NEWFOUND HAPPINESS - PART 11

OTHER PARTS  |  ALL STORIES

Part 11: Confession

The university had only been relocated to this area for no more than three years. The surrounding land was still quite spacious as only a corner of the mountain had been cleared. Therefore, the preparations for the event did not encounter too many difficulties.

The members of the university's student council were divided into groups to prepare for various tasks. And for some coincidental reason, or perhaps not so coincidental, President Tamir and Tracy ended up being paired together. They were heading toward the art exhibition workshop, as both of their majors were related to drawing.

“As the top student in the department, would you like to contribute a design painting for this workshop?” Tamir decided to break the silence. They had known each other, sat close in the office, attended meetings and exchanged words for quite some time, not counting the campfire night in the past, but in reality, the number of times they had spoken privately was very few.

“Me? But all the works on display this time are from third- and final-year students, aren’t they?” Of course, Tamir also had a piece in the exhibition, and it was rated quite highly.

Tamir simply wanted to create an opportunity for her to shine and to become closer with the student body. He replied, “Students in the last two years, and even some lecturers as well, officially or unofficially.” This was understandable, since in their country, some lecturers were not part of the university’s official staff but were hired externally.

Tracy opened her eyes wide, “So what?”

Tamir chuckled, “Maybe you don’t know it, but you’re actually an unofficial lecturer. Besides, you even have a student who’s older than you.”

“Is that so?” Tracy asked absently, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. She didn’t dare deny it, because she couldn’t be sure what the Tracy of the past might have done.

“Your answer?”

“Yes, in that case, I have no problem with it.” Tracy was very confident in her work. This was something she had long hoped for.

“That's great to hear!”

Tamir and Tracy were in charge of arranging and displaying the artworks, adjusting the lighting for the art exhibition. They worked side by side and proved to everyone that they were a well-matched pair, even though they hardly ever exchanged a word.

Of course, working together in a space that wasn’t exactly large meant there were moments when they inevitably came into physical contact. While hanging a large painting, their hands accidentally touched. The most dramatic moment came when Tracy adjusted the overhead lighting. She had misjudged her own height, still thinking she was as tall as Bastian. As she stretched too far, she lost her balance and fell from the ladder. Fortunately, Tamir rushed in just in time to catch her. The position they landed in cast an awkward hush over the room, for by sheer accident, Tamir was holding Tracy in a princess carry, one arm under her back, the other beneath her thighs. The volunteer students who had been helping giggled quietly at the sight, as in their minds, the two had always seemed like a couple. Tamir was so nervous he froze in place, while Tracy blushed faintly from embarrassment. He quickly set her down the moment she said, “You can put me down now, please.”

Once her feet touched the ground, Tracy quickly said, “Thank you,” then turned away to resume her work, hoping to hide the embarrassment still visible on her face. From that moment, a fragment of memory from the campfire night long ago began to surface, but everything was too scattered for Tracy to grasp clearly.

Tamir’s heart was pounding. Tracy’s embarrassed expression had stirred something powerful in him. Even though both his arms ached from taking the brunt of the fall, he felt that everything had been worth it.

At that moment, Tracy was hanging up the next painting. It was a drawing of a campfire night. She paused for a moment, slightly stunned. Could it really be just a coincidence? A vision of a campfire had just flickered through her mind, and now here was a painting of one. What’s more, she noticed two strikingly familiar things about the artwork. First, the scene depicted in the painting looked remarkably similar to the fragmented memory she had, though she told herself that all campfire nights looked more or less the same, the sense of familiarity refused to fade. And second, the style of the painting felt oddly familiar. Wasn’t this the same style she herself often used?

Suddenly, Tamir spoke up, “Ah, this one’s my painting!” Tracy was startled and looked up at him. Tamir continued, “This scene was drawn from an event in my past.” After saying that, Tamir waited, hoping to see some kind of reaction from Tracy, but he was quickly disappointed, as she showed no particular response.

But Tamir quickly regained his composure, “And you? Which painting are you planning to use for the exhibition?”

Tracy walked over to the box of paintings and pulled one out. Tamir was surprised to see that the painting depicted a bracelet made of rope and wooden beads.

Tamir asked, “Why did you draw a bracelet?”

“I don’t know, it just came to me,” Tracy replied. She couldn’t bring herself to admit to Tamir that she often drew images that suddenly appeared in her mind. Unlike her mother, who possessed all of Hallie’s memories, Tracy had to piece together many fragmented bits on her own.

“Does this bracelet have someone’s name carved into it?” Tamir asked, looking at Tracy with curiosity.

“I was going to add that detail, but I didn’t know whose name to write,” Tracy replied. The truth was, in her memory, there had been a name beside hers, but whose name it was, she couldn’t tell.

“I’m sorry, but… could you write my name on it?” Tamir had to summon all his courage to make the request, which, at first glance, might have seemed a little out of line.

To his surprise, Tracy didn’t seem bothered at all. She said, “Sure!” then immediately removed the painting from its frame, took a pencil, and added two names onto the bracelet before placing the artwork back into the frame.

Tamir felt a quiet happiness swell within him, a small joy that perhaps no one else could truly understand. Almost unconsciously, he gently brushed his fingers over the bracelet hidden beneath the sleeve of his uniform. At the same time, a question stirred in his mind, with a detail this specific, how had she still not remembered him? What Tamir didn’t know was that Tracy was being gripped by a sudden headache, a familiar sign she had experienced before, one that came whenever a large wave of memories suddenly rushed back.

She suddenly remembered, vividly and unmistakably, a scene from that summer camp long ago, every detail was crystal clear, except for two things, the face of the boy she had spoken with, and the name beside hers on the wooden-bead bracelet she had made and given to him. The memory washed over her, bringing with it a warmth and a deep sense of familiarity, though she still didn’t understand why.

After finishing their work in the exhibition room, they went on to survey the main field for the upcoming event. This task only required checking and taking notes, so just the two of them were enough to handle it. Since Tracy had been dazed and absentminded the whole time, Tamir took the liberty of gently taking her hand to lead her along.

When they reached the area set up for the cave exploration game, Tracy was still lost in thought. She didn’t notice a rock inside the cave suddenly giving way and falling directly above her. With no time to shout a warning, Tamir lunged forward and shoved her out of harm’s way. It was only then that she snapped back to reality, startled. She realized Tamir was in pain, his leg had been struck by the falling rock. The two of them had to muster all their strength to push the rock off.

The tremor caused the cave entrance to become blocked. Only now did the two realize that having so much space on campus wasn’t entirely a good thing, this mountainous area still held hidden dangers. But what concerned them more at the moment was whether anyone would notice their absence and come looking for them.

Tracy kept apologizing to Tamir, doing her best to tend to his injury. He gritted his teeth and insisted he was fine. The two of them leaned against a rock wall, waiting for someone to come and rescue them. Suddenly, Tracy asked, “Counting this one, that makes three times you’ve saved me, doesn’t it?”

Because the surroundings were pitch dark, Tamir didn’t notice that Tracy was worried, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked toward him. Bastian, by nature, wasn’t someone fragile, but he was deeply sentimental and valued bonds, and now Tracy, too, was moved by the three times Tamir had selflessly risked himself for her.

Tamir smiled. He carefully pulled his phone from his pocket and used its faint light to illuminate one side of his wrist. Rolling up his sleeve, he showed Tracy the rope and wooden-bead bracelet, carved into it were two names,Tamir and Tracy.

At that very moment, all of Tracy’s memories from that summer camp came flooding back. She recognized Tamir, along with all the emotions she had once felt for him, even though those memories hadn’t originally belonged to her. But as previously mentioned, one of the effects of the gun was to merge the memories of the body and the mind. In other words, the feelings Tracy had once held, combined with the sincerity Tamir showed her now, had blended into one. She began to feel something stir within her. This growing connection to the role of Tracy, along with the moments of closeness they had shared, allowed her to accept that she could care for Tamir without betraying her former identity, because this affection was a meeting point between memory and present emotion.

Tracy placed a hand over her chest, trying to steady the fierce beating of her heart. Her face was as red as a ripe gac fruit. She didn’t want to admit it, but her current emotions were betraying her.

Tamir, visibly shy, said, “I guess you’ve figured it out by now, haven’t you? That’s right, I’m the guy who looked like a thug back at that summer camp. And you were the unofficial lecturer who helped me find the right path again. I’ve kept that bracelet with me for the past six years. When I saw you again at this very school, I was overjoyed. I truly thought we’d never have the chance to meet again. So, while it’s just the two of us here, I want to say it, I’ve always liked you!”

Tracy raised both hands to cover her burning face. “I… I…”

Tamir smiled gently. “You don’t have to answer me. And there’s no need to feel guilty, every time I helped you, it was entirely my choice. And… well, it’s a little embarrassing, but I think I failed each time. The first time, I got beaten up by those thugs and ended up making you carry me back to university. The second time, my arm was sore for hours. And now, the third time, we’re stuck here together.”

Tracy quickly said, “No! Not at all! I’m truly grateful!” And every word she said was the truth.

The two sat in silence together for a while, until a light appeared at the cave entrance. A group of students had arrived to help them out. One of them asked, “Are you two okay? Did you catch a fever or something? Both your faces are bright red!”

“Ah!” Both Tamir and Tracy quickly turned their faces away, wishing there were a hole to crawl into.

PART 12 >>