Chapter 10 - THE DIARY OF THE MISSING CHOREOGRAPHERThey escaped through a second passage.
Celeste moved slowly.
Three years underground had weakened her.
But her eyes were still sharp.
Lila stayed beside her.
For the first time since childhood, she was walking beside her mother.
Yet every step felt strange.
Too much time had passed.
Too many secrets remained between them.
“Why did you never come back?” Lila asked.
Celeste continued walking.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Adrian?”
“Of what he knew.”
“What did he know?”
“That you were different.”
Lila stopped.
Celeste stopped too.
“I am not some experiment.”
“No.”
“Then why do you keep talking like I am?”
“Because I was wrong.”
Lila stared.
“What?”
“I believed your ability was something that could be used.”
Celeste looked at her.
“I was wrong.”
“What did you do?”
“I taught you the movements.”
“Why?”
“To hide the memories.”
Lila felt cold.
“You gave me memories?”
“No.”
Celeste shook her head.
“I gave you a place to put them.”
“What does that mean?”
Celeste reached into her coat.
She pulled out an old diary.
The cover was torn.
Lila recognized the handwriting.
Anya's.
“This is the diary of the missing choreographer.”
Lila opened it.
The first pages described the Bellamy program.
The girls.
The training.
The experiments.
But then the entries became personal.
I remember the girl with the silver shoes.
I remember her name, but I am not allowed to say it.
They tell me she never existed.
But I remember her dancing beside me.
Lila turned the page.
Elise says I must forget.
Another page.
Celeste says memory is not a prison.
Another.
The child has begun remembering.
Lila stopped.
“Who is the child?”
Celeste looked at her.
“You.”
Lila continued reading.
She is three years old.
She dances when no music is playing.
She remembers the room.
She remembers the girls.
She remembers me.
Lila's hands began to shake.
“Why don't I remember?”
“Because we buried the memories.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Lila looked at her mother.
“How?”
Celeste pointed toward the final pages.
The writing became frantic.
Adrian knows.
He has found the child.
Elise says she can protect her.
I no longer trust Elise.
The second finale must never be performed.
Then the last entry.
If Lila ever performs the final movement, the memories will return.
Lila closed the diary.
“That happened.”
Celeste nodded.
“You performed it.”
“And now I remember.”
“Not everything.”
“What am I going to remember?”
Celeste looked at her.
“The truth.”
They reached an old underground chamber.
At the center was a circular stage.
There were twelve chairs around it.
Most were empty.
One person sat there.
Anya.
She was alive.
But weak.
Marin stood beside her.
Noah was on the other side.
Anya looked at Celeste.
“You brought her.”
Celeste nodded.
Lila looked at them.
“You all knew.”
Anya answered:
“We were trying to protect you.”
Lila laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
Anya looked at her.
“Then listen to what we did not say.”
Lila said nothing.
Anya pointed toward the stage.
“The Bellamys believed memory could be transferred.”
“Through dance.”
“Yes.”
“But they were wrong.”
Anya shook her head.
“No.”
Lila froze.
“They were right.”
Anya pointed to Noah.
“He remembers my life.”
Then to Lila.
“You remember mine.”
Then to Elise.
“Elise remembers the first experiment.”
Lila looked at Elise.
“What happened to the other girls?”
Elise's face changed.
“I don't know.”
Anya said:
“Some died.”
Lila felt sick.
“Some?”
“Some escaped.”
“Who?”
Anya looked toward the old diary.
“One of them is still alive.”
Lila turned.
“Who?”
Anya looked at Celeste.
Celeste whispered:
“Marin.”
Lila stared.
Marin shook her head.
“No.”
“You were part of it.”
“I was a child.”
“Yes.”
“And I escaped.”
“No.”
Anya looked at her.
“You were never part of the program.”
Marin froze.
“What?”
“You were born after I escaped.”
“Then why do I remember?”
Anya looked toward Lila.
“Because your memories were given to you.”
Marin took a step backward.
“No.”
Anya continued.
“Your memories are not yours.”
Marin's face went white.
“Whose are they?”
Anya answered:
“Mine.”
The room became silent.
Lila looked between them.
Anya had given her memories to Noah.
And to Marin.
And Celeste had placed memories inside Lila.
The second finale was not a dance.
It was a system.
A way to move memories from one person to another.
Lila suddenly understood.
“Adrian wants to control it.”
Celeste nodded.
“Because whoever controls the dance controls the memories.”
“And the person.”
Anya looked at her.
“Yes.”
A loud sound echoed above them.
Adrian's voice came through the speakers.
“Welcome, Lila.”
Everyone froze.
“Your mother has finally brought you home.”
The lights came on.
The underground stage began to glow.
May you like
Adrian continued:
“Now we can finish what Celeste began.”
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