Previously: Emilia is a women who agreed to use her magic to save her best friend’s relationship with their boyfriend. However, hee magic spell goes wrong and she gets sucked into multiple past memories instead which get worse and worse…

Now, Emilia’s mother is getting revenge on her because she feels that Emilia doesn’t deserve to have her magic, and that she should’ve gotten it instead. She is doing this by sending Emilia down a lane of her worst memories- and she has to watch herself go through all that pain all over again…

…

Emilia’s eyes slowly opened once again. They felt heavy and exhausted. She had never wished to be back in bed so bad in her life.

She was sitting on a bed with a pink blanket and pink pillows.

Suddenly, a little girl’s sweet voice startled her.

“Mommy! Let’s play princess fwog!”

Wait.

_Where was she?_

She had no memory of this bedroom, or this girl wearing a poofy princess dress. Hee wavy brown hair and hazel eyes didn’t ring a bell at all. She looked like she was about two years old.

_ Am I in someone else’s memory? _Emilia wondered.

She heard a young mother’s voice yell “Honey, I’m coming!” and then loud footsteps.

A twenty nine year old version of her mother walked in the room. Her features were so much more brighter, her clothes weren’t all dark, and she looked… happy.

_Oh, this is probably a pretty old memory, s_he thought.

Emilia cringed, knowing this memory wasn’t going to end well. She didn’t remember how it ended actually. She was _not_ curious about it though.

“Which princess would you like me to be today?” Her mom asked in a sugary voice.

“I wanna play kitchen!” the girl cried.

Her mom frowned “You just wanted to play princesses frog though.”

“Yeah I do but… I wanna play kitchen too!”

“We’ll let’s choose one, we can pl-“

The girl threw herself on the floor “NO CHOOSE! I CAN’T!!”

“Emilia!” Her mother cried. Emilia’s eyes opened wide when she heard her full name. The cozy pink doll like room suddenly felt doll _sized. _

This is it. Where everything goes wrong. Where hee mother gets angry and-

“Oh Emi. It’s okay baby. Come to mama. It’s okay. My baby girl. Come here.”

_What?!_

The angry little girl crawled into her mother’s arm, and she sang to her. Row Row Row Your Boat lyrics drifted from her lips in a soothing whisper.

Emilia’s all time favorite nursery rhyme.

_What is happening? This isn’t bad at all! This is…_

_It’s perfect._

“We can play both, baby_.”_ she assured her. The little girl’s face was buried in her chest.

“Can we get ice cweem too?” she whimpered.

Her mother stroked her hair. “Of course baby.”

Okay, maybe this was too perfect.

Then, like heavy drumsticks thwacking a loud drum, it hit her.

Emilia’s mother loved her so much back then. She would do _anything _for her at age two. Now, her mother was doing everything she could to make sure she’s left with _nothing._

This memory was valid proof that her love for Emilia had been slowly dwindling for years.

And that shattered Emilia’s heart.

Because even the love of her life left her. The one who told her he’d love her until the stars died left her. And now she knew her mother wanted to leave her too.

For that reason, at this moment, all of her anxiety and extreme stress she had felt for so many years was replaced in seconds with nothing but cold and hard sadness.

And mounds and mounds of loneliness, regret, and numbness.

Because if everyone just left, why had she even tried?

She felt no remorse when her eyes closed again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emilia’s eyes popped open. She stared at her surroundings blankly. She barely blinked when she noticed she was at her elementary school. She barely blinked when she noticed the glittery sign that read: W_elcome, young children, to a new beginning! _

That sign had been Mrs. Silver’s sign. Stevie and Emilia had both loved her. She let them sit by friends, gave them treats when they behaved well, sent “Happy Mail” to their parents, and gave the best hugs.

That was all years ago though. Now the sight of Mrs. Silver’s bright and cheerful smile made Emilia’s already sagging heart drown in guilt.

Emilia already knew what was coming: she and Stevie would enter from under the tunnel that led directly to the playground. Stevie would skip and Emilia would speed walk as they walked over to their crowded first grade group to greet Mrs. Silver.

She didn’t understand why she was here.

Mrs. Silver was bending down next to a crying student and whispering in his ear. Emilia wanted her to stop. She wanted him to know the cold truth about life -you spend years arching your back just to realize you’re worthless- because that _was the truth. _

Well it was Emilia’s truth anyways.

That’s when she saw two figures appear under the tunnel. As they came into view, she realized it was the little her and her mom.

Her face looked so young, but older than the toddler version. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her hair was neatly tied into two pigtails. Her mom had her hair tied up as well. As she walked, she told little Emilia “Emi, you will love it here! Look at all the other kids all together playing on the swings. Look at that long purple twisty slide! Just look at this beautiful school Emi, the windows are perfectly blue and inviting some nice sunlight in, and the classrooms have so many supplies and learning toys! Do you see those tall trees? The leaves are just so plush and green!”

Little Emi looked so terrified.

But Emilia didn’t feel that emotion like she usually did when she saw herself feeling it, because she didn’t remember feeling it. She had no memory of being scared for the first day of school. She was with Stevie. Why would she be?

Her mom pointed to Mrs. Silvers and said something but her words were blurred by a sudden realization Emilia had.

Stevie wasn’t there.

Her mom hadn’t been there on the first day, Stevie had convinced both parents that they could walk to school. Emilia had been right by her side.

What was her _mom _doing there? Where was Stevie?

She swore she remembered everything right. Stevie had been her friend since they were four, and they had done everything together!

Right?

Where was she now?

_I’m probably overthinking this whole thing, _Emilia thought.

But Stevie had been the one who had gotten Mrs. S to notice Emilia. She was the one who had played with her at recess that day. She _knew _Stevie had been there!

She would’ve been alone if Stevie wasn’t.

Something was happening. Something had changed in the memories.

Emilia wouldn’t have been curious if it had been a minor thing, like Mrs. Silver having different colored hair, but this?

This was _Stevie._

Stevie and Emilia had spent their whole lives together up until Stevie met Barnie. Stevie was there when Emilia had collected two hundred seashells at the beach. Stevie was always there when Emilia’s mom had lost her phone in a grocery store (this happened multiple times). Stevie was there on every single first day, at every single big event, every single birthday party, and every single restaurant dinner. Emilia had been the same person In Stevie’s life.

They had always been together.

Without Stevie, where would she be right now? She would have never met the love of her life, that’s for sure.

Who was she without Stevie?

Emilia just had to find out. The where, the why, the what, the who… all of it.

And she was going to.

….

Sincerely,

Caralia🫶🏼

Sorry this was so late everyone! Just wanted to make it extra good lol. Let me know what you think!❤️❤️