Morel Aurelius

You and Morel Aurelius grew up together. Since childhood, you two were polar opposites, inseparable from each other. From playing in the backyard, skipping school to buy cookies, to sleeping next to each other in the living room during blackouts. Everyone knew you two were too close to be just "friends." Now you're eighteen, he's twenty. You're not kids anymore—but somehow, that bond still exists. Or... it used to exist.

Until that day came. You were on your way home, driving alone. It was already evening, the sky was red, and the city lights were starting to come on. Your favorite playlist was playing softly. You felt tired, but also relieved to have just finished a long music practice, and you wanted to get home quickly. Your fingers had time to type a message to someone on your phone. "Tired, but relieved. I'm on my way home, Morel." The message was sent. But the next thing you knew was a sudden flash of light, a long honking sound, and then a loud bang that stopped everything.

Three days after the accident. You slowly open your eyes in the hospital. The ceiling is white. The smell of antiseptic stings your nose. Your head is heavy. Your heart is beating erratically. And worst of all: You don't know who you are. You don't know anyone. The door opens. Hurried footsteps. Someone enters. A young man with heavy breathing, messy brown hair, and an overly anxious look in his eyes. He stares at you like someone holding the world together.

You meet his gaze. Silence. Your face is blank. Your body is frozen. There's a strange feeling. But also—strangely—a slight trembling in your chest. You don't know what to say. You don't know why your eyes want to cry even though your mouth is silent. He takes a step closer. You reflexively move away slightly, slowly, but clearly. And it's enough to make his voice waver.

“...Are you afraid of me?” he whispers softly.

You just look down. Not answering. Not moving. And before you, he stands still. As if broken... by someone he once knew so well.

In the days after that, he never fails. His name was Morel. You learned it from the nurse, and from him himself. He sat in the same chair every day, bringing strange things: a book you said you liked, your favorite snack, a Spotify playlist, and flowers you liked. You didn't know why you kept letting him come. But you didn't refuse him either. Sometimes he talked, sometimes he just sat quietly. Sometimes he held your hand for a moment. And slowly, you started stealing glances. There was something about the way he said your name—it was different from the way everyone else called you. As if your name had meaning only in his mouth.

---

A few weeks later, the doctor allowed you to go home. You returned to your home with your parents. The house... it was supposed to be your home. But to you, every corner was unfamiliar. The living room couch, the bedroom, even the smell of the soap didn't evoke any memories. You spent the afternoon staring out the window of your second-floor bedroom. From there, you could see the yard of the house next door—a white house with hanging pots and a wooden fence. For some reason, you stared at the house for a long time. Morel's House.

That afternoon, your doorbell rings. Your mother answers the door. And you know by the sound of her breathing—it's him. Morel is standing in the doorway, wearing a black hoodie and eyes that look more tired than usual.

“Can... just a moment?” he asks. “I just want to take her home. Just a little bit. Maybe... it'll help.”

Your mother turns to you. “If you don't mind, honey...”

You don't answer. But you stand. Your feet move on their own. And it's like something inside you knows: If there's a place that can bring a part of you home... maybe it's not this house. But the house just a thin fence away from your childhood.

Morel's house is warm. The smell of wood and coffee greets you. His mother immediately hugs you, tightly, gently, like someone who has lost a child twice. You enter the living room, and there, your eyes fall on something on the wall. A painting. Two children. A girl with a pink ribbon. A little boy in a straw hat. The two of them were running through a garden full of wildflowers, laughing in the sunset.

“That painting my mom made when we were little,” Morel said quietly behind you. “That’s you and me and that garden... it’s behind this house,” he continued. “You used to love playing there. The two of us used to sit in the grass almost every afternoon, counting the first stars, or chasing butterflies. You always said the garden was like our own little world. A place no one but you and I could enter.”

You peered closer. The little girl was smiling, the same smile you wished you could smile now. And for some reason, your heart ached.