Chapter 81 “Memory Deviation!”
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The unexpected arrival of a highly educated individual who had somehow decided to become a history teacher at a local public school presented Duncan with a surprising turn of events and a unique opportunity.
Nina was puzzled by her Uncle Duncan’s quick agreement to allow the new teacher to visit their home. However, she wasn’t one to question a good thing. It had been some time since she and her uncle had experienced a genuinely happy moment together, so she was eager to make the most of this seemingly random bout of good fortune.
“Dinner’s ready,” Duncan announced, snapping Nina out of her contemplation. He had prepared a hearty fish stew and heated up the bread that Nina had bought earlier in the day. Although he had also discovered a package of onion rings and fries in the grocery bag, he didn’t have much interest in them. “Remember, you have school tomorrow. You’ll need to wake up early.”
“Alright, Uncle Duncan,” Nina replied, taking her seat at the table in a compliant manner.
The enticing scent of the fish stew enveloped the room as soon as she sat down. Nina looked at her uncle in disbelief, “It smells amazing. When did you become such a culinary expert?”
“Is it really that good?” Duncan said, unable to hide a smile. In comparison to Alice’s unpredictable and often disastrous attempts at cooking, Nina’s compliment was genuinely heartwarming. “So you’re saying I used to be a bad cook?”
“It wasn’t just bad,” Nina said, her voice tinged with humor, “You used to cook as if the primary goal was ‘not to poison anyone.’ You would always make me your ‘taste tester.’” Nina’s voice grew softer as she reminisced about past culinary catastrophes so awful that even Duncan couldn’t bear to eat them. “There was this one time when you cooked something so inedible you had to toss it. We ended up eating at the restaurant next door. When we got back home, we found the neighbor’s dog retching beside the trash can. Ever since then, that dog would sprint away at the sight of you.”
As she went on, Nina’s voice softened even further. “You know what, forget what I said. You never liked it when I brought up those stories.”
Duncan grew quiet. The stories Nina had shared were not among the memories he had retained over the years. His recollections focused more on the happy times they had spent together. Evidently, many of the quirkier, more embarrassing moments had been lost to him. Duncan realized he would need to be cautious when discussing such sensitive subjects in the future.
Still engrossed in her own memories, Nina began to tear a piece of bread and dipped it into the sumptuous stew. Seizing the moment, Duncan reached across the table and affectionately tousled her hair.
“Uncle?” Nina looked up at Duncan, her face marked with an expression of surprise.
“Don’t worry. My experiment with this new dish was a success,” Duncan announced, attempting to maintain a solemn demeanor.
For a moment, they locked eyes as if each were trying to gauge whether the other was being truthful. Suddenly, Nina burst into laughter. “Uncle, you look hilarious when you’re trying to be serious!”
“Respect your elders, young lady,” Duncan shot back, giving Nina a playful side-eye while sporting a smirk. “Listen, I’m going to be reorganizing the shop over the next few days. If you come across any unfamiliar items, please leave them alone until I get back to handle them.”
Duncan was in the midst of shifting objects between his secret hideout and the shop as part of his ongoing work to enhance Ai’s capabilities. Given the sensitive nature of some of these items, it was inevitable that Nina would encounter some. Hence, he thought it prudent to issue her a warning in advance.
Oblivious to his underlying motives, Nina nodded in agreement. Duncan then continued, “I’m also thinking about bringing in some additional help for the store. So if you see someone new around the shop during the daytime when I’m away, don’t be alarmed, alright?”
Duncan was subtly preparing Nina for the impending arrival of Alice, a puppet doll he was planning to integrate into the environment of Pland. Several challenges lay ahead—ensuring Alice’s supernatural qualities wouldn’t disrupt their world, ingeniously masking her joints so no one would realize she was a puppet, and most crucially, figuring out how to keep her head from detaching at inopportune moments.
Nina’s eyes widened. “You’re actually considering hiring help? That’s quite a change, Uncle. Do you already have someone in mind? What are they like?”
Caught off guard by Nina’s question, Duncan scrambled mentally to find an appropriate way to describe Alice. His mind drew a blank.
“She’s… diligent,” he finally said, settling on the most positive trait he could attribute to Alice.
Nina’s eyes narrowed slightly, and her expression shifted as she scrutinized her uncle. “A young woman, you say? Uncle, are you…”
Sensing where Nina’s thoughts were headed, Duncan cut her off, punctuating his words with a firm thump on the table. “Enough talking, concentrate on your dinner!”
Nina stifled a laugh, her amusement giving way to genuine surprise as she tasted the fish stew. “This is incredible!”
Grinning, Duncan tore off a piece of bread and set it aside for Ai. “Well, make sure you have your fill. There’s more in the kitchen if you’re still hungry.”
And so, they enjoyed a rare, warm, and congenial meal together—something that had become increasingly uncommon in the antique shop.
After clearing the table and dealing with the leftovers, Duncan stopped Nina just as she was about to head upstairs to her room. He had an important matter to discuss, one that would likely set the stage for the next chapter in their lives.
“Nina, can I ask you something?” Duncan said, choosing his words cautiously as he thought back to information he had gleaned from cult members.
“What is it, Uncle?” Nina responded, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and attentiveness.
“Do you have any memories from when you were a child? Specifically, from around the time you were six years old?” Duncan posed the question delicately, not wanting to alarm her but needing to probe for information.
Nina’s eyebrows knit together, clearly puzzled by her uncle’s unusual line of questioning. Why would he bring up something that happened eleven years ago? “Well, my memories from that age are a bit hazy,” she admitted. “But I do remember a period of great upheaval. There was a lot of chaos among the adults—some were saying there had been a hazardous leak from a nearby factory. Others were talking about some sort of mass hysteria happening on the Lower Third Street. There were even rumors that parts of the upper city had been affected. Most of what I know about that time, I’ve had to piece together from accounts I heard later on.”
“Did you ever hear about a fire?” Duncan asked, locking eyes with her as he waded cautiously into emotionally turbulent waters. “A significant fire that I pulled you out from. Your parents… they didn’t make it out of that fire.”
Nina’s reaction was more vehement than Duncan had anticipated. “Fire? You’re saying you remember a massive fire from back then?”
“Yes, I clearly remember,” Duncan replied, a bit startled by Nina’s strong response. “Is it so odd that I recall a fire?”
“Actually, I remember a big fire too,” Nina blurted out, her tone tinged with a sort of agitated excitement. “But every time I brought it up with adults, they insisted I must have been confused or scared and fabricated the memory. They said there was no evidence or reason for a fire to have broken out in that area… As I got older, I even went through old newspaper archives to check.”
Nina’s voice trailed off as she shook her head in bewilderment. “But there was nothing. No mention of any fire whatsoever. The official records only speak of a chemical leak from a factory that supposedly led to mass hallucinations.”
Duncan looked at Nina, his mind racing. This was a revelation. Not only did it bring into question the accuracy of their respective memories, but it also introduced a new layer of mystery around the events of that time. What had really happened back then? And why were their recollections in stark contrast to the so-called ‘official’ narrative? The gravity of this new information hung heavily between them, adding yet another enigma to the already complex tapestry of their lives.
Thanks for the chapter, as always!
Seemz like smth has a play here.