Ch.7 Tik.Tik.Tik.

Our memory is a rather strange phenomenon. Sometimes, we remember each detail in crystal clear accuracy. Sometimes, details we needed become lost in our memory. Hyperthymesia is a memory disorder characterized by a superior autobiographical memory. In other words, those who have this disorder can remember every detail of every day of their lives. They can describe the events of any given date, what day of the week that day fell on and they can even describe trivial details such as the weather. There are only four confirmed cases of this disorder.

Sometimes, we choose to forget. Our minds will erase events from our memory just like erasing chalk from a blackboard. These events are so miserable, we want to forget.

Travis had wanted to forget something. Something that was so miserable, he had gone to extremes to forget. And he had succeeded.

Travis had staggered out of The Red Nose Tavern that night. He drank an entire bottle of scotch. He only drank half of the second bottle but he had brought that one home with him. He had spent the next day in bed, sick. The desired result was a memory loss.

While Travis had wanted to forget, his mind wasn't quite ready to let him. And this event tugged threateningly at the back of his mind.

Even two days after his visit to The Red Nose Tavern, Travis' head pounded and throbbed. He stared at the brown paper package on his counter top. He didn't remember putting there. He didn't remember receiving a brown paper package. But, considering his circumstances, he didn't find that unusual. What he did find unusual was the lack of address on this package. It was neither addressed to anyone nor did it say who sent it. It just sat there on his counter top.

After five minutes of staring blankly at a brown paper package, Travis decided to open it. He pulled a knife from the drawer and sliced through the paper and the box underneath. He ripped it open and out fell a watch. A silver pocket watch complete with a chain.

Strange, he thought. Travis never had had a use for a pocket watch.

He put the watch up to his ear. Tik. Tik. Tik. It worked well. With a snap, it opened. But this was not an ordinary pocket watch. This watch was counting time backward. The hands were going around the watch face counterclockwise.

Strange, he thought again. Could it be broken?

He turned the watch over in his hands. Engraved on the back, in simple print, was a name. One name. Our memory truly is a strange phenomenon. Even though we choose to forget something, if it's really important, we remember it anyway. And at some point, something will bring back our memory. Sometimes our mind is ready to deal with this miserable memory. And other times our mind is not.

Travis' memory came flooding back to him as he stared at the name on the back of the watch. A name he had wanted to forget. For engraved in the silver pocket watch, in simple print, was the name Quinn.

A knock interrupted his thoughts. He ignored it. The knock came again shortly thereafter. This time a little more persistent. He ignored it. This time, the person banged loudly and insistently. Travis covered his ringing ears and stumbled to the door. He flung it open angrily. He got ready to turn them away, but stopped.

"Quinn?"

The girl with auburn hair looked up at him, puzzled...

Author's Note: The memory disorder I described at the beginning is a very real disorder and everything I said about is fact.