Chapter 60 - 61. Recollection III
Although Azalea was my boss, I still could not trust her fully. There was something in me rejects with all she said and I needed to prove it myself.
After that, she walked away, leaving me and Yoru behind.
I decided to follow her, and encouraged myself to ask her questions, "I want to ask you something,"
Azalea halted and turned around fast, "Say, I have to go somewhere after this," Her expression was so uneager.
"Put me in that cage again! There are things I want to ask Antonie about," I could see she was so shocked by my request. Perhaps she wanted to say 'Are you losing your mind?' or 'Sure, and I will be grateful if Falak swallows you,' I thought.
Without too many questions about what I would ask Antonie about, Azalea took me to a room with a big gaping hole in the middle and thousands of cages hanging with silver iron rope.
"You don't have much time," She said while pointing at the prison dome, "Right before the light appears, I will pick you up," I nodded, "Ask him important points, and don't beat about the bush. Two hours from now, I will come here again," That was the last message before she took me to jump on top of an empty cage next to Antonie's.
I fell into that cage after that woman stomped her feet three times when she was on top of it. And after that, she left right away.
Ignoring the pain in my body, I looked at Antonie who was likely to be aware of my presence. He looked surprised, "What other mistake did you do this time that brought you back here? He asked right away.
I was still quiet and looked at him seriously. I knew I did not have much time left so i had to ask all things I wanted to know within that time, only paid attention to the important information, "Antonie, please answer me honestly," He looked like so innocent teenager knew nothing, "Is it true that the body you have right now is not your own?" He just nodded, "Do you still remember your own body?" he shook his head this time.
"Everyone I meet always asks me the same questions. This is getting me to my nerve," he was angry.
"Sorry, but please help me this time. Do you still remember your old time? I did not feel comfortable when he stared at me, but I tried to ignore it and pleaded to him, "I have the same experience, bad ones recently. I am just like you, getting so much annoyed with what I am facing and hoping things go back to normal life. Until I came to a certain point I wanted to give up at any time," I pretended like I was a desperate person, but in fact I was.
"You can sleep when Falak comes, that is the easiest way. I am sure he will be so grateful if you are willing to be his meal," He sounded cynical, I was instantly irritated.
"Yes, sure. I can do that," I said calmly to agree with, "I am also frustrated with my life, until I am confused not knowing what to do," Slowly I smiled to him. a half-hearted smile when I recalled a face of a young man that I remembered very dimly, "I am trying to fight for someone who is not supposed to be in this world anymore,"
The last words I gave more stress were able to make Antonie surprised, "He has?," He snapped it fast.
"Yes," I replied firmly, "A cat gave a spell to him so that he is still alive until now in the marionette," I smiled gloomily to a young man in a cage across mind, "I owe to Azalea to make her keep that marionette safe for me," Antonie looked me in disbelief.
"So, you tolerate with the person who hunted you so that she will keep what she crazily wanted take away from you?" Antonie asked with shocked expression, "Isn't it like you have given up to her," This time his face expression looked bewildered.
"Yes, you can say that again," I agreed with him, "I myself did not know why I chose this option. It is like a deadlock for me, not many option to choose, what to do, where to go. So I gave up," I smiled warily as if to mock myself, "Besides that, Azalea agreed to keep an eye on my friend as long as I joined with her. Nothing is wrong if I learn something from her, isn't it?" And I was really ready to take any consequences in my later life. Hoping I could not only get the badness but also the goodness
"She is a good person. I am sure she keeps her words," Antonie smiled, "Not much I can remember from my past, in my real body. I don't remember how old I was and what my name was. They call me Antonie, so I think that is my name," he was trying to recall something after that.
"I just remember one thing, and all wizards who were trying to bring back my memory did not help much. I remember a park where there were some children playing there. That is the memory in my head," His expression was given up.
"What is the park like? Can you see?" I was curious.
"It was in your place," I felt like being watered by cold water when heard it, "After I was in this body, I spent some time in Euron. I was hospitalized in a hospital near a park. I often dreamed about a playground, it was not the same playground," I tried to calm down and absorbed what Antonie told me carefully.
He was still trying to recall again, "The wizards seldom crossed out, they sent their guards or their men, instead. They don't know much about the world out there, so when I told them remembered, they did not really understand," I just nodded in response to his words.
After that Antonie continued to tell his memory in more details, such as, what the park was like, the colors of the slides, what kinds of rides, and he even knew the broken swings, "The same five little children always came into my memory when I recall that place. A slightly fat boy and a girl smaller than him were playing slide. A twin and their younger sibling were playing swings, and a girl and a young man were eating on a wooden table under a tree," He described it in detail.
"Didn't you say seven?" I was confused.
"Two persons eating were students of a school, I don't remember who they were," He explained, "I only remember those five children clearly, the rest was not very clear," I took notes all without missing, especially the playground he talked about.
To be honest, there was a lot of playgrounds in Euron with the same characteristics he told me. It was just like looking for a needle on the hay. And Antonie was not quite sure where it was precisely. It would be hard work for me, "Have I said that the park had five swings standing in a row?" He added.
…
"Your time is up," Someone startled me when I was trying hard to remember every playground I had visited. Azalea stood on the top of the cage with pride, "I hope you have asked all information that you need," As she said she walked through the cage like a ghost as if no bars that could prevent her. She lifted me and took me out if it.
"I hope you don't make use of other persons for your own benefit," Antonie reminded her, "Just because you are in authority, you can do anything you like. And it is better you keep your promise to that kid," He added before we swung up and went away,"
Azalea did not respond to Antonie's statement, just asked me to go with her.
"What did he say?" Azalea asked me after she thought we were far enough from the place Antonie was locked.
"He did not remember much, only a playground, that is all," Azalea looked disappointed with my explanation.
"He keeps narrating the same story when being questioned about his past," She was irritated.
"Should we look for that park? He told me he was in Euron before he brought up here," I said to bring up an idea, "Perhaps if we are able to collect pictures or anything in that park, we will be able to help him recall his past," Azalea was silent, she looked at me closely, judging my idea perhaps.
"Is that possible?" she was doubtful.
"Actually it will take a longer time to search the park with the characteristics he told me, but if we split, it may be faster," I was trying to make Azalea understand my idea.
"Fine, we will start in three days from now. I will ask the others to help you," I was so happy to hear that.. It would mean I did not have to ask permission to go to my world to meet the coin buyer.