A New Dawn

Amelia woke up to the soft sound of birds singing and the warmth of the sun on her skin. She sat up, her head spinning as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. The stone circle was gone. Instead, she found herself in the heart of Eldridge, in the very village that had been suffocated by the fog for so long.

The air was fresh, the sky clear, and the people of Eldridge were bustling about, going about their daily lives as if nothing had happened. The fog was gone. The curse had been lifted.

But as Amelia stood up, something felt... off. She didn't recognize the faces of the villagers. They smiled at her, waved, but she had no memory of them. No recollection of her past.

Her heart began to pound in her chest. The ritual was complete, and yet, the emptiness inside her seemed worse than before. The pieces of herself that she had lost—the love for Liam, the memories of her life in Eldridge—were gone. She had no past, no future. It was as if she were a stranger to herself.

"Amelia," a familiar voice called out. She turned to see Liam standing there, his expression unreadable. His eyes were full of uncertainty, and something deep within her stirred. She should know him. She should feel something.

But all she could feel was a distant echo, like a dream she couldn't quite grasp.

"Liam?" Her voice sounded foreign even to her own ears. "Do I... know you?"

Liam's face crumpled in pain. "Amelia, it's me. It's Liam. We... we were in love."

But Amelia couldn't remember. She couldn't remember anything. And the worst part was, she didn't know if she ever would.