False Memories Ch 1 Novels & Stories

Like she wanted me to remember something. And that woman. The one with the scar on her chin. The more I see her, the more real she feels. But when I try to focus, her face becomes fog. I tapped the pen anxiously trying to recollect. Something is wrong with my memory. Some parts feel like they were never mine. Some days, I’m sure of what happened. Others... not at all. I closed the journal, heart thudding. And just then, a knock startled me but there was no one. Maybe it the wind against the windows. Or was it?

“There’s a beverage section. So I ordered them.” I looked at him and then back at the cider. “You remembered? From just that one time?” He nodded, going back to the fridge. “I only have to see something once then I will never forget it.” He turned his head toward me. “Mer don’t forget things. Our memory doesn’t work like humans. If we see something once, we can identify it again, even years later.” That floored me. “That’s insane,” I said, proceeding toward the island, seriously impressed, thinking of how I would never have to study over and over again.

It felt like a piece of me that had been missing for years was finally sliding back into place—clear and painful and impossible to ignore. It was as if I’d been walking around with a gap where a memory should be, and these flashes—snatches of images, smells, and voices—were snapping into focus all at once. They were raw and jagged, the edges too sharp to be anything but true. Still, part of me clung to the doubt. That memory could be wrong; the recollection could be distorted because time had smudged the details. That I could be wrong after all or maybe this was just because I had never imagined I could be so thoroughly fooled this way. Maybe this was because I never thought I could be decei

“I just mean it sounds like you’re stressed.” “Maybe I am. I really do think I’m losing my mind.” Jamie scooped Cassidy up, plopping her down on her lap where she could better appreciate the softness of her fur. For her part, Cassidy didn’t mind, enjoying the attention that was eerily reminiscent of the way Jamie used to handle her when she spent the night to guard her. “Sometimes I get these…these false memories, like…I think I remember something happening but then no one else knows what I’m talking about. I’m having the hardest time sorting through which ones were only dreams.”

The child blinked slowly. “It feels like I remember things,” he said softly. “But they don’t stay the same when I think about them again.” Evelyn looked at him. “And does that feel strange?” He thought carefully. “No,” he said. “It feels like nothing has to stay one meaning even in memory.” Lucien’s expression tightened slightly. “So memory is no longer fixed interpretation storage.” The First Existence responded. “Correct. Memory is now dynamic semantic reconstruction.” Rowan muttered. “So reality doesn’t even let us keep consistent thoughts anymore.”

“Where did that picture come from?” He glances at it. “Your mother brought it. She said it might help you reconnect with reality.” “That’s not my wife.” He gives me a look of calm concern. “Your mind’s been through a trauma, Adrian. False memories can be vivid. Sometimes the brain merges real people with imagined ones.” “She’s the one lying to me,” I say, voice rising. “There was someone else. Someone real.” He sits across from me. “Then tell me about him.”

They'd just wanted to hurt me enough to land me in the hospital. Then, while I was bedridden, they could quietly hold their wedding. By pretending to have lost my memory, I'd unknowingly played right into their hands. A soft fragrance drifted from behind me. "You saw everything?" My back stiffened instantly. I turned my head slowly, and there Sonia was, watching me knowingly. "You knew that I didn't actually lose my memory?" I asked. Sonia let out a chuckle. "I only suspected as much. So you were really pretending. Now that you know everything, what are you going to do?"

I tried to label it as a passing thought, dismissing it as mere imagination, but the truth whispered softly in the recesses of my consciousness—I couldn't lie to myself, not this time. The more I resisted, the more the memory expanded, filling the vast expanse of my mind. It played on a loop, like a broken record, each repetition etching the moment deeper into my soul. Doubt crept in, its icy tendrils wrapping around my heart, questioning my own perception. Was I overthinking? Was this just a figment of an overactive imagination?

Kathy looked at Parker and shook her head tiredly. “I have little of a memory of what I see in my dreams because it fades quickly once I’m awake. For all I know, none of the images I remember now ever truly happened. Or they all happened, and I really need help from a professional.” I'm less likely to believe anyone who commented on what they thought happened to you, Kathy. Others might have a motive to shape your recollection of an event, even if you don't recall it. Or not remember the event at all.” Kathy looked away as Parker spoke. Surprised, her eyes shot back to his when he suggested the person answering her questions might have a reason. They wouldn’t want Kathy to remember the past

She reached for the tea cup from the table next to her and sipped. "Do we really forget? Do you honestly think people have the ability to forget? In mnemonics theory, it says that people retain everything thee eyes see since the day of their birth. I want to be put in the programme, Martin is fighting for it and I think I'm very much well. Besides forgetting is something I'm not capable of Sandra, not when you have hyperthymesia. Maybe it depends on how you look at it." "Yes. It slipped from my mind, that's a big reason why they chose you for the job, right?"