With her own vice and psychological development through music theory, she used the devised interrogation weapon against herself, forgetting the short-term surface of her past. It worked perfectly on her.

Except, it made her forget me.

We have coexisted here on this small island where I have spent every day for the past two years, working my way into her life, proving to her that I'm part of a past she can't remember. Her family and friends still exist in her mind, but that’s where it stops. She knows there are missing parts, but the confusion is more prominent than the understanding. Despite what she knows is missing, she doesn’t ask to leave the island, which is good.

I have asked this beautiful stranger out for dinner night after night, begging her to take walks on the beach with me at dusk so we could watch sunsets and talk about our dreams.

I didn't know the person she had become for very long, but just as she did the first time we met, her personality remained true to her soul, and the connection between us stayed intact.

I wasn't aware of how strong Perception's Ensemble was, and I don't think she was requesting to forget several years prior to arriving here, but there doesn't appear to be any sort of lingering regret along with her memory gap.

I still have my memories, and I will bury them to keep her smiling. Learning to experience happiness with a new beginning here is good for us, and now, I feel worthy of being in her life. I have spent every day these last couple of years making her laugh, love, and live. It has given me everything I didn't know I wanted or needed, and I don't feel the need to look back now.

"I think I want to ask you something," I tell her as we scuffle through the sand beneath the moonlight.

"You say that every night,” she says, playfully nudging me with her elbow, likely assuming I'm not serious.

"No, really, I want to ask you something tonight.”

She rolls her eyes and laughs quietly as her auburn hair blows across her forehead. "Okay fine, but I won’t act surprised when you 'shockingly' forget what you were going to say," she mocks me. This sweet, goofy part of her that was buried beneath so many layers of darkness is as new to me as it is to her, it seems, and she's made me nervous in a typical man-falls-for-a-woman fashion. I've fallen for her three times now, and I'm terrified of losing her after coming all this way.

I drop down to my knee and pull her onto my lap. Her hair continues to blow wildly into the wind as she looks at me like I'm crazy. She doesn't even know the half of it.

"Be with me forever?"

She presses her hand against her chest and her other hand on my cheek. "You want that with me?" She seems surprised by my question, but not in a fearful way. It’s the same way I look at myself, like no one would ever want me after living the life I’ve lived, acting the parts I’ve acted, debating over whether my life is worthier than someone else's—that part of her still exists somewhere inside of her heart and brain—the scar tissue from her damaged self-confidence is still present sometimes.

"Forever and more—" Isabelle. "Tracy Ales.”

"I think I can agree to give you my forever," she says. "After all, it’s the least I can do.”

"What do you mean by that? You've given me so much," I tell her. She only knows what our life has been these last two years. There’s not much more I could ask of her.

"I just mean, yes," she says along with a breathtaking smile.

I stare into the reflection of the ocean swirling within her glossy eyes, wondering what's floating through her mind, but I believe her words are true, and I'll take her truth and hold onto it with everything I have.

Memories are permanent imprints that can be covered and masked. While they will always remain, they can sometimes be forgotten, but time resurrects what could never be buried.

One by one, tiny images surface in my head like a blurry vision, but just as a puzzle, pieces fit together and clarity sets in.

I was strong enough to handle the life I once lived through, and strong enough to accept why I had to leave my life behind. I never got to say goodbye to those I loved—my parents and friends, but it was to keep them safe, knowing how accessible every private conversation in this world is. I wish I could explain to my parents why they don’t know where I am, who I am, or how I became this person, but out of everyone in the world, I know they would understand the most. This island was meant to be my parents’ final destination if their personal secrets were ever exposed, and I know when they give up hope of me returning to them, they’ll make their way here to find me. It offers me a shimmer of peace in my sometimes-cloudy thoughts.

In the meantime, the memories of how life led me here are my life's darkest perception. I choose to keep them secret as a form of gratitude to the man who has gone to the other side of the world just to bring peace to my life, and then patiently guided me back to his heart again, naturally, organically, and truly. I know now that what we have is pure—we are meant to be with each other, and it’s the only satisfaction I’ve ever needed.

If you enjoyed Darkest Perception and the twisty ride you endured to reach this point, make sure you check out Amelia’s heartbreaking journey in Last Words. Turn the page for an excerpt or .