The Memory That Reached Back
Aurelia thought the city was only remembering.
Echoes of light.
Fragments of lives long gone.
Memories repeating in silence beneath the First Dawn.
But then one of them stopped.
It rose from the golden fountain, fragile and radiant, reaching toward her as if it had waited centuries for this moment.
Aurelia froze.
Not from fear—
but from the terrible realization that this memory had seen her.
And behind her, standing in silence, the mysterious figure watched as though this was exactly what was meant to happen.
Some memories fade.
Others wait to be found.