I was walking with Jule on the way to pick Mindy up when she suggested stopping by her house.

I just stared at her dumbly while she rolled her eyes. "It gets lonely in the house sometimes," she said.

Oh, how could I refuse?

I've never been to Jule's house since she didn't invite me at all. I haven't suggested it either since I'm a guy...and, um, yeah. Jule initially said that she had to go home and finish up her assignment meaning she couldn't wait for me to pick Mindy up. I was really okay with that. It's not like she's obliged to go with me everywhere.

So, I don't know why I was sitting on Jule's couch, staring at my reflection from her humongous LED TV and wondering why in the world she had an ad magazine with a half-naked man on the cover. Was Jule into these kinds of things?

Jule barely batted an eyelash at the presence of the magazine. It's like she didn't even notice it. She trudged to the kitchen, muttering about getting me something to drink. While she was rummaging around the kitchen, opening cupboard doors and shutting them, I took one of the magazines and cringed.

Why would Jule have things like this? It's an ad magazine. Why in the world does canned tuna need a model in boxer shorts?

I found myself flipping page after page, pictures of more and more half-naked men with ripped bodies leaping for my eyes. I never pegged Jule to be like this...

I flipped to a certain page and a folded white piece of paper greeted me. This is kind of out of place. What could this be?

"Hey, sorry for making you wait," Jule's voice speared from the kitchen. Oh God, she's coming. In a hurry, I plucked the paper from the magazine, flipped the magazine shut, and promptly returned it to the rack. I stuck the retrieved paper into the right pocket of my jacket, crumpling it in the process.

I cleared my throat as Jule sank on the couch next to me and passed me a glass of water. I hesitantly took it, grateful that it's cold enough to disguise the sweat in my palms. I sighed with some semblance of relief. That was close.

"What were you doing?" Jule asked, looking around for something amiss. "I heard something crunch."

"Oh, must be my phone," I lied, chugging the whole glass in a single gulp. "Probably my ringtone."

Jule nodded. I sighed, forcing myself to lean back against the couch and chill the hell out. There's nothing happening. Calm down.

I blew a breath, the weight of the paper in my pocket hammering against my conscience. Should I tell Jule? Wait, that would mean I have to explain to her what I was doing with the magazine...and I don't have a ready explanation.

So, no. I won't tell her for now. It would probably go back to the magazine by tomorrow...right?

Oh dear. I need to get out of here before my conscience betrays me.

"Listen, um, Jule," I said. "I have to go and pick Mindy up. It's almost 4:30."

Jule glanced furtively at the clock set atop her fridge then sighed. She sounded disappointed. Did she have another reason for inviting me over here?

"Alright," she said, drumming her fingers against her thigh. "Shall I walk you to the door?"

I shook my head, waving my hands in front of me. "There's no way I'll get lost on the way to your door," I said. "I'll be fine. Thanks for having me over. The, um, water tastes nice."

Jule nodded. "I'll see you around."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, you will," I said, recalling what almost happened last night. I shook my head clear of that image, cursing myself for even thinking of that. I trudged to the door and made it out of Jule's house alive.

That's a relief.

The walk to the Primary School was muted, with me mostly lost in my guilt. Pocketing that white paper without telling Jule and on looking through a...substantial magazine were enough to drive the needle in my moral compass wonky.

I felt my face burn as the memory popped into my head again. Ugh, where was forgetfulness when you needed it?

I made it to the Primary School and met Mindy by the front gate. She was safe with no injuries, so that's a relief. I carried her home, not caring if it bends my back or something. Mindy was heavy, that much I know, but I wasn't going to let her walk home when she's exhausted from a whole school day.

Or perhaps this was just me trying to absolve my guilt by doing a good thing. Or me feeling generous which was a rare occurrence. Or this was me wanting to get home as fast as possible because I'm dying to read what was in the paper in my pocket.

Either way, I have to get home the fast way possible.

Mindy gripped my hair with her small fists but not enough to hurt me. She just likes doing that whenever I carry her.

"Why are you walking fast, Rom?" she asked, her voice concerned and small. "Is Mom coming home early?"

Oh that.

It's Mindy's wish to spend time with our parents but they're always working. Both of them leave for work so early in the morning and go home so late in the evening. I don't think the reset even lets them reach the house before acting up.

So, unless we wake up really early, we never really see our parents at home. With the reset dictating my waking time, I know there's nothing I could do to see them.

It's unfair that way. It's like having an ice cream carton at your reach but somehow you couldn't get it. I have parents, yes, but the reset makes it happen that I'll never get to see them. Ever.

I only knew of them from the wedding photo framed by the ante, with Mom looking like the girl version of Chris and Fisher. Me and Mindy looked more like Dad. I know, whack.

I shook my head at Mindy's question. "No," I said. "I just have some assignments I need to finish by tomorrow."

"Rom," Mindy's eyes were wide and never-blinking. "What is tomorrow?"

I smiled. "Don't worry about it, Mindy," I said softly. "It isn't your torch to bear."

Mindy grinned, her teeth yellow from not brushing it properly. I was going to have a word with Chris about this. "I like bears," she said. "Do you like bears, Rom?"

I just chuckled. "Yeah, I do," I said. "Cuddly bears like Mr. Duddles."

Mindy agreed with a jovial nod.

We reached home to find Chris and Fisher already inside, shouting at that game they're playing. I wasn't even surprised when I walked past the ante to find them smashing console buttons, guffawing like drunk sailors while playing Fortress and Strife.

That's probably why I could sympathize with Travis at school. All my knowledge about that game was from my brothers.

"I'm home," I yelled at my brothers.

Only then did they pause to whirl to Mindy and I. "Oh, welcome back, Rom," Fisher said, flicking his fingers at the console, killing Chris's character. The other retaliated angrily and soon, the shouting began anew.

I sighed, setting Mindy down on the couch. "Can you remove your shoes? Set them by the rack, next to the twins', right?" I said, crouching in front of her. Mindy nodded. "What do you want for dinner?"

Of course I know what she's going to say. "Ice cream," Mindy said.

I blew a breath. "Mindy, you can't have sweets for dinner," I said patiently. "How about some pasta?"

Mindy shrugged. "Ice cream is better."

I pursed my lips as I picked myself up and headed to the kitchen. The twins' shouts faded as I set up dinner, humming to myself like a housewife.

Dinner came by and went, with me yelling at Fisher to go and wash the dishes, which of course, he would never do. I just let him be. It's not like the dishes would remain dirty.

Chris and Fisher's Fortress and Strife game lasted until late evening and Mindy sleeps early inside her room. So an hour before the loop happens, I was left with nothing to do.

I lied on my bed, holding the white paper up, staring absently at the loopy letters scrawled at it. I haven't bothered changing out of my clothes and I just plopped into bed without ceremony. I don't know how long I've been staring at the paper. It's as if I was scared of the things I was going to find out.

Now, why would a paper like this be stuck inside a magazine? And why was I so drawn to it? It could be a car loan ad or something useless. Strangely, my gut tells me that it's not.

I flipped the paper open and read the first sentence. My dearest Jule. If you're reading this, you're finally of age to brave those naked men.

Eugh. So it's intentional. What kind of parent would endanger their child like that? It didn't make sense.

I read through the letter, my eyebrows creeping higher and higher as words melded into sentences, and sentences melded into paragraphs explaining how the world works...and ultimately how we could get out of it.

We can remember because they can and they have been generous enough to lend us some of their heart to encourage them to start making their own memories.

So that's why Jule had been able to remember in the first place. Her parents caused it. But how?

As we contribute to how people around us make their memories, as we slowly change them to be the person they are destined to be, it takes some from us. No, not just some. It takes everything from us.

Was this some sort of deep philosophical thing? It's got to be. What does it mean to give someone your everything? Was it material possession? Or something more precious?

We are timed creatures, Jule. And if we chose a person, there was no going back. It's either you give them your all or give them nothing at all. It's a gamble we all have to live with.

Again with the giving of everything. How do I even do that? If anything, this letter gave out more questions than answers. And Jule...has she read this already? She needs to know about this.

The next sentences all felt like trespassing into someone's private life. Her parents talked about loving her so much that they gave up everything for her. Then a paragraph caught my attention.

If we gave our everything to someone, we will have nothing left. We will be forgotten. Like the dead. The greatest reward a human soul can have is to be able to love at least once. Once you have done that, then we can finally be together, wherever souls go after they're forgotten.

My stomach churned. Was that the fate awaiting everyone who remembers? Once they touch a person's life and change it completely, they would just vanish without a trace. They have already given everything yet they're the one paying the price? That's...

Jule, no matter how unfair this may all see, remember that the way out of this loop is to remember. The only escape is to build a connection with someone so deep it transcends the rules of this world. The only way out is to love.

This was it. The answer to Jule's dream. And not only she failed at it, she was sent back to square one when she forgot everything about it. But now that I think about it, why would she even forget in the first place? It's not like she gave up everything for me. I don't think so. If so, she wouldn't even exist right now.

I reflected back to the day I left her alone on that road. She was about to say something and she didn't get to say it. The next day, she had forgotten.

Could these events be connected? Jule, what were you thinking?

I read the letter again. And again.

The only way out was to love. I mustn't forget that.

But how do we love? How do we give our everything to someone we have chosen? How do you make someone remember?

Mrs. Mazur's words flashed back to my mind. I think the one thing that makes us human is our emotions, our ability to feel things and act on them. How do you even do that? How was Jule able to act based on her emotions? How did she make me do it?

I reflected back to the first time we met. She grabbed my arm, looked straight to my eyes, and practically begged me to help her. She appealed to my generosity.

When she brought Mindy and I to the Creamery to help me cheer Mindy up after getting her knee wound, Jule appealed to my brotherly instincts.

When she brought me to the Lighthouse where we did nothing but laugh at things that weren't even funny, Jule appealed to my humor.

When she brought me to that field under the stars and told me that my dream wasn't useless nor was it without avail, Jule appealed to my ambition.

And that...I think that's what made me remember.

Jule made me feel things I've forgotten I was capable of feeling. To make someone remember was to remind them that they have a future. It's to make them feel that they were human.

To be able to remember was to be human. To be human was to remember.

It's so simple yet so complicated. But, everything in life was.

However, according to the letter, there was a price in making someone remember. Has Jule already paid for it? The letter claimed that once you have given your everything to a person of your choice, you're bound to disappear, you would be forgotten.

What did that have to do with Jule forgetting?

Unless...

I sat up in bed, a spear of thought whizzing through my brain. Unless...Jule chose to forget everything we did in order to save herself from the price. Again, that's selfish on her part and only proved what I said to her true. She couldn't bear the fact that she would be forgotten, so she went ahead and tried to run by forgetting.

She thought she had cheated the rules but maybe...

We are timed creatures, Jule. That line clawed for my attention. What if Jule's time wasn't reset? What if she hasn't succeeded in removing herself from the equation and that her seconds were still ticking?

What if she's still destined to be forgotten?

Oh God. I have to do something. She couldn't vanish, not like this. I won't even remember her? That's bullcrap. I'd rather forget everything than not being able to know why I was here. Jule may have lived through her lack of purpose with her unprecedented strong will, but I know I don't have that.

If I lose any sight of what I was in the world for, I know I won't stay sane. Without a purpose, I would cease to be human.

I couldn't let that happen. I still have to hear what Jule has to say that day. I still have to let Jule explain the reason why she chose to forget instead of fighting the world we stood in.

Why, out of all the times she could give up, did she choose now?

I clenched my fists, crumpling the letter still clasped in my fingers. There's no way I'm going to let it be like this.

Jule has to remember. If I end up giving back everything she gave me, so be it. It's finally my turn to give her my everything and more.

Even if it means I was the one who had to disappear.