A Castle of Memories

By: Alice You

The loud ringing sound traveled through the hallway, announcing the end of a class. Soon, the hallways flooded with sounds of chatter. The whole school seemed to be filled with joy, and excitement.

Ameila clicked open her locker, sighing. Unlike the other kids in that hallway, Ameila was filled with worry.

“Ameila!” A young lady yelled across the hall as she made her way over. “What's with the long face? Come on, cheer up! We’re going on our one and only field trip of the year! It's so rare to be able to go on a field trip in highschool. Plus, don’t you wanna go to that abandoned castle too?”

Ameila groaned. “That's exactly why I’m so down right now. My parents would never let me go!”

“I mean…” Stacy mumbled “ You don’t have to let them know. Right? Please come with us tomorrow.”

“But-” Ameila was about to refuse, but something deep down inside her wanted to go see. In the end, Ameila agreed.

After a 2 hour bus ride they arrived.

Miss. David lined everyone up after getting off the bus. She went down the line counting them up like how you would count ducklings following behind their mothers back. Soon they started walking. It was a 1 hour hike from the parking lot to the castle.

The Sun stared down at them with its flaming glare, burning Amelia up to a crisp. By the time they got there, Ameila was already clinging onto Stacy for life support. She felt like the toast in a toaster. She looked up at the castle for the first time.

With a sense of unease, Amelia realized she had been here before…The dilapidated castle stood before her, a relic of a bygone era, its weathered stone walls bearing witness to the passage of time. Memories from a past life began to flood back. she clenched her fists as she stepped through the creaking entrance.

As Amelia ventured deeper into the castle, her surroundings came alive with fleeting images and familiar whispers. It was as if the forgotten echoes of her former existence were calling out to her, urging her to unlock the secrets that lay dormant within these ancient walls.

The grand hall, once adorned with tapestries and bustling with life, now lay in ruins. Dust danced in the faint rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate the shattered stained-glass windows. Amelia's footsteps echoed through the empty halls, carrying her closer to the chambers that held fragments of her past.

In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a fading portrait, its colors muted by time. With a surge of recognition, Amelia realized it was her, or rather, the girl she once was in that past life. Her heart skipped a beat as she pondered the mysterious connection between her current existence and the ethereal presence of her former self.

As she ventured deeper into the castle's depths, Amelia's unease began to transform into a deep sense of longing. The castle had become a bridge between her past and present, a tangible link to a life she had once known. Every stone she touched, every draft of wind that rustled through the corridors, carried her further down the rabbit hole of her own history.

Everyone else was just a shadow swimming past her trying to get a better view of this magnificent castle. It was just a relic to everyone else. No one seemed to notice her wandering off.

In the final chamber, Amelia's heart swelled with a bittersweet mixture of nostalgia and closure. The girl who had lived here in a forgotten time had left her mark, her essence imprinted within the castle's very foundation. With tears in her eyes, Amelia bid her past self farewell, grateful for the opportunity to revisit the echoes of a life that had shaped her in ways she couldn't fully comprehend.

As she rejoined her classmates on the school field trip, Amelia couldn't help but smile, knowing that within her, the castle's secrets would forever be cherished. It was a place of connection, a place where past and present intertwined, and a place that had forever changed her perception of the world around her.