Before Abi could turn to lead him to their secluded house made of glass, Alex stopped her by grabbing her wrist. He was staring at the open space with narrowed eyes.
“Alex?” she called his name and she craned her head to look at his face. He looked at her and then suddenly, he swooped her up and leapt from the ground.
Once he landed, Abi looked at where he brought her and she gazed at him in surprise.
He slowly put her down after looking around as Abi just gaped at him. “This place…” he started as his eyes fell on the octagonal tent in the middle of a vast meadow covered with snow. “This was where…” he paused to look into her eyes. “You and I watched those lights?”
Abi took a while to respond. She was dumbstruck. “Y-you remember?!” she exclaimed, eyes opened wide.
Alex’s eyes roamed around once again, surveying the empty tent, the two outdoor chairs and the campfire. “I remember this place, the small campfire, and the lights.”
“W-what else do you remember?” she asked, obviously thrilled, as she held her breath.
Alex narrowed his eyes again. “The password for the lights to appear,” he said, as the lines on his forehead deepened.
“Do you remember what that was?” Abi’s eyes began to well as she asked. She remembered what he said that night, so clearly and vividly in her mind.
Silence reigned between them as their eyes locked on each other. The next moment, both of them spoke in unison.
“I love you,” they both said, surprising themselves.
Abi gasped as she covered her mouth with her palm. Tears began to flow from her eyes. It really was happening. It really was working. It was finally coming back to him and she felt like her heart was about to burst. She threw herself at him and hugged him as tight as she could.
“Oh, Alex…” she cried and then, as if they were in a choreographed movie set, the sky began to light up. It was coincidentally the perfect time for the northern lights to appear but to them, it was magic. The password worked because they said it.
Both of them looked up and the breathtaking lights began to dance above them, as if the sky too was celebrating with them.
Alex hugged her from behind, heating her up with his body as they watched the brilliant light show majestically glowing above them. The memories began to flash within him. He started to hear some of his own voice as well but he still couldn’t see Abigail or hear her voice in these images. It was as if there was a formidable wall that was blocking him from seeing everything that he still couldn’t break through.
But what was happening with him was making him hopeful, because just like Abi, he was desperate to remember everything. He wanted to remember her and everything that they had done, because since he found out about all of this, he had been cursing himself for actually forgetting her, for leaving her.
After watching the northern lights for a bit longer, Alex carried Abigail and then leapt onto the ground, right next to the campfire. They lit up the campfire and sat on the chair, sitting in the very same position as they did back then as they watched the northern nights.
“Let’s go inside the tent, Abigail. It’s getting too cold for you,” he told her when he felt her body start to shiver in his arms.
Abi immediately nodded and they both entered the tent. Alex began to turn on the lights, seemingly remembering where the light switches were and the memories of the two of them in this gorgeous little space flashed in Abi’s head. It felt like all those things happened just yesterday.
They then lay on the bed, cuddling each other as they looked up at the sky.
“Abigail…” he uttered her name and Abi looked at him. “Was this the place where we spent our first night together?” he asked her.
His question made Abi blush but she shook her head, causing Alex to look at her with curiosity.
“No Alex…” she answered, a little red. “W-we did spend a night here but, our first time happened in the house.”
“The house…” he echoed, thinking deeply like he was searching every corner of his brain.
“Shall we go there?”
Alex stared at her and since the lights were already starting to fade, Alex rose and climbed off the bed. They both stepped out of the tent and Alex gathered her in his arms again. Abi didn’t tell him where to go and just let him go in whatever direction he wanted. She wanted him to find the place himself. She wanted to force him to remember where the house was located.
It didn’t take too long before he leapt and landed just in front of the house. The lights were already on and they could see the interior of the house.
Abi was happy because he seemed to have remembered this place, too.
“Come, Alex,” she said as she took his hand and led him inside. As Alex looked around, he began to see himself, talking, laughing. But he remained alone, talking to someone invisible. Abigail was still not in the picture.
“So this is where we spend our first night together…” he said as he leaned against the door frame, looking at the empty bed.
Abi nodded at him, a blush of pink painting her cheeks again. Alex was dying to remember everything about that special night. To think that their first night actually happened here and not at White Falls Village… Alex once again felt like hitting himself. It was frustrating him to no end, not remembering. And Abigail was blushing, making him feel like she was enjoying a private joke, making him curious to death.
“This is frustrating…” he mumbled, causing Abi’s head to snap at him.
He walked over to her, eyes intense and he pinned her down on the bed. His fingers caressed her cheeks as he spoke with a voice full of need. “All the things we did here…” he started. “I want to know… make me remember, please.”
