by Valy
So, why would Rie lie to her?
V
There was one thing that Rie was honest about.
Seeing the view would give her a good idea of what the island looked like and how to find her way throughout it. Ella found that there was another muddy path, she guessed this one was the one that led her to the messed-up island. So, Ella with her newfound anger made her way down and this time she barely needed breaks. She didn’t know if it was because it was easier to go down rather than up, or if it was because her anger was fueling her. But before she knew it, the little muddy path came to an end.
“Oh, thank God”, Ella breathed out.
She was right, the path leads to the island. It didn’t look as bad from down here as it did from up there, but it still looked ugly. She approached one of the stacked-up landfills of trash. But once she got close enough, she figured out that it wasn’t trash at all.
She couldn’t possibly look through it all but most of it was normal household objects; watches, books, a pair of pants, and she even found a CD player. These landfills were filled with random things. They weren’t even in bad condition. It wasn’t trash. The more she looked, the more confused she became. She found technology, keys, sunglasses, and all kinds of crazy stuff. The thing she had come across that amazed her the most was family albums. Not of herself but of random families.
She had found a bag of candies and was so tempted to eat them since her stomach was growling. But who knows how long those candies have been there. Yuck.
She looked around the landfills to see what kind of stuff she would find. This was fascinating. But the most fascinating thing was when she saw this huge sign that read, “For Ella”. Which of course made Ella excitedly run towards it.
There was something for her?
Below the sign was one single notebook. Ella eagerly opened it, but it was mostly blank. Only one page contained something. Someone had written her a letter. It was addressed to Ella.
Dear Ella,
I understand that you must hate me. You do not deserve what I did to you. And I’m truly sorry for any issues I probably have caused you.
If you have found this letter, that means you have found out the truth. That this island is not the paradise I painted it to be. Don’t get me wrong, it has very beautiful parts. Parts that are not filled with junk and that would take your breath away. I truly do hope you get to see those parts.
The sad truth about this island is that while it looks like Heaven, I think it’s the opposite. Look through the objects thrown around everywhere. Pay a lot of attention. I know you will figure it out too.
The reason you will hate me is not because I left you. It’s because of what I did to you. You see, when I first stumbled upon this part of the island there were three watches. Each watch had the same countdown on it. 120 hours, which is only 5 days. Less than a week! Only two of them were running. And when I found you, the third one started to run. I believe that the watches symbolize how long we have left. And once the time runs out, it will be our doom.
I believe that the third person on this island is the key to getting out. So, I must find them and get out before the time runs out. I’m sorry.
Regretfully,
Rie
That jerk.
If Ella remembered any bad words in the English vocabulary, she would’ve probably called Rie something cruel. Because jerk just didn’t seem to be enough. How could she do that? She saved Ella and made her believe that they had found each other. That they were going to find their way out together. When all along, she was planning on tricking her.
Now it all made sense, how Rie was able to have supplies such as blankets and pillows. She had just taken them from the island. But Ella had been too stupid to question her. She just gladly accepted all the supplies Rie brought. Rie never wanted to be friends. Ella wasn’t quite sure what she wanted. I mean, what was the point of all it? Why pretend to help her? There was no point in it.
Rie was planning to find the other person on the island and get out of here. She was going to escape and leave Ella behind to die. Or who knows what will happen once the timer runs out.
Ella hated her. She was sure she hated her.
In the letter, Rie sounded almost as if she didn’t want to betray Ella. As if it truly hurt her to do so. But she still did it. So, it couldn’t have hurt that bad because she did it anyway.
Something that made no sense is why would Rie tell her to look through the objects? And that Ella would figure it out. Figure what out?
Even though the last thing Ella wanted to do was follow Rie’s instructions, something inside of her told her to do it. With a sad sigh, Ella started to look through the landfills of stuff. It was random objects- she didn’t see how this was going to help her.
“Rie said to pay a lot of attention. So, pay attention”, Ella encouraged herself. She squinted her eyes as if that was going to make her see more carefully. But nothing seemed interesting or odd. She almost gagged when she saw there was some rolled up underwear in one of the stacks.
“Ew!”, she shrieked. She was about to throw them to the ground when she saw that someone had written on them.
“Ew. Who would write on underwear? That’s weird”, Ella’s face twisted into disgust.
Carefully, she grabbed the underwear with her fingertips and looked at it closely. They were white boxers, so they more than likely belonged to a male. The writing they had was just a person’s name. The underwear had a tag that read “PROPERTY OF STEFAN”. Who in the world was Stefan? And why was his underwear on the island? Was the third person a guy?
Ella realized that she was still holding the underwear. A guy’s underwear and she threw it to the ground quickly, disgusted that she had held it for that long. She kept looking through objects and there was one similar trait in most of them. Most of them said who they belonged to. Not only clothing but toys and electronics too. They all had “PROPERTY” of someone written on them or just a person’s name. Each of these objects belonged to people. But where were those people?
Ella spent a long while looking through all kinds of things- clothes, glasses, money, and a bunch of little knick-knacks- but there was one thing that caught her eye. Something she felt connected to for some reason.
“My diary! My diary!” she squealed as she saw it.
She had no memories but somehow, she knew this was hers. It was brand new and she knew that someone had bought for her. But she didn’t remember who. All she remembers is that it was hers and that she had lost it. She remembered the disappointment she felt when she lost it. How was it here?
The diary was a bright pink with glitter over it. Kind of too girly for her. But she was positive it was hers. The diary had a huge “N” on the front.
“My name begins with an N. I remember that”, she whispered, amazed that her memory was starting to get better.
She couldn’t believe she had found her diary; she was so happy. She was going to find a pen and make sure to write in it. And all was happy until Ella started to put the pieces together.
Look through the objects thrown around everywhere. Pay a lot of attention. I know you will figure it out too.
Everything was lost. All the objects on the island must be lost. Just like her diary was lost, and it was there. That’s why so many things had names. They belonged to people who lost them, and they somehow ended up here. That’s why there were so many little worthless objects. Like dollars, coins, and all kind of collectibles. Things that would be easily lost. She was on an island of lost things.
Oh, crap. Why was she there?
Why was Ella there? Why was Rie there? Why was there a third person there? If they were on an island of lost things and everything in there was lost… Did that mean that they were lost too? Lost how? Like lost souls? Were they dead? How could they just be lost in an island?
And what would happen when the timer ran out?
At first, Ella wanted to find Rie and confront her. Ella wanted to find the third perso
n first, just to get back at Rie. But she realized that she couldn’t do this alone. This was way bigger than she initially thought.
Rie was wrong. Ella couldn’t afford to be a solo musketeer right now. They had to find the third person and work together in order to figure this whole thing out.
Ella had to find her and convince her that they were stronger as a team. Before Rie did something that they would both regret.
VI
Rie didn’t know who she was. She didn’t remember herself.
So, she could be anyone. She could be a psychopath for all she knows. And there’s a saying that’s been lingering inside her mind for the last couple of hours. People say that you show your true colors during the worst times in your life.
And if that was true, then she was beige.
Not yellow like the sun, red like freshly bloomed roses or green like decently cut grass. No, she was beige. The blandest, ugliest color that she could think of. At least that was her opinion.
She did something terrible in her time of need. That didn’t say anything good about her. She didn’t want to betray Ella, nor did she want Ella to die. But she had to do it. She had her reasons.
Or at least she believed she had her reasons.
You see, when Rie woke up a day or two ago, Rie wasn’t sure how long ago it was. She woke up with one single memory. She had no idea who she was or what she was doing there. But she remembered one thing.
She remembered the feeling of agony.
She doesn’t know why she felt it or when she did, but she knows that at some point in time she was in pain. And not emotional pain- it was physical. The bone-crushing kind.
She wasn’t the only one feeling that pain. She’s positive there was at least one other person enduring the same thing she did. The memory was blurry but the only thing that was crystal clear was the feeling. The feeling she felt as it was all happening. The feeling of pain, regret and, helplessness. She could feel the love she had for the other person. Maybe it was a boyfriend, friend or family member. She couldn’t tell what kind of love it was.
But she knew that she needed to get back to them. They needed her help. And she was determined to get back to them as soon as possible. She had a game plan. She needed to find the other person who was here and get out.
The third person was the key. That was the one thing she was positive of.
But even if she felt like she had her reasons, she knew she wasn’t doing the correct thing. The guilt was slowly eating her alive.
She had left a sweet defenseless girl to die. Alone.
Ever since Rie met Ella, she got this sense of pureness. Like she was something innocent. That didn’t understand the cruel realities of things. Ella was a tad shy but easy going. She seemed to be around fifteen years old and had the softest features ever. She had the cutest curly brown hair, these big eyes that showed her excitement towards everything she saw and the prettiest skin tone she had ever seen.
She had probably betrayed an angel. Rie was certain this had earned her a very special place in Hell.
She wondered where Ella could be right now. She had probably woken up by now. To throw Ella off her tracks, Rie had carefully dragged her to the forest. Thankfully, Ella was probably the deepest sleeper that she thinks she’ll ever come across. It will probably take her a long time to figure out the whole puzzle Rie had left behind. She would have to go to the waterfalls, find the view, go to the island, find the letter and figure the whole thing out. It would probably take her days.
Rie was currently looking for the missing person. No matter where she looked, she couldn’t find them. Their timer was ticking so they were in here somewhere. But where? She had looked through the landfills, the beach, and the forest. Yet they didn’t seem to want to be found. She was currently looking through a part of the island that she hadn’t explored yet. Can you guess what it was? Yeah, you guessed it. More lost stuff.
“Where are you?”, she yelled out. Not expecting an answer.
“Rie?”, a soft voice called out. Wait she knew that voice. It was Ella.
What could she do? Should she run? Walk away? Stay silent? Her guilt was making her heart pound a thousand times per minute. She saw Ella walking out from behind one of the landfills. She looked wet, annoyed and exhausted. But her eyes were still as genuine as she remembered.
She had probably made this girl go through unimaginable things.
“Ella?”, she gulped down, almost whispering her name.
“That’s not my name”, Ella stated firmly. Rie just waited for her to continue.
“My name starts with an N. I know that know”, Ella explained calmly. A little too calmly.
“Oh. I-I-I’m glad”, Rie stuttered out.
“You betrayed me. But I figured it out. I figured it all out”, disappointment evident in Ella’s tone. Rie didn’t know what to say or how to defend herself. She just looked shamefully to the ground.
“But I’m not here to rub that in your face. I’m here to make amends. Because believe it or not, you need me”, Rie popped her face right up at what Ella had just said. Did she just say what Rie thinks she said? That she’s here to make amends. She didn’t even do anything wrong.
For a moment, Rie was dumbstruck. Amazed at how Ella could be that good of a person. Willing to forgive her and to move on with their quest.
“I know you don’t want to be with me, you made that quite clear. But if you want to find the third person then we will have to work together. Because as I see, you’re not having any luck. And two pair of eyes are better than one” Ella started.
Rie opened her mouth to speak but Ella continued. “-Oh, and about the whole situation where only two people can get out. I’m sure we can figure that out too. But you know how we do that? By working together”, Ella finished. Taking a deep breath after talking nonstop for a minute there.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. That’s all I can say. I swear I’m not a bad person! And it wasn’t anything personal, I promise. I’ll explain it to you with time. But I would love to figure it out together, if you’re still up for that”, Rie attempted to apologize.
“You’re forgiven and you better have a good explanation. But I can be patient to hear it. I will be keeping a close eye on you, though”, Ella sassed, which made Rie giggle.
“Oh! Wait I have something. One second”, Ella announced with her typical excited eyes. She ran away and came back seconds later. She had a small package in her hands, and she handed it to Rie. It looked like if Ella had found wrapping paper and wrapped something with it. It was a gift.
Rie raised her eyebrows in surprise but Ella told her not to question it and open it. So Rie did.
“Names for Babies That You Will Love?”, Rie asked. Ella had given her a book to name babies. Oh, no. She wasn’t pregnant, was she? What if the third person was inside of Rie.
Rie looked at her flat stomach with the most horrified expression which made Ella burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“No! You’re not pregnant. You dummy”, she laughed.
“Then what is this?”, Rie asked worriedly.
“A reconciliation present”, Ella warmly smiled. And for a second, that response just really touched Rie’s heart.
“Thank you- but what is it for?”
“Oh! It’s for us and our terrible names! It’s so you can find a name that ends with R-I-E and I can find one that starts with N”, Ella beamed.
Without another thought, Rie took Ella into a hug. Even though she had no memories, Rie knew that was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.
VII
“You see! Rie is an actual name. It means blessed with logic”, Ella shouted out, laughing.
“Well, I have the logic to not like that name”, Rie laughed along.
“Okay well, you can’t be too picky. You only have a couple of options. It’s either Carrie, Brie, Malorie or Annamarie”, Ella said. This was going to take a while because Rie was picky.
“I don’t lik
e Carrie or Brie. Malorie is pretty and so is Annamarie- but they don’t sound like me”, Rie overanalyzed it, which made Ella roll her eyes with impatience.
“What about if we take the Anna out of Annamarie? It would sound French”, Rie squealed out. Finally, she had found her name.
“So, Marie? Yeah, it does kind of sound French. Just Marie?”, Ella asked. To which, Rie just eagerly nodded her head.
“Okay. Nice to meet you, Marie. Now, who will I be?”, Ella extended her hand as if she was meeting Rie for the first time.
It went on like that for a while, because if you thought Marie was picky then you don’t even want to get started on Ella. She had too much to choose from. There were countless names that started with the letter N. So far, they were down to two options.
“You care too much about the meanings”, Marie groaned.
“Of course, I do! The meanings are the most beautiful part”
NICOLE - It is of Greek origin, and it means "People of victory”.
NINA - It is of Spanish and Hebrew origin, and it means "Strong".
NOELLE - It is of Old French origin, and it means "Christmas".
NADINE - It is of French origin, and it means “Hope”.
NORMA- It is of Latin origin, and it means "the standard or norm".
“Okay, so we are in between Noelle and Nicole. I really can’t decide”, Ella mumbled. They were both such beautiful names.
“You’re more of a Noelle”, Marie encouraged her.
“You think?”, Ella’s spirit brightened. Eager to hear Marie’s opinion.
“Yeah! Nicole is too boring for you- Noelle fits you beautifully. And you truly do remind me of Christmas. You’re certainly as jolly as Christmas”, Marie laughed at that last part.
“What’s Christmas?”, Ella asked. She had never heard of it.
Oh boy, this was going to take a while to explain.
VIII
Marie and Noelle were new-found women.