Chapter Text
Riz Gukgak didn’t remember much about his father. The few memories he did have were splotchy and faded, like a watercolor painting with coffee spilled on it. (Riz knew what coffee stains looked like. They were everywhere in his little apartment.) He remembered a hug- tight, secure. He remembered the bristly feeling of hands in his father’s beard. He remembered muscles, not in the large bodybuilder way but in the lean, sleek way that he dreamed of replicating. Riz’s mother told him that it was okay not to remember his father. He was young when Pok died, after all, and most people don’t have many memories from when they were that young.
Riz Gukgak didn’t remember much about his father. But he did remember the overwhelming feeling of safety.
~~~
The corkboard remained much the same as it had been, save for a few spots that were likely damaged by the intensity of the goblin’s stares. His mother was out working again and his babysitter had gone missing, leaving him alone to work on the case. He was furiously trying to find another lead, anything that could bring him to his best friend, but he came up short yet again. Riz knew- he knew - that there was something important he’d discovered yesterday, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what. There was Doreen, but then he’d been taken home and his mother hadn’t let him work on the case…
It was then that his crystal rang. Adaine was calling him.
“Dude, where are you?”
The fuck did she mean where was he? He’d gotten home from school and was working on his case. He knew he lost track of time sometimes, but he was sure it was only 9 or 10 pm. Besides, they hadn’t made any plans.
“What do you mean? I’m at home. School’s over for the day?”
“It’s Saturday? We’re waiting for you at Basrar’s?”
Riz didn’t understand. He was certain that he’d gotten home from his second ever day of high school a few hours earlier. It couldn’t be Saturday. It just couldn’t.
“I’ll be there in a few, I must’ve overslept.” He swallowed. He was lucky they didn’t know him long enough to know he didn’t sleep.
***
The bell on the door rang quietly as Riz entered. He’d gotten lost a few times despite using Crystal Maps to get there. He probably should’ve known this place but he didn’t. It was strange. He made a mental note to add it to the corkboard.
“The Ball!” a voice chimed. Who the fuck was The Ball?
The voice belonged to someone raising their hand and sitting next to Adaine and Fig. Fabian, he recalled. On the other side of the booth there was the human- Kristen- and Gorgug. He liked the others good enough, but Fabian scared him. Still, he headed over to the table.
The others had already eaten their ice cream but they insisted on letting Riz have his own, saying they enjoyed hanging out at Basrar’s. He was struggling to keep up with the conversation, but they expected him to know what they were talking about so he just nodded along and pretended. It didn’t make sense. They were right, it was Saturday, but then how had the past three days just disappeared? Why did everyone else remember? He pushed the rest of his ice cream away, feeling sick. They didn’t ask. Adaine looked at him like she knew something. What did she know? He would really appreciate it if he also knew what the fuck was wrong with him.
~~~
It wasn’t just that Riz didn’t remember his father. It was that Riz Gukgak had no memories from before he was nine. He knew some things from what his mother had told him, but if he tried to remember anything about school he would come up empty. The most he could recall was a word or two. Sharp. Kind. Angry. Strong. Scary. Riz Gukgak did not want to think about why so many of those words were negative and he did not want to think about why he couldn’t remember anything.