February 2, 2021: Onsra

After a lengthy stay in the hospital, owing to the minor complications that arose because of her conditions, Syn was finally up and about.

Currently, she was noting down the information that her professor was discussing - It was a lecture class dedicated to the study on human psychology. It was not a requirement for her to take, considering that her course was accountancy. However, she had this hobby of learning random facts even though they wouldn't be that much of use.

"Moving on, we're going to talk about false memories syndrome. To elucidate on this subject firsthand, does anyone wants to volunteer?" After the professor asked, she looked around the room to see if there was someone who wanted to answer.

To her delight, a myriad of hands was already raised, so she just needed to choose one among them. Although there were students who could readily respond to her query, Ms Fulman decided to call out one among those who opted to stay silent. As her gaze travelled inside the lecture room, it soon landed on Syn who was focused on writing.

"Miss Rosenfeldt, mind answering my question?"

Upon hearing her name being called out, Syn promptly raised her head, meeting her professor's eyes in the process.

"Pardon, ma'am. I wasn't listening." She said without any qualms about the repercussion of her action.

Ms Fulman sighed, evidently so, as she reiterated her query, "Care to explain to me what False Memory Syndrome is?"

"Oh, no problem, Ms Fulman." Syn uttered as she stood up from her seat, continuing, "False Memory Syndrome is a predisposition wherein a person's identity, relationships, or experiences are being affected by False Memories. As defined, people have recollections that are technically fallacies, yet the individual believes that those are their actual memories."

Once Syn was done with her explanation, Ms Fulman couldn't help but nod her head, satisfied with the young lady's answer.

"Very well-explained, Miss Rosenfeldt. You may now sit."

As Syn did so, the professor walked back to her desk to procure a white-board marker. She proceeded to amble towards the board, writing the phrase 'False Memories' foremost on it.

"Alright, class, since our topic for today is FMS, we could go over to what a false memory is first. This-" Ms Fulman pointed at the last letter of the word with her marker, then faced the students. "So, in general, there are two types of memory - Procedural and declarative memories."

Subsequently, Ms Fulman returned to her desk, flipping the pages of the opened book on top of it. She stopped on page 156 and briefly read the contents.

"Procedural could also be termed as muscle memory. It is dependent on repetition and practice of a certain skill. On the other hand, Declarative is the recollection of facts and life events or experiences. There are many factors that can affect our ability to store accurate memories. Mind enumerating a few of them?"

Again, a smile was plastered on the professor's face as she was delighted that her students were actively participating in the discussion. This time, she called a student, who was her advisee, to answer the question.

"Yes, Miss Schevel."

"Hmm, the three common factors that induce False Memories, which are trauma, sleep deprivation, and FMS. The most prominent, FMS, makes a person recognize that their false memories are already a part of their life, affecting their mentality directly." Arthasia Schevel gave her rejoinder while still seated since she was already at the very front of Ms Fulman.

"As expected from you, a great remark Miss Schevel."

"Thank you, Ms Fulman."

Meanwhile, Syn's eyebrows furrowed when she was unable to fully scribble down Arthasia's statement. She quickly looked at the board to see if her professor had written the information. However, there was nothing new on the roundly spotless board.

The young lady just dropped her pen as she leaned on the backrest of her seat. Then, Syn sighed and thought, 'This is going to be a lengthy discussion.'

Several minutes into the lecture, with Syn fighting her urge to leave, the screen of her phone lit up. She picked the device up from her desk, inputting her passcode unhesitatingly. Consequently, the lady tapped on the message that she had received.

{{ Good afternoon, Syn. I'll be fetching you after your last class. Please wait for me at the main gate. I'll be there in 15 minutes. }}

The instant that she read the text, her face appeared to have been enlivened - It was for the reason that it came from Tristan.

In the course of being confined in the hospital, the one who tended to her needs the most was Tristan. Hence, she yielded her obstinate hesitancy and entrusted herself to the man. The frozen crystals that embraced her heart were slowly being thawed by the warmth of his devotion.

Syn coveted to exit the room pronto, and to her delight, Ms Fulman announced the words that she had been waiting to hear.

"Okay class, we're done for today. Study further regarding FMS because we're going to have an activity next week. Also, I just want to remind the lot of you that you should have started the prologue of your novels. Don't laze around." The professor said as she cleaned up the top of the instructor's desk, stepping down the podium to take her departure thereafter.

A hushed dissonance resonated inside the room once the students were the only ones left. They either went on to engage in their circle's post-lecture talk or arranged their belongings immediately.

In the interim, Syn abided with the habit of stalling her exit until the two passageways of the hall were vacated. The moment that the crowd was cleared, she stood up and sauntered over to the backdoor.

All the while walking, Syn feebly blew some air on her freezing hands. Even though she wanted to hasten her pace in her travel en route the gate, she was aware that Tristan had not arrived yet. However, she still yearned to reach their meet up place as quickly as possible. Thus, she slightly hampered her puerile desire to convene with Tristan, seizing the chance to compose herself by the insouciant sceneries that her university had to bestow.

Students and staff walking about under the nightlights, seemingly sparkling as specks of snow descended from lackadaisical heavens. The coldness of the weather had declined significantly compared to the freezing peak that it was the week before. Nevertheless, the pillows of snow that were randomly strewn on the ground were what stood out in the sombre evening. The sole noises that dominated the surroundings were the inharmonious peals of laughter and conversations - No tire screeching, gunshots, or screams of agony.

The sight, free from any form of strife, alleviated the disturbing remembrance that was threatening to arise from her deep conscious.

Soon, she arrived at the towering gates at the facade of the university. Fortunately, she could see a familiar vehicle closing in from the left nearly at the same time that she stepped out of the barricade.

Forthwith, the car halted just in front of Syn, who was standing at the edge of the elevated pavement. The driver dismounted the vehicle and circumvented it to show up at the young lady's side.

For all that, just as about Tristan was able to touch Syn's hand, the voice of a woman could be heard calling his name.

"Tristan! What are you doing here?" The woman said as she was running, landing on the spot where he was at in a few seconds.

The man turned to see who it was, punctually confronting the person when he recognized their identity, beginning his greeting, "M-miss Arthasia, it's good to see you here."

Arthasia heaved a couple of breaths before she responded, then replied, "Such a coincidence. It's a pleasure that you haven't forgotten your fiancee's face yet."