I cannot figure out for the life of me why I agreed to let Amani come with me. I'll admit, she had some solid points, made some pretty good arguments, but I still could've refused. I should have.

So why didn't I? Why didn't I just refuse, like I did before? It would've kept her safe, or at least safer than she will be on this mission. I should've said no. I've never had trouble saying no before—I do it all the time. But this time, the words wouldn't come. Maybe it was the way Amani looked at me when I said yes. Like she finally had something to hold onto.

If I'm being completely honest, I haven't seen my sister that happy since... actually, I don't know if I've ever seen her that excited. Now that I think about it, I don't really see much of her at all. I knew that before, it's not new, but I never really truly realized until recently.

Maybe it was the unexpected relief I felt when I agreed. The realization that, deep down, I didn't want to go alone. And that scares me. It's my responsibility to keep Amani and the others safe—letting my feelings get in the way is a risk I can't afford to take.

The thought lingers, heavy and uncomfortable, but I push it aside as I tighten the straps on my backpack. There's no time for regret—not now. I double-check the compass in my pocket, feeling the cool weight of it against my palm. Right. Focus on what's ahead.

Today is the day Amani and I venture into our Writer's brain and try to find their memories so we can figure out what's been going on this whole time and try to fx it. Why we almost dissolved into thin air, maybe even how to prevent it happening again. To put it simply, it's a big day.

While packing, I found an old compass buried at the bottom of a supply box. I wasn't sure how useful it would be, but I took it anyway—just in case.

Later, I decided to test it out, wandering beyond the usual paths, letting it guide me. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But then, after enough trial and error, something shifted. The needle twitched, wavered, then spun in a way that didn't make sense.

And eventually, it led me somewhere.

I haven't told Amani about it yet. She'll see when we leave.

The two of us, along with pretty much everyone else, are gathered in the hallway outside the theater room. We'll be leaving through the back door after we say our goodbyes.

I know that if everything goes the way it's supposed to, we'll be back soon enough, but it still feels like we're leaving for good. Might be the stress. Either way, now is not the time to dwell on it.

I take my time talking to everyone individually, hoping to reassure them as much as possible. Shaina gives me a tight hug, squeezing me as if she's afraid to let go. I remind myself that she has Lukas and their mom, a therapist, to help her through. She'll be okay, I think. The two of them should be able to cope with any difficult feelings better than most.

Ash surprises me with a short, rare hug. It's quick, but it still unknots some of the anxiety in my stomach. They don't show affection easily, so this small gesture means a lot. They've got six sisters, so they're probably too busy worrying about each other to focus on me for long.

Mel rests her head on my chest as she wraps her arms around me. Maybe she's listening to my heartbeat, maybe it's just that she's a foot shorter than me. I pat her head gently. She's been through tough times before, but she has a strong support system and enough distractions to be okay. She'll be fine.

I catch a few glances at Amani as I say my goodbyes. She's only got Juno left, but their farewell is quiet. A short hug, a few words, then they stand together, soaking in the moment. They don't need much to understand each other—words aren't always necessary for them. It's a friendship built on quiet coexistence.

I don't miss how Amani looks at me when I'm hugging the others, either. I try not to think about it.

The last person for me to say goodbye to is Lex. It isn't until he comes to stand before me that I realize how much I'll miss him. At first glance, we might not seem like friends– he's made it his mission to be a real thorn in my side, a perpetual headache. He's just petty like that. Admittedly, we argue a lot, but when we're not squabbling, Lex has actually been a really good friend to me.

To my surprise, they pull me into a hug. I reach up and pat their back, savoring this rare moment of sincerity. It's over as quickly as it started, and they pull away again, keeping their hands planted on my shoulders.

Lex inhales sharply, his grip tightening on my shoulders. "Come back, Samiyah," he says, trying to sound firm, but I hear the break in his voice.

I nod. "I will."

His hands linger for a second longer before he abruptly pulls back, exhaling through his nose. "FUCK, I can not cry. I spent 20 goddamn minutes on this eyeliner."

I laugh. "20 minutes?"

"Yeah 20 minutes, how the hell else do you think I did the spider web effect?"

Lex's eyeliner today looks like spider webs in the corner of his eyes. It's something about his appearance he puts a lot of effort into, so it'd be a shame if it was ruined. I feel a pang of guilt at making even him worry. I punch his arm lightly.

"All right, that's enough. I'll be back before you know it."

Lex nods, as if reassuring himself.

"Oh, and-" I add. "If I come back to someone losing a finger to the power saw, you're losing your entire arm."

He laughs, his eyes still glassy.

"No promises," He replies with a wink.

"I'm serious."

"I know."

It's time to leave. I walk over to Amani, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shares one last hug with Juno before letting me take her hand and guide her out.

Hey, Writer. We're coming to go dig through your memories. Hope you don't mind. 

whats good chat 

how are we doing pookies

apologies for the late update, I thought this was gonna turn out longer than it actually did and I spent more time than I should've agonizing over it so I gave myself an extra week for the sake of my sanity 

it's on the shorter side for samiyah's chapters, only about 1069 words and 4 pages

hope you enjoyed

listen I have been DREAMING about writing this chapter and the chapters that will follow for months, since before I even started properly writing so it feels kinda unreal that im actually here-

I've come so far 

when I first started, I thought I'd be like roughly 40 pages long (in my word doc) and I'd be done by February 

fun fact I've passed 40 pages and its February and im only maybe halfway done- 

still rlly proud of myself tho (the extra weeks I've taken have definitely impacted how long this is taking....... anyways)

thanks for reading obvi ilysm and I appreciate it a lot <3333333

if u wanna make me extra happy maybe comment smth, doesn't have to be a lot just tell me your thoughts and even if you don't wanna do that just let me know you read it :3

my girlies about to go on a dangerous possibly life threatening mission to find the memories of some weirdo cuz they dont wanna die 

the plot is thickening, let me cook

I promise I'll have the next chapter out with my normal weekly publishing schedule unless I like get in some big dramatic accident and can't write or whatever 

bye :> 

-JJZ