Hearts Remember What Minds Try To Forget by Rex Wilder 44

21 

Seeing that familiar face, a stabbing pain shot through my mind. Scene after scene flashed before my eyes: 

A woman, clutching a child, kowtowing outside a mansion; Ethan’s icy gaze as I sank into the pool; Ethan’s plea backstage at the 

concert hall… 

It all came flooding back. When I snapped out of the memories and back to reality, all I saw was the speeding car, getting bigger and bigger in my eyes. No time to react, no time to dodge! 

Sophia stared at me, so close, and burst into a wild, cackling laugh: 

“Hahahaha! Bitch, come to hell with me!!” 

“Ella-!” A gut–wrenching scream ripped through the air, right by my ear! 

In that split second, a massive force slammed into me! 

It was Ethan! He’d lunged forward, throwing his entire weight into shoving me hard, out of the way! 

“BANG–!!!” 

A deafening crash echoed. 

The sheer impact sent me sprawling, my elbows and knees burning. I didn’t even check my wounds, my head snapped up instantly. 

Those few seconds played out in my mind like an entire century in slow motion: 

Ethan’s body flew through the air like a kite with its string cut, crashing hard onto the ground several feet away. 

The red car slammed into a tree on the side of the road, its hood mangled. Sophia was slumped over the steering wheel, her head a bloody mess, no idea if she was alive or dead. 

My mind went totally blank. I practically scrambled, crawling and stumbling, to Ethan’s side. 

He lay there on the cold pavement, a sickening pool of bright red quickly spreading beneath him. He looked at me, rushing towards him, seemed to try and lift a hand, but couldn’t move a muscle. 

He could only stare, fixed on my face, as his color drained visibly, his breathing so faint it was almost gone, his eyes already starting to 

glaze over. 

“Ethan! Ethan!” I choked out his name, my hands shaking. I wanted to reach for him, but I was terrified of hurting him again. Tears streamed down my face, unstoppable. My mind was a complete mess, only one thought piercing through: I couldn’t let Ethan die. 

Ethan’s unfocused gaze struggled to lock onto my tear–streaked face. 

He moved his lips, and a gush of blood immediately spewed from the corner of his mouth. 

He used his last ounce of strength, his fingers twitching slightly, as if trying to grab something. 

Seeing that, I immediately squeezed his cold, clammy hand tight. 

His fingers curled ever so slightly in my palm, like a response, or maybe a final goodbye. 

A faint spark flickered in his fading eyes. He stared at me almost greedily, as if wanting to burn my face into his memory, his gaze with endless longing and reluctance. 

filled 

15.7% 

< 21 

Manu 

…Ella…” His voice was barely a whisper, broken, almost inaudible. Every word came with a fleck of blood, yet they cut through me with crystal clarity. 

…Don’t be scared… I’m… here…” 

The scene merged with the one years ago when he’d shielded me from a knife. My heart twisted, an uncontrolled stab of pain, and tears blurred my vision. 

He gasped, struggling to push out his final words: 

“…I’m… so… sorry…” 

The last syllable faded, and Ethan’s eyes slowly closed. 

I knelt there, stunned, in the pool of blood. The whole world seemed to fade to black and white. I clutched his hand as it grew cold, his final words-“Don’t be scared, I’m here” and “I’m so sorry“-echoing relentlessly in my ears. 

This time, Ethan was truly gone from my life. 

The day Ethan was buried, a light drizzle fell. 

I didn’t wear black. Instead, I wore the white dress from when we first met, holding a bouquet of roses. 

I didn’t go up front. I just stood far back in the crowd, watching that small box being lowered into the grave, then covered with dirt. 

After the funeral, the crowd dispersed. 

I slowly walked to the tombstone and stood there for a long time. 

I stared at Ethan’s photo on the tombstone, my mind a blur. The man who held all my love and hate in this life was just… gone, completely vanished from this world. 

I bent down, gently placed the roses I held in front of the tombstone, and whispered, 

“Ethan, I forgive you.” 

I reached out, my fingertips lightly tracing the cold engravings on the stone, like a final goodbye. 

Then, I turned, no lingering glance, and walked out of the cemetery with steady steps. 

All the love and hate, in the end, had turned to ashes, buried deep in this earth. 

Time flew by, decades passing in the blink of an eye. 

On a warm summer night, I lay in bed as usual, drifting peacefully into sleep. 

But this sleep was different. 

Everything went sideways. One moment I was out cold, the next I felt this insane dizzy spell, like the room was spinning. Then, a weird, powerful force just yanked me, pulling me into what felt like an endless black hole. 

When I finally snapped back to reality, I was in this totally bizarre place. 

My eyes went wide. I was absolutely blown away by the endless, shimmering sea of stars surrounding me. It was unreal. 

Suddenly, a voice echoed in my ear. 

18-10 

15.7% 

< 21 

“Welcome back, Agent 10017, Ella, to the Anomaly Correction Hub.” 

Just like that, memories, spanning countless cons, flooded back to me like a tidal wave. 

Oh, right. I remembered now. 

Turns out, I’m an Agent. My job? Hop between dimensions, fix broken timelines, and collect “regret points” from male leads. 

Right then, a door, shimmering with pure light, started to form right in front of me. 

It was the portal to my next mission. My next life. 

Without a second thought, I walked up to the glowing white door and tapped the “Depart” button on the light–screen. 

Instantly, the data on the screen whirled, a soft, mystical white glow radiating from it. 

I was swept along by the flow of dimensions, pulled into the next world…