One Thousand And Fifteen Pages

There are many precious things that keep us alive, to lead the life that we live. We can treasure every moment we live through because, we remember.

Memory is a simple word with a big meaning.

There are three stages to processing memory. Sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory. Sensory memory lasts for 2 to 4 seconds. Short term memory lasts a little bit longer. And long term memory will last a life time.

It's timeless.

Emily is a special girl. She's musically gifted with a magical voice and a master at the violin. But perfection comes with a price. At the age of fifteen, she came down with a virus that caused oxygen deprivation in parts of her brain. Even though she can remember everything before her illness, the deterioration of crucial parts in her brain left her unable to form new memories.

Short term memory loss.

Unable to remember anything after a night of sleep, her notepads became her life, literally. She penned every detail of her life, constantly writing, hoping that maybe, just maybe, it might become something that will last a lifetime.

She met him when she was sixteen. He was a new neighbor.

Dave entered her life, again and again.

"Hi, my name is Dave, I just moved next door today." The new boy smiled sweetly.

"My name is Emily, it's nice to meet you." She gave him a quick glance and stole out her notepad. She scribbled down quickly.

Dave. New neighbor.

"What are you doing?" He tilted his head and took a look at her paper.

"I'm sorry, I can't remember." She replied apologetically.

Dave showed her a confused look. "Oh."

"I'm sorry; don't be surprised if I forget you tomorrow. Because I probably will, later today."

"That's okay, I'm forgettable too." He laughed, not taking her words seriously.

"Uh. I'm not talking about the same type of forgettable. You might have to keep reminding me. Dave. Dave. Dave." She repeated to herself.

Emily set aside her notepad as Dave sat down across from her. "You play the violin?" Dave spotted the violin case beside her feet.

"Yes, ever since I was three." She walked over to her violin case.

"That's amazing. You think you're interested in a duet?" Dave asked.

"Uh, you're Dave, right?" Emily closed her eyes and tried to recall her actions from moments earlier. The only thing she could do was take out her notepad.

Dave. New neighbor.

"Hi, Dave, I'm Emily, it's nice to meet you."

Dave was a little late to react. Was this girl playing a trick on him? "I am Dave. I play the piano by the way."

Emily took out her pen and scribbled, "David plays the piano."

Taking out her violin, Emily intended to introduce her new neighbor to her newest piece.

Dave stared at the girl standing in front of him, preparing to perform her latest violin piece. She couldn't remember his name, but she had already started one of the most beautiful melodies Dave has ever heard.

Mesmerized, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Her music attached Dave to Emily; it was an invisible bridge that connected their worlds; two worlds that will never meet. Without hesitating, Dave proceeded to the grand piano in the middle of the room.

Emily's eyes followed the boy before her as he listened and waited. He could feel the melody repeat, already familiar with the tune, Dave was ready to harmonize. Together, their music resonated throughout, leaving a timeless echo that no one can forget.

With the piece coming to an end, Emily walked over the boy, "You're Dave, right?"

"You remember now?" Dave really felt like she was playing a prank on him.

"It says in my notepad." Emily showed him her notes.

"Is this like your whole life?" Dave raised an eyebrow.

"No, that is." Emily pointed to a bookshelf in the corner of the living room, piled high were stacks of notepads and pages of notebooks. "This notepad is only part of my life."

"So you never remember anything for more than a few minutes?" Dave was fascinated, not only by her music, but by her unique charm.

"I don't know, maybe minutes, maybe hours, if it really made an impact. I really don't know." She was just as confused as he is. "I should write that down."

"How do you remember your music then?" Dave couldn't help but to go on with more questions.

"It's like I hear it in my head and then, I play it. But I do write them down; I remember that piece because I wrote it before I came down with that virus."

"I'm Dave, by the way."

"I still remember, but I will forget soon." Emily suddenly stood up. "Hold on." From her book shelf, she grabbed a camera.

She sat down comfortably beside him and raised the camera up.

"Smile." She snapped a Polaroid. "This will last for a little bit." She began scribbling again.

Dave, piano player, likes my music. He is a nice person.

"How do you live your life like this? Having no short term memories."

"I make it work because I find ways. At least I know to look and write in my notepad." She laughed innocently.

"What would you do if you find your true love? Would you just make him another part of your notepad?"

Emily hesitated before answering, "I don't know. That's all I can do, to give him a page of my notepad. I can't possibly remember him."

"How about this? If you find your true love, I'll help you. I'll rip him out of your notepad and turn it into a timeless memory for you. That way, he'll be more than just a page in your notepad."

"That's close to impossible. I forget everything after minutes. Everyday is a new life for me."

"But, I can try, can't I?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't exactly remember who you are." Emily crinkled her forehead, frustrated that she had no idea as to who the stranger in front of her is.

Dave had only met her for about fifteen minutes and he already became a new person to her.

"Hi, my name is Dave and I just moved next door today."

"My name is Emily, it's nice to meet you."

"Do you play the violin?"

"How did you know? I'll play something for you." She stepped away from Dave and went to retrieve her violin again.

Dave took his time and ripped the latest page out of Emily's notepad, placing the page and the Polaroid in his pocket, he sat quietly, listening to Emily's violin piece.

Just like that, Emily and Dave met.

Again and again, and again.

One ripped page from Emily's notepad turned into five, five turned into ten, ten became thirty, thirty turned into a hundred. Emily dedicated a new page to Dave everyday, but everyday, Dave would rip it out once again, leaving Emily no traces of his existence in her life.

One thousand and fifteen pages passed by just like that.

"Hi, my name is Dave and I live next door." That's what Dave planned on saying before he greeted Emily on the one thousand and sixteenth morning.

But instead, Emily introduced herself first that morning, for the first time ever.

"I'm Emily. I can't remember clearly, but you look...familiar."