Yandere Stream

The laughter came from the forest again, and this time nobody mistook it for the wind. Eden stood beneath the tree with the photograph still in his hand, staring toward the line of trees beyond the house. Morning sunlight filtered through the branches and painted the grass gold, but the forest itself seemed wrong. The deeper he looked, the darker it appeared. There was no movement among the trees, no birds, no insects, not even the sound of leaves shifting in the breeze. It was as though the forest was holding its breath. Finn slowly stepped beside him and kept his eyes fixed on the shadows. "You heard that too, right?" Eden nodded. "Yeah." Adrian walked up behind them and rubbed a hand over his face. "Please tell me we’re not doing the mysterious-child-in-the-woods thing again." Mira calmly closed her book. "We are." Adrian sighed dramatically. "Of course we are."

Luna stepped closer and looked down at the photograph. "Six were here." Eden nodded slowly. "But there were only five of us." Mira immediately shook her head. "No." Everyone turned toward her. She pointed at the photograph. "There were six." Eden frowned. "You remember?" Mira stared at the image. "I remember seeing six children." His stomach tightened. "Then why did you never tell me?" Mira’s gaze never left the photograph. "Because I didn’t remember the sixth one either." Eden felt a chill crawl up his spine. "What do you mean?" Mira turned the photograph over. On the back, the same message remained written in familiar handwriting.

You forgot the one who was watching.

She stared at the words for several seconds before whispering, "I remember the eyes." Eden frowned. "What eyes?" Mira looked toward the forest. "The sixth child." Finn crossed his arms. "How do you remember someone you can’t remember?" Mira frowned as she searched through fragments of memory. "I don’t know." Finn tilted his head. "Was it a boy?" She shook her head. "A girl?" Another pause. "I don’t know." Finn looked exasperated. "Then what exactly do you remember?" Mira closed her eyes. "The feeling." Everyone waited. After a moment she continued quietly. "She was always there. Whenever we played beneath this tree, she watched from the forest. Whenever we went into the house, she stayed outside. Whenever one of us cried, she was already looking at us." Luna wrapped her arms around herself. "Why didn’t we ever see her?" Mira opened her eyes. "Because we weren’t supposed to."

Eden lowered his gaze to the photograph again. There were six children beneath the tree. Five were facing the camera. The sixth wasn’t. Her body was angled away, her face hidden behind the shoulder of the boy beside her. He stared harder. There. Just visible through the blur of the old photograph was a single eye. Black. Not dark brown. Not blue. Not green. Pitch black. Eden’s blood ran cold. He had seen those eyes before. In dreams. In the Archive. In the white room. In the spaces between timelines. Once, years ago, he had seen them reflected in a window when he had been certain he was alone. His voice barely emerged. "I know her." Luna looked at him. "You do?" Eden nodded slowly. "I think so." "What’s her name?" He stared at the photograph. "I don’t know."

A voice answered from the forest.

"You did."

Everyone froze. The voice was soft. A child’s voice. Eden stepped forward. "Who are you?" Silence followed for several seconds before the voice returned. "You called me something." Eden’s heart pounded. "What?" A small figure stepped out from between the trees. She looked around eight years old. A white dress covered in dirt hung loosely around her frame. Black hair fell over her shoulders. She was barefoot, and a small scar rested beneath her left eye. Yet none of that was what made Eden stop breathing. It was her eyes. Pitch black. The girl stared directly at him before smiling softly. "You called me Nobody."

Nobody moved. Even Finn, who had developed a remarkable ability to make jokes at the worst possible moments, remained silent. The girl walked out of the forest and stopped several yards away. Luna stared at her. "Nobody?" The girl nodded. "Yes." Luna’s face paled. "You’re real." The girl’s smile widened slightly. "I always was." Eden stepped forward. "Why don’t I remember you?" Her smile faded. "Because you asked me to disappear." Eden froze. "I did?" She nodded. "You were scared." "Of what?" The girl glanced briefly toward Luna. "Of being alone."

Eden followed her gaze. Nobody pointed toward Luna. "You created her because you wanted someone to love." Then she pointed toward Adrian. "You created him because you wanted someone to understand you." Her finger shifted toward Finn. "You created him because you wanted someone to protect you." Then she looked toward Mira. "You created her because you wanted someone who could remember you." Finally, she touched her own chest. "And you created me because you wanted someone who could forget." Eden felt his chest tighten. "What does that mean?" Nobody walked closer. "I was supposed to be the part of you that could let go." Eden stared. "You were a fragment." She nodded. "Yes." "Then why don’t I remember creating you?" Her answer came quietly. "Because you destroyed me."

Mira’s expression changed immediately. "No." Nobody looked toward her. "You remember." Mira shook her head. "I remember you disappearing." Nobody smiled sadly. "That was the same thing." Eden looked between them. "What happened?" Nobody turned back toward him. "You couldn’t accept losing Mira." Mira lowered her gaze. "You couldn’t accept being alone." Eden listened in silence. Nobody continued. "So you created Luna." Luna nodded slowly. "And when Luna wasn’t enough..." The girl looked down at herself. "You created me." Eden frowned. "What was I supposed to do?" Nobody smiled sadly. "Forget." Her voice softened. "You wanted me to erase every painful memory." Eden’s breathing slowed. "Then why did I destroy you?" Nobody looked directly into his eyes. "Because I worked too well."

Silence settled over the clearing. Nobody continued speaking. "I erased everything." She looked toward Eden. "Mira. Mira’s death. Your mother. Your father. Cael. Adrian. Finn. Luna. Everything." Eden’s eyes widened. "You erased Luna?" Nobody nodded. "Almost." Luna stepped forward. "Why didn’t I disappear?" Nobody’s expression softened. "Because he remembered you." Eden stared at her. "Why?" The girl’s smile returned. "Because love was the one thing you couldn’t make yourself forget."

The forest became silent once more. Nobody suddenly looked toward the sky. "We don’t have much time." Eden frowned. "Why?" Her eyes moved toward the photograph. "Because something noticed me." Eden looked confused. "What?" Nobody pointed at the image. "The one who was watching." Eden’s expression hardened. "You mean the person who wrote this?" She nodded. "Who are they?" Nobody looked at him sadly. "You already met them." Eden’s thoughts raced. Elias. The Reader. Cael. Mira. The other Eden. None of them fit. Then he remembered the voice.

One remains.

His eyes narrowed. "The First Story." Nobody shook her head. "No." "The Reader?" "No." "The Author?" "No." Eden frowned. "Then who?" Nobody’s answer was almost gentle. "Your first audience." Eden stared. "I never had an audience." The girl smiled faintly. "Everyone does."

The world changed before anyone could say another word. Morning sunlight vanished. The house disappeared. The tree remained, but its branches stretched endlessly upward into a black sky. The ground beneath them transformed into pages. Thousands. Millions. Endless sheets of paper spread across the world like snow. Eden picked one up. It contained a memory. Another held a conversation. Another contained an entire life. Another described a death. Every page carried something written upon it. Every page except one.

The blank page.

Eden recognized it immediately.

The First Page.

It floated before him. Nobody immediately stepped backward. "Don’t touch it." Eden looked at her. "Why?" Her voice became tense. "Because the first person who touches it becomes the narrator." Eden stared. "What happens then?" Nobody’s answer was barely audible. "They get to decide what everyone else remembers." Luna stepped forward immediately. "Then nobody touches it."

A voice answered from somewhere beyond the endless pages.

"Too late."

The blank page turned over. Ink slowly spread across its surface.

I REMEMBER.

Eden’s blood ran cold.

Another sentence appeared.

I REMEMBER THE FIRST WORD.

Then another.

I REMEMBER THE FIRST BOY.

Then another.

I REMEMBER THE FIRST CHOICE.

The pages around them began lifting into the air. Thousands of memories spiraled upward like a storm. Adrian grabbed Finn’s arm. "What is happening?" Finn stared at the sky. "Everything is being rewritten." Mira immediately shook her head. Terror filled her face. "No." She pointed upward. "Everything is being remembered." Eden looked at her. "What’s the difference?" Mira swallowed. "Rewriting changes the past." Her finger trembled as she pointed at the sky. "Remembering brings the past back."

The pages exploded outward.

Every forgotten person Eden had ever created appeared across the world. Every version. Every timeline. Every character. Every erased life. They all remembered. Somewhere beyond the forest, a voice laughed. It wasn’t a child’s voice. It wasn’t the Reader. It wasn’t Elias. It wasn’t anyone Eden recognized. It belonged to a woman. Calm. Gentle. Almost affectionate.

"Eden."

He turned.

A woman stood at the edge of the forest. She wore a long black dress. Silver hair fell over her shoulders. A white porcelain mask concealed her face. Slowly, she reached up and removed it. Eden stared. His heart stopped. He had seen that face before. Not once. Many times. It existed in the oldest memory he possessed. She had been standing behind the six children in the photograph. She had been present at the very beginning. Somehow, he had forgotten her completely.

The woman smiled.

"It’s been a long time."

Eden couldn’t speak.

Luna whispered, "Who is she?"

Nobody looked terrified.

Mira took a step backward.

Even Finn forgot how to breathe.

The woman looked directly at Eden.

"My name is Eve."

Eden narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" She smiled softly. "I was there before you wrote the first word." Then she looked toward the blank page floating above the sea of memories. "And unlike you..." Her fingers brushed through the air. The page immediately began filling with ink. "...I never stopped reading."

The entire world went dark.

For the first time since Eden had awakened, he heard something far worse than the Reader.

He heard pages turning.

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