Chapter 46: Where Memories Dwell

After hiking up the hill and helping one another along, they finally arrived. They stood before a structure that looked quite massive up close, even though half of it was in ruins. It appeared to have been abandoned for a very long time, certainly far longer than just fifteen or ten years ago. Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie stood frozen before an entrance that lacked both a door leaf and a frame; a strange sensation washed over them, keeping them rooted to the spot.

The melody continued to drift out, clearly originating from inside the building ahead, holding the four of them spellbound.

"For some reason... I feel like I know this place... and I know it didn’t use to look like this," Clyde said, staring straight ahead.

"Same... I feel the exact same way," Craig added.

"Um... do we have to go inside?" Corie asked.

"It seems like you’re hesitant to enter?" Casca asked, turning to look at Corie.

"I don’t know... I have mixed feelings right now. I want to go in, but I’m also scared to go in," Corie answered.

"And that song... it seems to be coming from inside," Craig said.

"You’re right... let’s go in," Clyde urged.

"Ugh... I knew you were going to say that, Brother," Casca said.

At last, they stepped inside. The moment the four of them crossed the doorway, the floating melody abruptly stopped, as if whoever was playing it knew of their arrival and ceased playing. Naturally, this brought all four to a halt once more as they surveyed their surroundings.

Inside looked like a ruined lobby. Grass and tall weeds sprouted through the gaps in the floor tiles; the shape of a desk rested in the corner of the room, and an empty notice board hung on the wall, completely bare save for dirt and wild plants bursting through the plaster and board itself.

Clyde motioned with his head to Craig, Casca, and Corie, and they walked down a crumbling corridor whose walls and ceiling had caved in, allowing sunlight to stream inside. As they passed a room on the right, they used a flashlight to peer into the darkness. Every single one of their faces changed upon seeing what was inside.

It looked like a children’s playroom containing antique, weathered wooden rocking horses that had rotted with age. They also spotted children’s drawings pinned to the walls, so covered in dust and grime that the original pictures were no longer visible. Low shelves were completely smothered by creeping vines and wild plants.

Beholding the room stirred an unexplainable ache of nostalgia deep within each of their hearts, as though they had spent countess days playing and learning in that very room long ago. Clyde turned to look at Craig, who stood transfixed; then he looked at Casca and Corie, who were holding hands and looking deeply saddened.

"Let’s keep going. We have to find the source of that melody we heard," Clyde said softly.

Craig, Casca, and Corie turned to Clyde and nodded. They resumed walking down the corridor. As they near the end of the hallway, they noticed another room on the right that looked like a study hall or a classroom filled with small wooden desks that were broken and decayed. They also saw an ancient chalk blackboard split in half along the wall.

"Brother... this room," Casca said.

"Yeah... the room from our dream back then... the dream where we were eating," Clyde said.

"I... had that dream too... I was sitting next to Sister Celes and Corie," Craig added.

"Um... can we please not talk about that? I still remember that dream clearly," Corie said.

"Yeah... let’s keep going. Let’s see what’s up ahead," Clyde replied.

"Okay, Brother," Craig, Casca, and Corie replied in unison.

After that, they continued walking until they reached the end of the corridor, where Clyde noticed a hallway branching off to the right. He turned and walked down the hallway, spotting a staircase leading up to the second floor that was completely blocked by rubble, making it impossible to ascend. They pressed onward. On the right, another room appeared, this one far more vast, with lines of rusted, ancient iron bed frames stretching into the dark, resembling a children’s dormitory ward, littered with broken toys and ruined dolls.

There were five beds in total. They stepped inside to inspect the interior using their flashlights. On one of the beds, a plaque was still attached to the front frame, reading C-3135. The four recoiled and immediately checked the other beds. To the left of the bed labeled C-3135 was one labeled C-1703, while to its right were three beds marked C-2419, C-4504, and C-0213 at the far end. Their faces turned completely pale as they looked at those beds, their breathing growing ragged.

"Is this... our room?" Craig asked.

"I don’t know... I don’t want to remember. What if we just leave, Brother?" Casca pleaded.

"Wait... is this... my teddy bear? Ugh... I can’t remember and my head hurts... let’s leave, Brother," Corie pleaded.

"Yeah... let’s go. It feels strange inside this room," Clyde urged.

They hurried out and walked rapidly further down the corridor. Their faces were deathly pale and their breath came in heavy gasps as they held hands tightly, their palms slick with sweat from their desperate grip. Reaching the end of the corridor, they spotted a rather large doorway on the left. Stepping inside, the eyes of all four widened and their mouths fell agape, their grips tightening even further as total shock washed over their faces.

Before them lay a massive garden enclosed within a perfectly circular, vast chamber covered by a glass dome that was now shattered. A giant tree poked through the broken glass opening, and the entire garden had transformed into a jungle, filled with wild vegetation from the outside that had crept in through the dome and merged together.

"Th-this garden... I know this garden," Clyde murmured, frozen in place.

"Yeah... this garden... the place where we listened to that song... together," Casca added.

"I... remember... I remember... I remember," Corie whispered, spellbound.

"This... this garden... our place... I’m sure of it," Craig whispered.

All four remained rooted to the spot, staring at the overgrown garden before them. It was the garden from their dream, where they had sat together listening to a melody played on a piano by a woman in the middle of the garden. Clyde’s vision of his dream in the garden became crystal clear, every face in his dream finally revealed, from Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, though the face of the woman playing the piano still remained blurred. As the four stood transfixed, suddenly,

Ting... teng... tang...

Na... na... na...

The melody rang out again, but this time it wasn’t just humming, it was accompanied by the sound of piano keys. The four recoiled, reflexively clutching their heads, trying to process whether their minds were playing tricks on them because they were remembering something or if they were truly hearing the melody. After a moment, Clyde pinched his cheek, ow! He felt the pain, meaning he was undeniably hearing the actual melody and piano playing. He immediately searched for the direction the sound was coming from.

"The sound... it’s coming from up ahead," Clyde said.

"Let’s head over, Brother," Craig urged.

Casca and Corie stayed silent, but they gripped Clyde’s and Craig’s arms tightly, their eyes fixed straight ahead. Finally, the four stepped forward slowly, wading through the overgrown garden, following the sound of the piano to its source. Their hearts, which had been motionless all this time, now beat violently, as if pounding to leap right out of their chests. Corie clutched her chest,

"Ugh... my chest... it hurts," Corie said.

"I know... I feel the exact same way. Here... let me hold you," Craig added, taking Corie’s hand as she immediately wrapped her arms around him.

"We have to keep moving forward... don’t forget... our goal is to find Celes," Clyde said.

"I understand, Brother... let’s keep going... but please hold my hand," Casca replied, holding Clyde’s hand tightly.

"Don’t let go of my hand," Clyde said.

"I won’t, Brother... I’m not letting go," Casca replied.

They kept walking and walking, huddling together and holding each other’s hands tight, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions that were impossible to put into words. After a journey that felt endlessly long despite the short distance, they finally reached the central circle. Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie gasped. Before them, right in the center of a circular floor untouched by vegetation, sat a piano, looking brand new, completely unmarred by time or rot.

"This... this place... we’re... home," Clyde stammered.

Craig, Casca, and Corie said nothing, but the expressions on their faces showed they felt the exact same way as Clyde. In the end, the four stood frozen once more, staring at the piano in the middle of the garden, looking identical to the one in their dreams, listening to the melody drifting all around them from the piano right before their eyes.