The Letters That Never Lied

This was the voice, quiet as ever, whispering in the dim facility like it was about to happen. With a frozen state, Amina's breath was shallow and uneven, and her pulse caught the gentle vibration from the walls. Her face shone in a light as screens dimmed before her eyes, lighting up code fragments that she didn't intentionally see, but still felt deeply connected to. This particular voice spoke with precision, stating that she was never supposed to wake up twice and that if she heard this then the failsafe must have failed. It was an unambiguous warning. As the word failsafe lingered in her thoughts, she couldn't fathom its meaning without hesitation and held a fear of failure.

Her voice shook as she struggled to keep her composure while asking for the identity of the person or topic. Her response, sour but unforced: she was the one to come. A duplicate of herself, not a reflection or an imitation.' As Amina shook her head in shock, she was overcome with emotion and fear, feeling both impossibility as well as reason. The voice wasn't arguing, but rather saying she had made it, designed as a barrier to the truth in case her memory ever became damaged. As the room dimmed slightly, a single screen illuminated and words began to appear, not code, but something more intimate. A letter.

Her breath caught on immediately as her eyes focused on the first sentence, and her body remained motionless. ". Her familiar voice was raw and intimate, beginning with the words that she had never been told directly. While Amina muttered, she realized what she was paying attention to, and then the system verified it by stating that all the letters were present. The same correspondences that had aided her, perplexed me, and somehow guided her through everything.' With her chest tightening in pain, she approached the object and firmly believed that the letters were from Ethan. However, the voice gently corrected her, stating that they were not entirely his, even though he had given them. When she asked for clarification on what that meant, confusion flooded her mind: she had written the first ones. What's the point?

She was in a state of silence as her mind couldn't comprehend the revelation and it consumed the room. After instinctively refusing, she watched as another screen flickered to life, compelling a memory forward—definite and unambiguous. She perceived a sense of calmness and distance as she typed in secluded, dimly lit rooms, deliberately crafting words for an individual who wouldn't remember anything. It was a clear yet forceful message, compelling her to have confidence in him for the future. With Amina's breath in her hands, the realization grew clear and the voice continued to clarify that the letters had been created as emotional anchors, something that would guide them back even at a time when her identity had not been altered. Her heart was the catalyst for her emotions, not her memory or logic.

Adrian's gaze remained fixed on the sealed entrance as he stood unfazed in front of the facility. There was a sense of unending expansion, with each passing second having more weight. As Daniel paced by, his voice grew louder and he realized that Amina had been inside for too long. Yet another person -- one linked to Amina's past -- remained calm and watchful, fearing that intervention now could destabilize the system. Adrian initially remained silent, but his silence was still weighty and full of conflict and restrained fear. Daniel's comment about her unchanging appearance made Adrian grimace, but he was still calm and understanding that she had never been the same before. It wasn't hope that kept him standing there, but a promise.

Once again, Amina felt a sudden shift in her hands as more letters arrived, each with varying emotions and tone, yet all intertwined to form unified pieces. Upon encountering him, she was startled by the warning to not believe what she had seen, and her eyes widened in response. But she was quick to point out that it came from Ethan - the system corrected her and said: ‘I told you to write it,’ she said. The rationale was more profound than her initial impression, as trusting him too much would indicate that the system had already completely rewrote her character. That doubt, that hesitation had been part of the plan. Everything was arranged in full.

Another screen awoke, featuring filmed footage. Amina put it down for a moment before playing, her heart racing with the image taking flight. Adrian's version was different from the one she had learned of. Standing in the same facility, he spoke directly to her and appeared exhausted and worn out.' Despite her warning that something was off, he couldn't avoid it and explained that she had warned him not to come after her. While he continued to touch Amina, she felt her chest tighten in pain, confessing that the only memory fragments were pieces. She asked him to stay close so that she could remember what had happened. Afterward, she received the pledge that caused damage to her. Despite her attempts to distance him from her, she made him promise to protect her without any resistance.

As she contemplated, the truth weighed heavily on everything she had previously said to him, every accusation, and every doubt in her mind. Even so, he had not relinquished his resources. On the screen, a brief yet heartfelt letter was read, sharing her belief that she had loved him before forgetting about him, even when doubting him. Tears streamed down her face, not due to confusion but rather recognition.

The facility doors suddenly opened, catching the eye of those waiting outside. Adrian bounded on his feet without delay, his focus sharpening as the tension mounted. The man from Amina's past remained silent as Daniel mumbled in surprise, clarifying that she had made a decision. With each door opening, Amina emerged unharmed and uncontrolled. Her appearance was distinct. Why? Without hesitation, she looked at Adrian and they both remained still. There was no rush to get close to her, no talking; nothing. But he just stood there, sticking with the promise.'".

Amina walked towards him with a deliberate approach, her heart beating slowly even as she faced the storm of emotions. She remained silent when she stopped in front of him, but her words conveyed the truth that Ethan was the one she recognized. The confirmation was met with silence from them. Adrian simply acknowledged it, not denied it. Moving on, she admitted that he had been cognizant of his overabundance of information and had advised him to tell lies in spite of her objections. Despite everything, he gave a gentle yet firm answer, acknowledging that despite what had happened, his decision was still to her.

The passage of time seemed to momentarily halt as Amina contemplated the significance of her love, which had endured beyond all comprehension and purpose. The silence was broken by a gunshot that came from inside the facility, just as it was about to settle. Everyone froze in an instant as the reality of the situation changed hands again. The sound prompted Daniel to react by turning away from the noise and finding that they were no longer alone. The man from Amina's past, with a dark complexion, confirmed that others had been waiting. I felt a chill run through my body as I whispered that they were the real danger.

She didn't move behind Adrian, who had a natural instinct to step in front of her. She walked alongside him with a firm voice, saying that I was no longer running.' He gazed at her, and a subtle transition occurred between them, with both of us now seeing each other as equals facing the same danger.

A second gunshot was heard, with a voice inside the facility declaring that the target had been confirmed and Amina was engaged. As the meaning was revealed, her blood drenched. This didn’t involve ‘rewriting her’ any longer. This time they weren’t trying to control her.

Their aim was to eliminate her.'