Chapter Text
While she had seen Ann earlier, Myra hadn’t paid attention to what she had been doing. The sound of the piano playing the song Myra had composed a year ago had captured her attention, and despite knowing the composer assigned to it was wrong, she couldn’t bring herself to be angry about it.
It was as if she had burnt through that emotion already, and had settled into melancholy acceptance. A part of her was happy that it had been deemed good enough for the Exhibition Hall even though she had only finished the first draft before its presumed theft and her disappearance.
She still didn’t know what to make of that year she had been gone. As far as she knew, she had fallen asleep, and now it was one year later. Sometimes, though, there were moments where she felt like she knew something had happened, and the memories were simply just out of reach.
Despite her initial suspicion and irritation at Charles and Ann, she couldn’t keep the negative feelings for long. Not only were they actually just as clueless as she was and had alibis, they also made her feel… safe. Comfortable in a way that she hadn’t felt even when she convinced herself that Ivy had been her friend.
However, she could never explain why.
Sure, they only met that night, but during the following months, Myra had felt drawn to both of them. This had lead to them starting a friendship despite them being in different years and departments.
Sometime after Ann had spoken to her, Myra pulled herself out of her reverie long enough to accomplish what she was actually here for. The non-existent line should have told her something was wrong, but she was admittedly still out of it.
“Sorry, same thing I told that other girl, our internet is down. Can you please go to Campus 2? You can pay your fees there. Sorry for the inconvenience!” The person on the other side of the glass was polite, but clearly frazzled.
Myra sighed. Today was determined to give her problems, it appeared.
The long hallway that connected the two buildings was tedious to walk down, but she wasn’t in a huge hurry either. It was nice having some time to herself.
Her parents had been rightfully worried about her missing year, but even she was feeling a little smothered under them. She was honestly surprised one hadn’t accompanied her given that this was where she had disappeared in the first place. They were making up for lost time, and they were still protective of her, so she couldn’t blame them. But still. She was 21 and wanted to spread her wings.
Once she made it to the other campus, she glanced around this building’s exhibition hall as she tried to find the desk where she could pay her fees. She didn’t make it more than a few steps into the room before spotting Ann staring at one of the artworks.
It hadn’t been that long since they had last spoken, and Ann was always on the quieter side, so Myra had planned on leaving her in peace while she handled her affairs.
That was until she noticed that Ann was crying. She was clutching her phone to her chest, and while Myra could see the tears falling down her face, it was hard to see her exact expression from where Myra was standing.
Concerned, Myra quickly walked over, and trying to make sure she didn’t cause a scene, she waited until she was closer to ask, “Ann? What happened?”
Ann jolted to attention, and at first, there was a flash of fear that crossed her face. Figuring that she had startled her, Myra was quick to apologize, “I’m sorry- I just saw you crying. Is- Is everything alright?”
As Ann figured out who had bothered her, the tears started again, and Myra couldn’t tell if she was smiling or frowning. “It’s okay, Myra. This- This portrait reminded me of something- Someone.” As she spoke, she nodded her head towards the painting that Myra had ignored until then.
Myra turned to get a closer look, wondering if she could puzzle out why this art piece had caused such a strong reaction in Ann.
It was a portrait of a security guard. The man’s black hair was a little messy, and the eyes held an air of kindness in them.
Traditional art was not something that Myra specialized in, so she couldn’t comment on the quality. It looked well done to her, but that was all she could say.
However, the longer she stared at it, the more something tugged at her heart. The closest thing she could compare it to was how she felt around her new friends, but the feeling was tinged with sadness.
Like something had been lost.
Ann lightly elbowed her to get her attention, and then showed Myra her phone. On the screen was a photo clearly taken as a selfie by Ann. She looked like she had been roughed up a little.
But the thing that really got Myra’s attention was that the other person in the picture was a man that looked exactly like the one in the portrait. Almost every detail was the same. Even the fact that here was no name on the name tag.
The only difference was the expression.
“Did we meet the person the painting was based on?” That was the only thing she could think of. But even as the question left her mouth, it didn’t sound right.
The disappointment was visible on Ann’s face, but then her phone made a noise. Myra barely had time to read the pop up before Ann snatched it back.
[ONE UNSAVED FILE HAS BEEN RECOVERED SUCCESSFULLY]
“Another one?”
“Another one what?” Myra asked.
“The picture I showed you? Had this pop up right before I saw it… But this is an audio file-” Ann cut herself off as she looked towards Myra. “Want to listen?”
“Sure?”
After Ann pressed a few buttons to ensure the volume wasn’t loud, she handed the phone to Myra after hitting play.
The sound of a piano playing a song that Myra recognized far too well came out of the tiny speaker, and Myra was confused as to why Ann was playing a recording of the song currently playing in the other campus’s Exhibition Hall. She wasn’t sure why Ann had insisted-
The ending of the song was different. She hadn’t been satisfied with her first draft and had wanted to tweak it further before submitting it.
Her hands started to twitch with a memory.
She knew this.
She wrote this.
She could feel the weighted keys of a Steinway Grand as she worked on this song night after night.
Or so she did when there wasn’t someone trapped in the school after hours.
Her eyes jerked back to the painting titled Security, and she knew who he was now. The painting that tried to save everyone who had been trapped. Even her.
She could feel her own eyes welling with tears as her memories rushed out of the fog and filled in the blanks. She remembered how Security had tried saving her, and how she saved Ivy.
Spending time with Charles when there was nothing else to do, and her hands needed a break.
Everything involving Hana.
And the night Ann saved them all.
They met eyes as Myra said, “I remember.”