The garden smelled amazing. It made me a little sad that I couldn't see the flowers that produced this wonderful scent. Tani hadn’t taught me any sigils related to sight yet, so I couldn’t figure out what words to try. And I didn't want to risk guessing.

     “Lilli?”

     “Yes mommy?” 

     “Big sister and big brother are going to be coming home soon.”

     “Yay, I miss sissy lots.” 

     “What bout your brother?” Auntie asked.

     “I guess,” I pouted. 

     This made them both laugh, their infectious laughter making me giggle. Mommy continued to hold on to me, I could feel the warmth of the sun touching the lower part of my face. The sun was especially bad for people like me, one of the things our lab was working on were ocular implants to cure blindness. I wasn’t on that project, but one of my friends was.

     I snorted to myself, drawing looks from Mommy and Auntie. Not wanting them to fuss over me, I smiled and giggled, then played with my hands. I suppose that we could be called friends. Even though we only ate lunch together and talked about our projects. She did explain some of what she was working on, and I vaguely remember my anatomy lessons. Though, I wasn't about to start experimenting on my eyes. There was no guarantee we had the same biology. Magic would most likely be my solution. 

     Maybe I could do some more work in my mind palace? Though I immediately discarded that idea, Auntie was talking to Mommy and focusing on her, but I could tell her attention was also on me. The garden was hazy, the plants did have some ether, apparently. Some more than others. I was able to see some of them clearly. The brightest of them all were these small flowers on long stems. 

     I’d have to get Auntie to bring me outside sometime, so I could learn about the plants. Once again I found myself missing Tani, but she was supposed to be gone for a couple more days. I don’t know when Auntie wants to talk to me, but with Tani gone, it would be the perfect time. It was nearly impossible, as usual, to tell how much time exactly has passed. Just as I was getting hungry, Mommy called for food to be brought to us. 

     I was eating more solid food now, as far as I could tell about half my teeth had come in. Tani taught me a spell to help with the pain. I blushed as I remember giving her a kiss for that one. Mommy and auntie took turns feeding me, the food was delicious. It tasted almost like chicken and potatoes. As I took my last bite, I felt it.

     “Mommy potty!” I said urgently. 

     She gracefully but hurriedly got up and carried me back inside. There was a toilet not too far from the garden, and we made it in time. It was a little embarrassing going in front of both Mommy and Auntie. Though it was a lot less embarrassing than going in a diaper. After I finished, they lavished me in praises and helped me wash my hands.

     We went back to the garden, but this time we sat in the grass. I was able to run around a bit and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was surprisingly easy to go into ‘kid mode’. I’m not sure how exactly they did it, but there were no rocks or twigs to accidentally step on. A quick glance showed that Mommy and Auntie were distracted, so I made my way over to the small flower I saw earlier. 

     As I got closer, I could feel something about the flower. Once I got close enough, I could smell it. The flower somehow smelt like a cold night. Before I could investigate too much, Mommy came over.

     “Now Lilli don't go too far,” she said, picking me up.

     “Mommy what’s that?” I asked pointing in the general direction of the flower. “It smells nice.”

     “That's a Dreamweaver Lily.”

     “Ooo, what’s that?”

     “It's a flower that is rumored to have healing properties, it supposedly would be used to help people ease their pain and allowed them to sleep restfully.”

     “That sounds nice.” 

     “It does, no one has been able to reproduce that effect.”

     I wonder why. Mommy carried me back to Auntie and set me down again, giving me a bottle to drink from. It didn’t me long to fall asleep.

 

*****

 

     I woke up in Mommy’s arms. “Oh, those eyes do open.”

     “Hi mommy,” I smiled. “Where’s Auntie?”

     “She’ll be back in a bit, she went to town,” Mommy said, kissing my cheek. 

     We were in my room, Mommy was sitting in the rocking chair.

     “Mommy, I need to go potty.” 

     “Ok, sweetie,” she said. She carried me to the bathroom, after doing my business and washing my hands she carried me back to my room. Then we went to my door and she carried me down the hall. Without Tani, I didn't know where we were. I think we were going to the dining room.

     “Mommy, where going?”

     “I need to get something from my office Lilli, then we’re going to go eat. Are you hungry?” 

     I nod my head. She kissed my cheek and smiled. A few servants passed by as we walked down the hallways. They would bow and give an appropriate greeting. After a minute or two, Mom opened a door and walked over to her desk. She picked up something that positively was packed with ether. 

     Mom pocketed it and cheerfully said. “Time to get some din din in your belly.”

     I giggled as she poked my belly and kissed my nose. She spent the walk to the dining room cooing and fawning over me. I spent the whole time giggling and smiling. Mom paused the baby talk and I took advantage of that to hug her.

     “Love you mommy,” I giggled and kissed her chin. 

     “I love you too, baby girl,” she smiled and kissed my cheek. 

 

*****

 

     “Close your eyes, Lilli,” Mom said. When I closed them, she rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. I reflexively sputtered as the water ran down my face. “All done,” she cooed. 

     “Miri?”

     “Yes Jean?”

     “I think Lilli should go back to her old room now. I’ll move into the one next to hers.”

     “I’ll think about it,” Mommy replied as she played with me. We played for a little longer before she drained the tub and got me dressed. She picked me up and carried me back to Aunties room. Mommy sat in a chair, still holding me, and the two of them talked. It was mostly small talk about various business exploits. Auntie kept tossing glances my way. When it seemed like Mom would keep talking, I pretended to fall asleep. 

     “Miri dear, it looks like Lilli has fallen asleep,” she whispered after waiting a minute.

     “Someone was tired,” she replied in her baby voice.

     “She had a busy day.”

     “Yes, she did!” she stood up and set me in my crib. “I’ll let you get to bed Jean. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

     “Think about what I said, please.”

     “Tomorrow, I’ll give you an answer,” Mom replied.

     I heard mom walk away as the door closed. Auntie waited a minute before speaking.

     “Lilli we need to talk,” her voice was quiet with a hint of sadness.

     I opened my eyes and sat up. She was looking down at me sadly.

     “Ok, auntie, I’ll talk,” I said, silently wishing Tani was here.

     “I’ve asked this before. But who are you really?”

     “I’m Lilli,” I said sweetly, “I have memories of my previous life, but I am nothing more than Lillianna, your niece.” 

     Auntie looked stunned but happy. “Thank goodness, I was worried I’d have to tell my sister bad news.”

     “You believe me?”

     “Of course I do, I have a skill that lets me see who is being truthful or not.” Well, that confirms my suspicion. “Your previous life wasn’t on this world, was it?”

     “No, I lived on a planet called earth, there was no magic, yet they had technology that was more advanced than ours.”

     “What was your name?”

     “I don’t remember, and even if I did, it’s not mine anymore, it belonged to someone else. Even though I have her memories, I'm not her. At least not entirely.”

     “That’s some mature wisdom for a baby,” she smiled.

     “I spent a lot of time trapped in my head. When I couldn't speak, before I met Tani. I had a lot of time to think about myself. I was confused at first, but I realize that even though I have her memories, I'm not the same person that she was.”

     “Is that why you’re different from when I first met you?”

     “I grew up some, it’s natural to change. I was trying to act like the adult I remembered. I fought against my new reality.”

     “Why were you reborn here? And why do you remember your past life?”

     “I wish I knew, though I suspect that people are always reborn. Just without their memories.”

     “Last question then. What are your plans?”

     “I want to go to the forest and investigate the repository. I have a feeling it might be related to your previous questions.”

     “Well, that’s all the questions I have for now. Get some rest.”

     “I will auntie love you,” I giggle. 

     “Love you too, Lilli,” Auntie said, kissing my cheek.

     I hugged her, then cuddled up with my doll.

 

*****

 

     This sigil is proving much harder to decipher. I asked Tani to teach it to me just before she left. It was a spell used to enhance one’s vision, and though it didn't work for me, I figured if I could decipher it I might be able to restore my sight. Even though it didn't work for me, I figured I might be able to make something work. 

     So here I was in my mind palace looking through videos of her college lectures. I hadn’t abandoned my goal of sorting these memories, but I also haven’t been as diligent. Although they were a part of me, they began to feel less like mine. I sighed, I wasn’t making much progress on this sigil. I decided to open my compendium. I had to make some conclusions regarding the language. The sigils seemed to follow some basic rules. I opened my rudimentary dictionary.

     I hadn’t deciphered many of the runes. The sigils I had learned contained few words, or maybe the language was just simple. Either way, it was a problem I would overcome. Even with my limited vocabulary, I had an idea. There were a few sigils I thought might contain what I needed, I just needed to solve them.

     I exited my mind palace and spent the rest of my night exhausting all my ether. Even with compression, it became harder to exhaust it all. Auntie had been asleep for a while when i finally exhausted my power and fell asleep.

 

*****

     “Tani!” I smiled as she phased through the wall. 

     “My flower!” she exclaimed as she clung to my face. “I missed you so much!”

     “I missed you too,” I said, tears trailing down my face. 

     “Ladies,” Auntie coughed.

     I blushed but continued to cuddle with Tani.

     “Tani, how was your trip?” I asked her as we both lay in my crib, snuggling. 

     “It was boring, and I spent the whole time missing you. How was it here?”

     “The same, though I did get to spend a lot of time with Mommy and Auntie.” She nuzzled my face, “I had to tell her about my memories, though.” 

     “That went well, I assume?”

     “Yes, but she wants to tell Mommy. But I'm afraid,” I said softly.

     “The sooner, the better, Lilli,” Auntie said. “My sister doesn’t fully suspect yet, but I know there’s a small doubt in her mind.”

     “What if she abandons me?”

     “Miri would never do that to any of her children.”

     “Ok, I’ll tell her next time I see her.”

     “Good girl, now it's time for breakfast then play time.”