Silence filled the room as Liliya played with the end of her braid. Nyron sat quietly next to her. She knew he must've been curious. She was grateful that he kept quiet anyway, allowing her to gather her thoughts.

Her mother's questions whirled through her head like a tornado. Her face, as she begged Liliya to arrange it.

Could she really go through with it? Could she really ask Nyron to delete the very last memory she had of her husband and daughter?

She's my mum! I can't let that happen to her!

She's my mum... And she wants this. That's exactly why I have to do it.

"Nyron... I have to ask you something."

From the corner of her eye she watched him turn to face her, but she couldn't meet his gaze.

"Of course. What is it?" Something much akin to pity dripped from his voice.

She hated it.

"Remember that horrible memory I told you about? From when I was 14?"

"Yes." His voice went up, as if he was asking a question.

"You were right," said Liliya. "Turns out my mum does want to forget it."

"Oh," said Nyron. "I'm sorry. I wish I wasn't right."

"Would you do it?" She turned to face him, ignoring the way his eyebrows were knotted together, the way his lips curled down. "Would you take that memory from her?"

His chestnut-coloured eyes widened at her request. "Are you serious? I thought you were against taking memories?"

"I am!" she couldn't help but blurt out. "But my mum wants nothing more than to forget. She doesn't have much longer. If you can make the end of her life a little bit brighter, then who am I to stop it?"

Nyron stared at her for so long that she averted her gaze. "Are you sure? Once it's done, I can't reverse it."

She closed her eyes, then sighed. "She practically begged me to arrange this. This is what she wants. Yes. Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright," said Nyron, nodding. "It'll take some time to get everything ready. Are we safe here? Or is your police friend going to be barging in any minute?"

"No, she won't," said Liliya. "I told her not to come on the phone. Besides, she thinks I dropped you after her warnings. What do you need?"

"Just some chalk. Oh, and do you have any ingredients for a sleeping potion?"

"I'll see what I can find."

They rummaged around in the cabinets for a while until Nyron had everything he needed. While he set everything up, Liliya decided to go to bed and catch a few hours of sleep, in hopes that a rested brain would help her come up with a plan for Nyron in the morning.

A distant rattling noise woke Liliya up. She groaned and grabbed her phone to check the time. Seven in the morning. She'd slept longer than she planned to. She rubbed her eyes as she got up and pulled a brush through her tangled hair.

The sweet smell of herbal tea filled her nose as she entered the living room.

"Sorry," said Nyron from his spot on the sofa. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

Yawning, Liliya said, "What was that noise?"

"I dropped a mug in the sink. Don't worry, it survived the fall. Here, I'll get you some tea, too."

She sat down as he jumped up. "Did you manage to get everything prepared? It didn't take you all night, did it?"

"Nah. Had a nap on the sofa. I'm ready whenever you are."

She nodded, gratefully accepting the tea. She took a sip, then set it down on the coffee table and turned to Nyron. "Thank you," she said. "For what you're doing for my mother. I know you have bigger things to worry about right now. It means a lot to me that you're taking the time to do this for me."

Nyron opened his mouth to say something, but before he had a chance, Liliya leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. It took him a second to respond, but when he did, he pulled her in even closer. It felt nice, leaning into him like this. His hair tickled her forehead and he smelled like vanilla. His fingers traced up and down her back. It tickled, but in a good, tingly sort of way.

A blush rose to her cheeks as they separated. His eyes were on her, but she glanced away. It had been much too long since she'd felt this way. How did people deal with such awkwardness?

She cleared her throat and grabbed her tea. "Let me go check on my mum. See if she's ready."

Her mum was watching television when she entered the bedroom. She looked a whole lot better than she had the previous night, Liliya noticed. The paleness had subsided a little, and she sat upright. "Morning, darling," she smiled.

"Hey, mum. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"No, but the jug's almost empty," she said, pointing at the jug of water on the nightstand.

"I'll fill it up in a minute. Listen, do you remember what I told you last night?"

"Yes," her mother smiled. "You know someone who can help me. Did you talk to them?"

Setting her mug on the nightstand, she sat down next to the bed. "I did. He's willing to do it. In fact, he's here now."

"Oh, thank you, darling, thank you," said her mother, leaning sideways to hug her. "When you say he, is this the same boy you had your eye on?"

Liliya chuckled. "Yes. It's Nyron. So please don't embarrass me," she joked.

Her mother laughed. "I promise. Is he coming now?"

"He can, yeah," said Liliya. "I just came to see if you were ready."

"I am. Please let him in."

She sat up further, smoothing the covers over the lower half of her body. She smiled eagerly, but there was something off about it. She looked almost... nervous.

With a shake of her head, Liliya opened the door and called Nyron inside.

"Hi, Mrs Rawiri. Nice to meet you."

He shook her hand and stepped back again. He put his hands in his pockets, then folded them behind his back. Liliya stifled a giggle at how uncomfortable he looked.

"It's lovely to meet you, too. Nyron, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And you can delete that awful memory?"

"Yes," Nyron nodded. "I've already prepared everything, so we can begin whenever you're ready."

"Wonderful!" She coughed and grabbed at her water glass, only to find it empty.

"Oh, here, let me." Liliya scrambled to fill the glass with the last bit of water from the jug. Her mother drank it all to calm down the coughing fit. She took a few moments to catch her breath when it was finally over. She smoothed over her covers once more, saying, "Well, I am ready. Go right ahead."

Liliya was surprised to see Nyron hesitate. He glanced from her to her mother and back. "Uhm... Okay this is going to sound rude, but..."

"What is it?" said Liliya. What on Tezyl could suddenly make him so uncomfortable?

"Look, uhm... I hadn't realised quite how..." He shrugged and gestured at the bed. "How ill you actually are." Turning to Liliya, he continued, "The ritual isn't exactly comfy. It's quite strenuous, both on the mind and the body. I don't know what effect it'll have on someone so sick."

Liliya's eyes widened. "You're joking! You tell me this now?"

"I didn't realise –"

"It doesn't matter." Her mother's voice rang clear and decisive, while Liliya's heart sunk.

"Mum, you can't be serious. Don't you understand what he's saying? This could kill you!"

"I realise that and it is worth the risk."

"Mrs Rawiri –"

"I said, it's worth the risk." Her eyes pierced her daughter's and Nyron's, leaving no room for discussion.

"But..." Liliya stuttered. "But I don't want you to die!"

Her mother's eyes softened slightly, as she reached out to her daughter. "I'm not planning on dying, Lily. But I need this. I truly need to be rid of that memory."

Liliya turned to Nyron, hoping for support, but he just shrugged as if to say, it's not my decision.

She turned back to her mother, shoulders sagged. "Mum... I didn't even want to agree with this when I thought it was safe. You can't expect me to be okay with this."

"You don't need to be okay with it. It is my decision, darling. I'm sorry, but safe or not, I will go through with this."

Arguments of why this was wrong filled Liliya's head. None of them made it to her mouth. She swallowed hard, lowering her gaze. "Fine," she whispered.

Without another word, she left the room.

She tried not to listen, but she heard every word Nyron uttered. He asked her several more times if she was truly sure about this. The answer was the same every single time.

When he finally started, Liliya grabbed the bottle of wine from the kitchen, only to realise it hadn't even gone eight in the morning. She filled the kettle with water while Nyron started chanting.

Hours seemed to pass by, as his voice filled her ears, her head, taking over her world. She ignored her phone when it rang and prayed to whatever deity was out there to keep her mother safe. Five mugs of steaming hot tea couldn't calm her nerves. She ignored her phone again, eyes glued to the bedroom door.

She had no idea what time it was, when a noise came from the bedroom. It shook the walls and froze her heart.

"Fuck!"