Hugo’s arm, pulling herself close while they walk. She doesn’t even notice him blushing, much to his relief.

The path gets easier as it goes on, and the sun was now directly above them. Hugo was still sharing stories of fun moments they had together. She regrets not remembering them.

Soon they come across a small camping site. It looks recent, but there aren’t any signs of people nearby. They sit down and decide to take a small break from walking. The tents are big enough to fit both of them, so they pick one and go in.

- Well this is convenient - Hugo chuckles - Did you bring any marshmallows? We could light the campfire.

- I didn’t, sorry.

- Ah that’s okay. I’m normally in charge of the snacks anyway.

Felicity stares at the floor, disappointed in herself. How could she forget someone that seemed so fun to be around? She still feels as if their friendship matters, even if none of the memories are there.

Hugo places a had on her shoulder, and looks into her eyes. His demeanor and expression calms her a little bit. Even he seems to smile just a bit more when looking at her.

- Don’t worry Blue. I’m not sure why you don’t remember anything, but it’s okay. We’ll get those memories back. Somehow.

- What if we don’t? - The girl’s eyes start to tear up.

- We will.

- I don’t know. I’m scared. I don’t want to forget my life. My friends my family, my-

- Blue. I promise you, everything is gonna be alright.

She seems to calm down a little. Looking into Hugo’s eyes she tries to think of what to say.

- Thank you.

Both of them stay silent for a little while. When Felicity looks back at his friend she notices him starting to cry. Trying to think quick of what to do, she grabs the photo in her backpack.

- Hey - she puts her hand on his shoulder - When did we take this picture?

Hugo picks the picture up and stares at it. He seems to be remembering something.

- This day was the first time we left our world and visited another. There was a festival happening, and we couldn’t help but visit. - he chuckles - You ended up liking the hotel a lot more.

- We should go there again. Maybe I’ll remember something, right?

- Right. We should probably keep moving though.

They get up and walk outside. Moving away from the tents they continue talking about other memories. Felicity starts to remember someone else too, although she does not remember who it is. Again, a name comes to mind: Julie. She keeps that to herself for now.

The path gets narrow. They keep moving in silence now, concentrating on remembering the way back, following direction and not tripping on any roots or rocks.

The trees are now really close together, and the leaves block out the sun. They then reach what looks like a stone hut on the side of a hill.

- Is this it? - Hugo asked

- I think so, the glasses say I reached my way point. It should be here.

- Alright, let’s go in then.

- Yes! This is exciting.

Hugo cracks two glow sticks. He keeps the green one and hands the blue to Felicity.

- Shall we?

They go in the hut. It’s small, dusty and dark. The furniture there is very old. There are cobwebs everywhere. Some books, now completely ruined, sit on the center of the room. When the girl reaches for one of them, she notices a small trapdoor.

- Green! I found something.

- Green?

- Hey, you call me Blue. It’s only fair. - She gives him a tiny smug smile.

- Heh, I guess it is.

They open up the trapdoor and look in, seeing nothing but darkness. Hugo throws another glow stick down there. It’s not too far down, they could reach it with a rope. They quickly tie one end around him and the other on a rock outside the hut. Hugo goes down, and then so does Felicity, descending into the darkness below.

End of part 2

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