Since Esmera was abandoned on a stranger's doorstep as a baby, the only person who has looked out for her is herself.
Until a lark starts visiting her, leaving behind exotic flowers and iridescent pebbles that the internet doesn't recognise.
Esmera...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Content warning: death, violence
***
"Come along." Lady Varali strode ahead, the pink fabric of her sari fluttering behind her as she pulled Esmera along by their bound wrists. She put an elegant hand on the doorknob and pushed it open.
The guards' eyes stayed focused on the distance instead of on the intruders right next to them. Esmera followed their gazes. She didn't see anything except mountains cutting into the horizon with their sharp edges, but she expanded her hearing outwards and focused her attention right there as Tauram had taught her.
There was something, a dull, tapping rhythm like hands on drums or a heartbeat or marching feet that sounded close enough to see, but Esmera saw nothing. She frowned, but the instant she became aware of the sound, it disappeared.
Her brow remained furrowed as she followed Lady Varali into the Finnaaz manor. Again, the guards flanking the door didn't react, not even when Esmera's foot caught on the edge of the doorframe and she apologised out of habit even though she doubted anyone could hear her.
"Are we invisible?" Esmera couldn't help but ask as she looked back at the guards.
"We are because we're inside a memory." Lady Varali turned her dark, placid eyes on Esmera. "Things have played out as they did, and while we may observe these events, there is no way we can alter them, not even with our presence. We are only visitors to this timeline, but we remain in ours."
Esmera tilted her head as she considered that. "So, Tauram can still see us?"
"Yes, but to him, it would appear that we're walking through an empty house even though we're watching the past unfold around us."
"That's why you're called memory walkers," Esmera murmured, awestruck.
She hadn't been unable to wrap her head around the idea when she first heard of it, but it all made sense now.
"Correct." Lady Varali gave a brisk nod with a faint smile.
Another question popped into Esmera's mind.
"Can he also hear us?"
"He can." Lady Varali smirked. "That is if he hasn't chosen to remain outside the house while we explore the inside, which I doubt."
Esmera's cheeks burned. So, he would've heard her asking about him not once but twice. She tried to press her mouth closed, but another question slipped out of it. "What do you mean?"
Lady Varali gave her another half-smile. "I mean that I don't think that man can bear to let you out of his sight, and I don't care if he hears me say that."
The heat in Esmera's cheeks flooded into her ears, and she hoped Tauram was indeed outside slightly more than she hoped he was close by.
"That's not true. When we get back to the cottage, he goes to his room, and I go to mine."
