Until the Tide Returns

“You two cover up and meet us downstairs.” Tyler said ushering everyone towards the door. “I’m giving you one minute.” He warned. I knew neither Landon or I wanted to move our hands, this connection was too amazing to let go of but we knew we had to.

“Who was the lady that came in with Tina?” I ask him. He blinks a few times.

“It didn’t work.” He whispers pulling his hand away. The glowing doesn’t subside and I can still feel his heart beating as mine does.

“It did Landon, I remember you. Everything about you. It was like I could see into your mind and something in me clicked. Everything about you came rushing back and then… I don’t know how to explain it. Somehow I knew what would happen, we were so fully connected that…” I shake my head at a loss for words. I can’t explain it. There are no words capable of explaining it. “That woman, the blonde one. Is she my mother? I remember she spoke to me in a dream. About you.”

“No.” Landon shakes his head and pulls his shirt on. “That’s your grandmother. Your mothers mother.” He hands me my shirt and gets off of the bed looking outside. “Beckett,” The way he says my name is careful like he’s trying not to spook me “you need to look at this.” I tug my shirt over my head and go to stand behind him. A startled gasp leaves me as I see what he’s seen.

All of the snow that was there when we arrived is gone. It’s dark out, but from what I can see all of the snow has melted into puddles. “Did I…?”

“That would be my guess.” He places his hands on my shoulders gently pulling me to him. “You didn’t notice anything happening?” I shake my head.

“Nothing besides you.” He presses his lips to the back of my head and the door swings open.

“What part of meet us downstairs don’t you understand?” Tyler’s voice carries across the room. I can tell he’s irritated at least.

“Have you looked outside recently?” Landon asks.

“No. Why?” Tyler strides across the room and stands beside us sucking in a breath as he looks at his front yard. “Did you do this Beckett?”

“If I did I don’t remember.” Tyler turns to me then, his eyes deadly serious. I know that if I try to make any sort of joke I’m dead.

“What do you remember?”

“Landon.” I say leaning into him a little more. “You, Tina, calling Dad, riding here. Loraine was with us, who is she? She never said.”

“Let’s get downstairs and talk to Christina about this, maybe she can help us figure out what’s going on.” Tyler gestured for us to leave the room, I looked at Landon for help.

“You call her Gram.” He says tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Oh.” I follow Tyler and Landon from the room and down the stairs. Tina, Loraine, and ‘Gram’ are waiting for us. Loraine is paying attention to the news and merely glances in our direction when we enter.

“She’s seeing how far the melting has gone.” Gram says. “How are you doing honey?” She smiles at me softly.

“Aside from not knowing you or Loraine or really anything about the past few months, great.” She opens her mouth to say something but is cut off by Loraine.

“Guys.” We all turn our attention to the news as Loraine turns the TV up. A redheaded anchorwoman sits at her desk.

“An unusual story tonight, while playing at a local bar, Perry Holtz, front man for the alternative rock group Quiet Ascension, had his car encased in a block of ice. None of the other vehicles were harmed, and authorities are asking that if anyone has any information as to how this happened that they call in.” While she was speaking the camera cuts to the car which looks like it has been placed inside a giant ice cube. The woman from earlier, the one with the curly hair, can be seen in the background laughing at someone beside her, the person they showed a picture of. Perry Holtz.

“Well,” Gram sighs, “it seems Maya has already paid her brother a visit.”

“Maya?”

“Your mother.” Landon whispers into my ear.

“Do- do you know what happened to me?” I ask Gram. She gives me a sad smile.

“I’m afraid not honey, the only person that does is your mother and-” she turns her attention to the TV which is still showing the live report shows a woman screaming at the man who had his car encased in ice. “It may be awhile before we hear from her.” I lean into Landon letting him wrap his arms around me.

“Do you think she knows how to fix this?” I mumble against his chest.

“Hopefully.” His arms tighten around me and I let out a yawn suddenly exhausted. “Tired?” I nod. “Why don’t you go lay down and I’ll wake you when we hear from Maya?”

“Will you come with me? I don’t want to be alone.” Landon nods and we turn to go back upstairs.

“Where do you think you two are going?” Tyler asks arms crossed over his chest.

“To lay down, I’m tired.”

“Right, because I’m a complete idiot.”

“If the shoe fits.” Tina smiles at her husband.

“Let them go Tyler, if she says she’s going to lay down because she’s tired then that’s exactly what she’s going to do.” Gram says, Tyler opens his mouth to say something but Gram cuts him off. “I trust them and so should you.” I take this as my dismissal and go back upstairs, into the room we were in before and lay down. Landon lays beside me pulling me close to him.

“Do you think I’ll get my memory back?”

“I hope so, it’s going to be hard enough explaining everything to Relik and Bernie.”

“Who?” Landon sighs and presses a kiss to the top of my head.

“Our friends from school.” I sit up immediately.

“I go to school?” How is this possible?

“Yes, but right now I think you should lay down and try to get some sleep. I’m sure we’ll hear from Maya soon and she’ll tell us how to get your memory back.” What if she doesn’t? As soon as the thought crosses my mind I cast it out. I can’t think like that.

At some point during the night I drift off to sleep. I awake to sunlight streaming into my face and blink a few times to adjust to the brightness. I’m alone in the room but I hear voices, loud one. I carefully climb off of the bed and step into the hall trying to determine who’s yelling. They’re downstairs and I recognize the first one immediately. Landon. Gram tells him to calm down. This is followed by heavy footsteps and a door slamming shut. When I reach the bottom of the stairs I see Tyler, Tina, Gram, and the man from TV last night. The one that had his car frozen. He gives me a guilty smile when he sees me.

“I am going to spend the rest of my life making this up to you.”

“That’s…” Something in me is annoyed by his statement. “Who are you?”

“Oh, you still haven’t gotten…” He sighs and rubs a hand over his face. “Don’t worry, we’re working on a way to fix it.” We? I look over at Tyler and Tina, they are flipping through books and Gram is leafing through what look like journals.

“Where’s Landon?” I now have a feeling this man is the one who was arguing with Landon.

“Backyard.” Tyler says glancing up at me for a moment. I nod and go out to find him. His back is turned to me but I can tell he’s on the phone. I shut the door behind me gently and sit on one of the patio chairs. Even though the snow is gone it is still cold. I probably should have grabbed a jacket. He talks for a long time, never turning around, and though I am freezing I will sit and wait. For whatever reason Landon is upset with the man in there, who seems to think he is the reason my memory is mostly gone. Maybe he is. In any case it’s best if I stay out here. Tina comes out and hands me a large thick blanket and cup of hot chocolate wordlessly and returns inside. I slowly drink it letting it warm me as I sit cocooned in the blanket. The cup is nearly finished by the time Landon hangs up. His shoulders are slumped a little and his hands are stuffed in his pockets. He turns around, pauses when he sees me, and then walks over. I open the blanket up for him and he slides in wrapping his arms around me. His skin is cold, but when it connects with mine it warms me.

“I talked to your mom.” He says softly. “She’s been keeping some pretty big secrets from us.”

“Did she tell you how to fix me?” He sighs and leans back closing his eyes.

“Only vaguely. I’m supposed to be able to give you your memory back.”

“How?”

“I have no idea. I know it has something to do with our connection. That’s how you got your memory back of us. I just don’t know how it happened.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know how it happened? What started the glowing?” I think about it for awhile before answering.

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, you know I love you. But last night was different, I’ve never felt it before, not like that. It was like you were the only thing in the world. I could feel what you were feeling, see what you were thinking. And then everything just clicked. I knew you. It was more than just remembering who you are. I knew you. I don’t know how to explain it but deep down I knew who you were. That I’ve loved you before just as I do now. This isn’t this first life we’ve lived together.” The moment those final eight words were out of my mouth I knew it was true. I just didn’t understand how it was possible. What it meant.

“What do you mean this isn’t the-”

“We need to talk to Gram.” I say cutting him off. “She’ll know what this means.”