by Mir Quadri
“You’re right. We don’t. Only Will knows. Do you know where he is?” asked Harry.
“No sir, I don’t. As I said, he did not answer my call” said Evelyn.
“Well, I may have some news for you. It’s a little premature but given the circumstances that we are in today, I think it is important for you to know” he said, with a serious look, looking straight at her.
“Sure. What is it?” asked Evelyn anxiously.
“I told you in the morning that I wanted to talk to you, remember? Well, my team found a lead, a massive lead in the case of Will’s family murder” he said.
“Okay. What is the lead?” asked Evelyn.
“I am not sure if you remember, but there was a grocery store right opposite to Will’s old apartment, where the murders happened. - ‘Joe’s Mart’ is what it’s called” he said.
He continued after a brief pause “it so happened that the store had a few break-ins ten years ago, because of which they had installed a few security cameras all around the store. This was long time ago” he said.
“The store manager had installed all the cameras facing the store and not the street, or at least that is what they had assumed” he continued.
“Okay, so…” asked Evelyn, who’s curiosity was reaching it’s zenith.
“The store had a break-in again last week, and they realized that the cameras were not working for a few months. While de-installing the cameras, they found that one of the front cameras, had slightly turned towards the street — possibly because of the wind or something, for all these years” he said.
“Now, they de-installed the cameras and looked up some of the old recorded footage. Because of the tilted angle of the camera, which was tilted towards the street in front of Will’s house, the camera was able to record some footage of the night of Will’s family murder” he continued.
“That’s fantastic. So do we know who did this?” asked Evelyn enthusiastically.
“We don’t know for sure — the images we got from the camera are very pixelated. Remember, ten years ago, the cameras were not as technologically advanced as they are today. All we can see is a man wearing something black, walking towards the apartment. I have sent these pictures for further development to our labs and we should see more concrete images in a few days” he said.
“Well, that’s very good news, Harry” chuckled Evelyn in excitement.
“There is something else. We ran some preliminary tests on the pixelated pictures of this man in black…” he said and paused for a few seconds and continued ‘we can’t say for sure just yet, but the preliminary results show that man in black is… likely to be Will.”
“WHAT LIES BEHIND”
The wheel, rotating at full speed, was making a croaking sound. The clay mixers were throttling over the pug mills and the Kiln was heating up. Old wrinkled fingers were caressing the sides of the pot as the pot was getting bigger in size, emerging from the bottom, like a balloon filling itself with air.
This was an old, white haired, wrinkled face, blind woman. She was sitting in her low lit living room, which was surrounded by pots and art sculptures, made of clay. There was a subtle, soft and soothing music playing out of the old phonograph player.
‘This one is finally done’ she thought as she got up with the pot in her hands, walked slowly to the other side of the room, towards the closet and placed the pot carefully on the shelve, joining it with the others on the shelve already. She touched through the pots with her hands as she counted them.
“1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8…” and continued till she reached “45, 46, 47, 48, 49…” she paused for a bit as she touched the 50th pot. Realizing that she now had the 50th pot, her face turned pale as tears dropped down her old cheeks. She gently pushed this pot off the shelf and the pot fell down and broke into pieces. It was made of mud.
“How have you been, Willie?” she said loudly as she turned around and looked at her door. There he was, standing and watching her, flustered, tired and curious. It was Will.
“How did you know I was here, mother?” asked Will.
“Well, you really don’t think we need our eyes to see somebody now, do you?” replied his mother. She then bent down to pick up the pieces of the broken pot.
“Let me help you” offered Will as he joined his mother in collecting the pieces.
As they were picking up the pieces of the pot, Will’s mother looked at her son, through her blind eyes intensely. She then put her right hand to his head and said while brushing his hair through her fingers “What’s up with you, Willie?”
“I don’t know, mother. I have come to you to find some answers” he said.
“Yeah, you have been having some problems lately, haven’t you?” she asked.
“Yes, do you know why I am here?” asked Will.
“I know you, Willie” she said as she got up and slowly walked towards the kitchen, dragging her old feet along and continued “would you care for some cupcakes, son?”.
She then went into the kitchen, feeling the doors and the walls with her hands as she walked slowly. She then took out a big black thick stove glove from the hook on the wall and put it on.
“You know, I still make them good” she said as she proceeded towards the oven and took out two trays of cup cakes. She placed the trays over the ceramic block and started putting in some cream on top of the cupcakes.
“Yes, I know you make them very well. But mother, I came to you today to ask some questions” said Will and continued “questions about the Hunting Sessions.”
His mother paused for a brief second when she heard him say ‘Hunting Session’. “I know you like the strawberry one the most” she said as she continued putting the cream on the cupcake.
“Do you still remember about those sessions?” asked Will and continued “…the one you trained me on”.
The mother continued working on the cupcakes. As soon as she finished the first cupcake, she placed it in a bowl and handed over the bowl to Will.
“Here you go. Have it” she said.
Will reluctantly took the bowl as his mother proceeded back to the living room and sat on the couch. Will followed her and sat in a kneeling position on the floor right in front of her. He then took her hands in his and asked “do you know what I am talking about, mother?”.
“What exactly do you want to know, son?” muttered the mother patiently.
“I want to know if someone can fake a memory?” asked Will.
“Fake a memory? What do you mean?” she asked.
“If I am inside someone’s memory, is it possible that they can control what I see in there?” he asked.
“No. It’s not possible. The subject can’t fake any memory” she said and continued “the subject will be living the memory as if it’s their first time. They do not have any control over it. But you know this already” she said.
“There must be some way by which a subject could control it. How sure are you?” asked Will with a ray of hope in his eyes that his mother would agree with him.
“I am not sure what you’re trying to ask me son, but when you are inside someone’s memory, you see things just like they happened” she answered.
“Can the subject see me when I am inside their memory?” he asked impatiently.
“No. The subject cannot see you. How can the subject see you — as I said, you’re in someone’s memory and they do not have any control. They don’t even know that you are watching them. Because it’s a memory, something that has already happened and you weren’t a part of it” she replied. After a brief pause, she put her hands on Will’s chin and asked “these are all basics, Will. You have been doing this for far too long to ask these. What’s really going on here?”.
“Mother, I was in a Hunting Session and I saw myself in it killing a man I don’t even know’ gaped Will and continued “and this person, who is me as I saw him, turned around and talked to me…in the session, he looked straight at me and talked to me”
“That’s im
possible. The subject can’t see you. That is the basic rule” said his mother.
“I know..I know” said Will as he got up and started walking anxiously in front of his mother. “I don’t understand what’s going on” he said.
“Let me ask you this, son. Did you really kill him?” asked his mother.
“Apparently I did” replied Will. “According to this woman’s memory, I did” said Will.
“And I am asking you, did you?” she asked.
“Of course not. I don’t even know this man. Why would I kill him?” he grunted.
The old mother slowly got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. She took out a bowl and placed all the cupcakes in it. Will followed her into the kitchen and asked “mother, does this make sense to you at all?” he asked curiously.
“I am not sure what you want me to say, Willie” she said and continued “But if you want me to acknowledge what you think you saw was a fake memory, I can’t. Because memories can never be faked’ she said.
“That is the only possible explanation to all this, mother!’ he gaped and continued “I don’t know this man, Zhu and his wife, White. But according to her memory, I not only knew Mr Zhu, but I killed him too. I know for a fact that it did not happen, so faking the memory is the only possible explanation to all this.”
“But I will say again, it is impossible for any subject to fake a memory” she said while proceeding towards the refrigerator.
“So you’re saying I killed this guy I don’t even know?” screamed Will in anger.
His mother looked at him acutely. She then began to put the cupcakes into the refrigerator.
“Mother, why do I get a feeling that you’re hiding something from me?” asked Will.
She closed the refrigerator door slowly and proceeded back towards the couch in the living room.
“Mother, I can really use your help. I need to know what’s happening to me. I know I have not killed anyone” pleaded Will.
After a brief pause, his mother asked “Willie, what is the basic condition for a ‘Hunting Session’ to happen?”. Will gave her a brief glimpse while trying to think hard on what she was getting at. He then slowly replied “you need to get into the subject’s subconscious mind. ”
“Exactly. The only way you get into someone’s subconscious part of the mind is when you get deep into their mind. But when I say you getting into their mind, it’s actually your mind getting deep into the subject’s mind” she said.
“Yes” said Will.
“Now, what is the first thing you see when you get into the subconscious memory Palace?” she asked.
“The doors?” asked Will.
“Yes, but when you see the doors, you’re already standing inside the memory palace, looking straight ahead to the doors. You stand of what you think is the entrance of the palace” she said.
“Yes”
“Have you ever wondered, what lies behind?” she asked. Will’s face suddenly turned pale as he had never thought that there was anything that could potentially exist behind the source of white light that emerges from behind him.
“I didn’t know there was anything behind me, behind the white light. I thought that the point at which I stand, just at the beginning of the session was the entrance of the memory Palace.” he muttered.
“Yes. You do not know because I never taught you” she said.
“So what lies behind me, behind the point I stand at the beginning in the corridor?” asked Will curiously.
“Your subconsciousness” replied his mother. Will’s eyes widened out when he heard that. “What!”
“The point where you stand is the intersection of your subconscious mind and your subject’s subconscious mind” she continued.
“So you’re saying…” exclaimed Will.
“Yes. I am saying you can travel to your own subconscious mind while in a session. The only thing you need to do is move backwards from point you stand when you get into the Palace and get past the white light to get into your own memory Palace” she interrupted.
“Holy shit! I never knew this” he said.
“The only problem is, you can only do this with a person who has had a strong impact in your life, either positive or negative. You should either love this person or hate him or her with all your heart” she said.
“Why is that important?” asked Will.
“When you move back from your subject’s subconscious mind into yours, you need to have a very strong connecting bridge between both minds. It is possible that when you get into your own subconscious mind, your subject wakes up from the session, but you can’t, as the bridge is lost. Love or hatred will help that bridge to be connected for long. Remember, for you to successfully end the session, you need the subconscious mind at both ends of the bridge. Otherwise, what happens to the subjects when you wake up before them will happen to you if you’re stuck inside your memory Palace when the session ends. That strong bridge is possible only when you have a strong mental connection with that person, either of love or of hatred” she said.
Will started walking to and fro his mother, anxiously. “Why was I not told about this before?” he asked.
“Because I did not think it was necessary, besides the risk it brings with itself when you actually try to get into your own memories” she said.
“Why are you telling me this now?” he asked.
“I think the only way you can find out for sure whether you killed someone or not is by looking into your own memories. If you killed someone, you should have it in the first door of your memory” she said.
“Alright. I am going to do this. I am going to do this on Ms White herself, as I don’t think I hate anyone more than her at this time” he declared.
“Willie, just be careful son. Find the evidence for your innocence by exploring the world behind you. But remember, you may see somethings that may shock you. Remember, I always loved you and there are answers to any questions you may have on what you may see” she said as she started the wheel and continued her pot making process.
“What do you mean questions?” he asked curiously.
“I guess you’re getting late. Go, find your answers. See what lies behind” she said while looking down at her pot.
“I will. Thanks Ma. You take care of yourself” he said and walked out of the room.
As soon as he left, the mother stopped the wheel. She slowly got up and walked towards the closet where all the pots were placed. She bent down and opened the wooden drawer at the bottom of the closet and took out an old framed picture. This was a picture of her, a man and a small kid standing underneath a tree, in the front yard of a house. She brushed the picture with her fingers.
“He is coming to you. I hope he does not see you. Hope he does not see his dad” she said.
“COLORFUL MR ZHU”
‘This can’t be true. Will could not have killed his family. This is all a big misunderstanding’ thought Evelyn as she got interrupted by a fleet of cars honking at her. She was so lost in her thoughts that she had not realized that the lights have turned green a long time ago. She immediately turned around and looked at all the angry fellas who were screaming at her from behind. She was sitting in her car and had blocked the traffic.
“Alright, alright. I am going” she screamed back as she shifted the gears and started driving. She took out the mug of coffee from the cup holder and took a sip while looking at a car speeding ahead on the right lane. One look at the driver of the car, an old man, who was now staring angrily at her and she realized that he is going to blame her for whatever appointment that he was going to be late for, because of her. The old man slowed down to match her car’s speed, still continuing to gaze at her. She tried looking front to the road, and then looked back at him to see if he had moved on, which he clearly was refusing to do.
‘Alright, he needs it’ she thought to herself.
She then rolled down her window and shouted “I am sorry, sir. It’s been a rough day.”
On hearing her apologize, the old man’s face muscles relaxed like this was what he was waiting to hear. He looked at his watch and replied “tough day? Brace yourself lady, it’s just 8 AM” and zoomed away.
‘The man’s got a point’ said Evelyn to herself while rolling the window up. But the more she tried to forget, the more she remembered her conversation with Harry last night. She got a jilt, every time she thought about Will. She knew that Will was not a killer — he could not have been one. In the midst of these thoughts, she took out her mobile phone and called Will again.
‘This is William Ross. Wait for the tone” said the voicemail.
“Come on Will, call me back. Listen, things are getting out of hands and I need to talk to you. Please, call me back” she said as she disconnected the call in disappointment.
She drove straight to the City Center Hospital — this was the biggest hospital in the city, mostly popular for the high profile cases that were brought in there.
She parked the car and went straight to the reception while holding two mugs of hot coffee.
“Hey, I am Evelyn Monroe, Special agent, with the FBI” she said as she flipped her badge and continued “you have a Mary White admitted in this hospital?”
“Ah..yes, she is in room 208” replied the receptionist pointing at an elevator. “Please take this elevator to the second floor and when you get out, the eighth door to the right is where you want to go.”
“Thanks. But I prefer the stairs” said Evelyn as she walked past the elevator to the stairs and walked straight up to the second floor. As she walked towards the room 208, she started recognizing some known faces, the first of those was Dan, who was sitting on the bench right opposite to the door of room 208, sipping hot coffee with none other than Sarah.
“Why am I not surprised to see you both” said Evelyn with a smile on her face as she moved closer to them. On seeing Evelyn, Sarah sprung up on her toes. Her face turned pale as if she had seen a ghost. With great difficulty, she spoke “good morning ma'am. I was just in the neighborhood, so thought of getting Dan some coffee. He…he actually called me and asked me to get one.”