Allelea's heart pounded as she stepped off the train in Saint Petersburg, clutching the crumpled piece of paper with Cyto's location scribbled on it. The bustling city around her seemed to blur as she focused on the mission ahead. She had spent months tracking him down, and now she was finally here.
The address led her to a quaint café nestled between two grand buildings. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, the bell above tinkling softly. Her eyes scanned the room, and there he was—sitting by the window, brewing a cup of tea, looking out at the street with a serene expression.
"Cyto," she whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of relief and anxiety.
He turned his head slowly, his eyes meeting hers. But instead of the spark of recognition she had hoped for, there was only polite curiosity.
"Hello," he repeated in Russian, "Privyet. Can I help you?"
Allelea's heart sank. "It's me, Allelea," she said, switching to English, hoping the familiarity of her voice would trigger something. "Don't you remember?"
Cyto's brow furrowed slightly, and he shook his head as he too, switched to English. "I'm sorry, I don't know you," he replied, his tone gentle but firm. "Are you sure you have the right person?"
Tears welled up in Allelea's eyes, but she forced a smile. "Yes, I'm sure. Maybe... maybe we can talk for a bit?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, have a seat."
As she sat down, she couldn't help but wonder how she would bring back the memories of the man she loved, now lost in the labyrinth of his own mind.
***
"So I was... we were... what? I moved here two years back. How can you be saying that we were... ahem... together two years back?" he said, furrowing his brow as he thought about the fact that his ten minute break was coming to an end.
"We were... the photos prove it!" she turned her phone over to show him. "This is us in the UK, in the early days... then in France in front of the Louvre pyramid... Germany, I forgot where."
Cyto cringed slightly, trying not to make it look obvious as he stared at a picture of her planting a small kiss on his cheek, in Germany... but he never went there. "I read a book with this kind of plot. You're being catfished."
"No, I took this picture myself!" I answered confidently. "Sometimes memories can return with the right trigger... so, I'm sorry in advance if this doesn't work, but... I need to try."
She impulsively leaned forward and kissed him, while his eyes were wide open, in shock. He felt awkward, confused and kind of weird, but somehow, he didn't let go immediately. It lasted for a few seconds, until she slowly pulled back, and just stared into his unblinking eyes for some sign of recognition.
But all she saw was confusion. All she felt was confusion. The whole thing was a truckload of confusion.
They were both staring at each other, with words rising up until their throat, but they weren't able to defy gravity and come up out of their voice boxes.
But then ten seconds is a lot of time to stare at each other and then not say a word. Somehow Allelea became very interested on a small heart-shaped charm on her bracelet.
He had given it to her.
Now with that thought the bracelet wasn't as interesting anymore.
But maybe... just maybe, the bracelet was the key. She held out her hand displaying the silver chain and little red heart charm around her hand, and he just looked at it, wondering if she was going to say anything.
"You'd given me this bracelet on our half-year anniversary, in France..." she said softly, pointing to it and fidgeting slightly. "I'd have a lot more to say, but... you don't know much about me, do you?"
"I... I don't."
"I know... you're living an ordinary life here. I guess... this isn't really your fight. Your memories of the past two years are gone... I can't blame you. My only regret is that I couldn't say goodbye to you on good terms." she continued, as she was standing up. "I guess I'll see you around... and don't worry, I'll try my best to bring your memories back."
"Thank you,"
As Allelea turned to leave, a sudden thought struck her. She paused and looked back at Cyto, who was still staring at the bracelet, lost in thought.
“Wait,” she said, her voice trembling with a mix of hope and desperation. “Before I go, there’s something else I need to show you.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out an old, worn photograph. It was a picture of them together, smiling and carefree, taken during their time in France. She handed it to him, watching his reaction closely.
Cyto took the photo, his fingers brushing against the edges. He stared at it for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, something flickered in his eyes—a brief, almost imperceptible glimmer of recognition.
“This… this is really us?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Allelea nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “Yes, it’s us. We were happy together, Cyto. We can be again.”
He looked up at her, confusion and uncertainty etched on his face. “I don’t remember, but… I want to. I want to try.”
Allelea’s heart soared. “Then let’s start now. We can figure this out together.”
Just as they were about to leave the café, a man in a dark suit entered, his eyes scanning the room. He spotted Cyto and Allelea and started walking towards them with a determined stride.
“Cyto, we need to go,” Allelea whispered urgently. “Now.”
Cyto nodded, slipping the photograph into his pocket. They hurried out of the café, the man in the suit following closely behind. As they walked through the streets of Saint Petersburg, trying to act normal, Allelea knew that their journey was far from over. But for the first time in a long while, she felt a glimmer of hope.
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