Best Left Forgotten

Wallflower Blush lay motionless, but not because she chose to. Something had disconnected her mind and body, a sudden paralysis that kept her pinned to the floor. Despite being unable to move, though, she was very much able to feel.

Her skin shivered in the frigid air of this blackness that was consuming her. Wallflower felt the sharp tingle of a million invisible needles as they passed over her legs, their trails stinging as if hot lines of blood were seeping from impossibly small cuts. Her whimpers died in her throat as she struggled to breathe beneath the crushing weight of whatever invisible mass had settled atop her.

Tears tickled Wallflower’s cheeks as they leaked from her closed eyes. She was going to die here. She was going to die without even knowing what had condemned her to this pit. Maybe using the memory stone so much had backfired somehow, and this hellish void was all that remained of her fragmented mind. Maybe Sunset and her friends had used some kind of magic to imprison her as punishment for everything she had taken from them. Maybe she had died in her sleep and somehow forgotten about it, and this place was all there was on the other side.

Her empty lungs ached, forcing her diaphragm into a gasping spasm. It was easier to breathe now, but the air around her suddenly stank of sweat and blood, tinged with a faint sweetness that made her gag. Wallflower coughed and spat, and after a whimper she reluctantly sucked in another lung-full of the foulness. Maybe suffocation wouldn’t be so bad.

Just as Wallflower was beginning to acclimate to the many layers of discomfort, agonizing pain stabbed through her entire body. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out, and the torturous sensation began to rip her apart from the inside—

Wallflower's eyes shot open and she seized up, holding her breath. After a silent second, her breathing started up again, with shallow gasps coming in and out as she trembled. Her fists were clenching and unclenching beside her, and her nails pressed into her palms hard enough to leave little crescent shapes behind in her skin.

It had been the same dream as the night before, and the night before that. Wallflower had long since lost track of how many of her evenings had been hijacked by this nightmare. Every time it did, it etched itself into her memory more and more. At this point, Wallflower could recite every terrible detail in her head, something she found herself doing more and more lately.

She sat up in bed and reached for the drawstring of the lamp beside her. The bulb flickered to life, casting a dim amber glow in a small area around her. Wallflower forced herself to take a deep breath, and as she did, her gaze fell on her hands. As frequent as this dream was, Wallflower was always surprised at just how much her hands were shaking afterwards. Witnessing her own body acting without her input left her with a sense of... something. Whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

She glanced at the little digital clock on her bedside table, dreading what the numbers may say. Upon seeing them, she was pleasantly surprised. Four o’clock wasn’t that bad, really. Slowly, Wallflower rolled out of bed, pulling her lengthy green hair over her shoulder. Maybe a good shower would help keep her mind off the nightmare for a while.

As soon as she stepped into the torrent of warm water, Wallflower could feel her muscles relax, even if just a little. Her relief was short lived, however, as she soon remembered that her time with this shower, and indeed this apartment, was limited. Without the memory stone, she was no longer able to fool her landlord into believing her rent was paid.

As her drowsiness melted away beneath the warm water, Wallflower began to unwillingly recall her situation in its entirety. With no job, no income and her parents’ memories of her gone for good, Wallflower would likely be forced out at the end of the month.

Stealing memories had been her solution to every problem. She couldn’t afford rent? All she had to do was make the landlord forget she owed him anything. She needed food? She could just steal it and make the grocer forget she was ever there. When she couldn’t fit in with her peers, she had wiped everyone’s good memories of the nicest person in school to make herself look better by comparison.

Wallflower leaned against the cold tile of the shower wall. She had relied on that stupid rock for everything, and everything she’d used it for was awful. As much as she wanted to feel bad for herself, she knew it was entirely her own fault. She also knew there was no way she could survive without the stone. Her pantry was nearly empty and she’d soon be without a home. While she could maybe go talk to her parents and convince them to let a total stranger live with them, she had left that family for very good reasons. Going back under any circumstance was the last thing she wanted to do.

On top of all that, these damn nightmares had sapped her of energy and resolve. She could never rest without being subjected to the same gruesome episodes of pain and terror. After so many nights lost to suffocation, all Wallflower wanted was to sleep free of torment—even if it meant never waking up again.

With that, her mind settled into the same grim resignation she arrived at every morning. She turned the shower off, wrapped herself in a towel and flopped back onto her bed, her wet hair dampening the sheets.

Wallflower looked at the clock. She still had a few hours before school started, and even though there wasn’t much reason to attend, it was too routine to just stop entirely. There was always a small chance of talking to Sunset for a few minutes, too. Any kind of interaction was better than nothing.

Beside the clock, Wallflower spotted a tiny stone, no larger than an acorn. She reached for it, her hand trembling a bit. She held it, rubbing her thumb over the spiral groove on its face. For all the damage the memory stone had done, all that was left was this dumb little pebble.

After turning the stone over in her hand a few times, Wallflower finally lurched herself up. She placed the stone back by the table and pulled on her sweater and jeans, then made her way towards the kitchen. Maybe she still had some cereal left.

Wallflower could feel her muscles tensing as she reached for the door to the cafeteria. Most of her classmates probably looked forward to their free hour to eat and socialize, but not her.

There would be so many people in there. It would be far too loud. It would be far too crowded. She would be better off getting something from the vending machine and eating outside, where no one could see her and the only sound would be the wind in the leaves.

It had been several hours since breakfast, and her stomach rumbled at the thought of a granola bar. She started down the hall towards the machine—only to remember that her wallet was as empty as her stomach. If she was going to eat anything, it was going to have to be one of the free peanut butter sandwiches in the cafeteria. The tax for her meal would be all the shouting jocks and chattering cheerleaders and eyes staring and people bumping into her as she stumbled through it all.

Resigning herself to hunger, Wallflower sighed and turned away from the cafeteria door. Maybe she would check the vending machine anyway. Maybe she would be lucky and find a snack someone paid for but somehow forgot to take. Maybe she would go home and shut the blinds and go to bed early, hoping the nightmare would spare her for just one evening.

“Wallflower?” someone behind her spoke.

Adrenaline sparked in her chest. “H-huh?” Wallflower turned and saw streaks of red and gold hair.

“Just me,” Sunset said, smiling. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

“No, it’s fine,” Wallflower said, turning her head away. “No big deal.”

“If you say so,” Sunset said. “So how’s it going?”

“Uhm... Fine, thanks.”

“I didn’t see you in the lunch line,” Sunset said. “Did you bring something from home?”

The momentary joy of being cared about was soured by another groan from Wallflower’s empty stomach. “I, uh, haven’t eaten anything, actually,” she said.

“Oh, well come on then,” Sunset said, gesturing towards the cafeteria. “There’s plenty of stuff left to pick from.”

“That’s okay,” Wallflower said, reflexively taking a step back. “I’m not very hungry.” She felt Sunset’s eyes studying her for a moment, and her muscles involuntarily tensed up again.

“Wallflower,” Sunset finally spoke. “I can tell something’s bothering you.” She stepped a little closer. Too close.

“Sorry,” Wallflower mumbled. She crossed her arms tightly, as if doing so would hide her from Sunset’s gaze. “I-I’m okay, really.”

“Alright, well I won't press you." Sunset gave her a genuine smile, which somehow only made Wallflower even more uncomfortable. "But if you ever need someone to listen, I’d be happy to, okay?”

“Okay.” Wallflower nodded, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Well I can’t let you just not eat anything,” Sunset said. “Wanna get something at the coffee shop down the street? It’s the end of our last semester anyway. Not like classes still matter at this point.”

“Oh, that sounds great!” Wallflower’s eyes lit up at the idea of hanging out with a friend. Then her memory caught up with her, and her face reddened. “But... I don’t have any money.”

“My treat then,” Sunset said.

Wallflower blinked. “Wha—for real?”

“For real.”

“Th-thanks! You’re the best, Sunset,” Wallflower said.

Sunset flipped her hair over her shoulder. “So I’ve been told.”

A few minutes of walking later, they were at the coffee shop. Wallflower had only been here a couple of times before, but in those visits she quickly learned that there was only one thing on the menu for her.

When they reached the counter, Sunset turned to Wallflower. “Pick out anything you want,” she said. “I got you covered.”

“In that case...” Wallflower turned to the barista. “One large double mocha frappuccino, please!”

Sunset laughed beside her. “You already had it picked out, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty filling and super good. Basically it’s like a chocolate milkshake with a fancy name,” Wallflower said.

“Hmmm, a chocolate milkshake, huh?” Sunset squinted at the menu. “I, uh, I think I’ll have one as well. It’s kinda warm out today, anyway.”

“Sure is,” Wallflower said. She wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her sweater as the two girls sat down at a table.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you wear anything but that sweater,” Sunset said. “Aren’t you hot in that thing?”

Wallflower shrugged. “I-I dunno,” she said. “I guess a little bit. It’s comfy, though.” In truth, the prospect of showing bare skin—even just from short sleeves—made her stomach turn.

“Do you not have comfortable summer clothes?” Sunset asked.

“I do! Just...” Wallflower looked away. She actually didn't, not that she wanted any. “I like this more.”

A server placed their drinks down on the table, and Sunset’s eyes went wide. “Oh man, that looks really good.”

“Right?” Wallflower smiled and brought the straw to her lips. “Mmmmmm... Dessert for lunch.”

“It’s the only way to live, honestly,” Sunset said, taking a sip of her own drink. “You were right, this is super yummy.”

“I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say the word ‘yummy.’”

Sunset tilted her head. “What's wrong with saying ‘yummy?’”

“Nothing!” Wallflower couldn't help but giggle. “Yummy’s funny, dummy!”

“Wallflower Blush, did you just make a joke?” Sunset waved a hand, grinning. “I’ll make a socialite out of you, yet.”

“Heh... Good luck,” Wallflower said.

Sunset excused herself to the restroom, and in the ensuing silence, Wallflower twirled the straw in her cup. Maybe this was what she’d been missing, she thought. Spending the afternoon with friends, sipping yummy drinks, having casual conversations about nothing... If only she had realized that sooner, maybe she wouldn’t have damaged her own life beyond repair.

Still, Sunset had told her she could tell her about anything. Would it be too much, though? Between her forgotten family, her impending homelessness and her sleepless nights of torment, Wallflower wouldn’t even know where to begin. Besides, when Sunset told her that, she was probably expecting to hear some silly teenager problem, not Wallflower's list of reasons for—

“Gonna finish that?”

A hand was on her shoulder. She shot up from her chair in an instant, knocking her drink over. As she pulled away, she saw Sunset, her blue eyes wide.

“I-I...” Wallflower stammered, unable to find words. Adrenaline pulsed through her body, flaring at the spot on her shoulder where Sunset had touched her. Other people in the coffee shop were now staring at her, and she could feel her body heating up beneath their glares.

Sunset’s expression fell from shock to concern, but before she could say anything, Wallflower was running for the door. The bell above it dinged as she pushed her way outside, her breaths heavy and punctuated with whimpers.

“Wallflower! Wait up!”

She turned to see Sunset coming up beside her, still holding her drink. For a moment Wallflower considered fleeing, but before she could move, Sunset was speaking again.

“What was that back there?” Sunset asked. “I thought we were getting along well. Did I do something wrong?”

“W-what?” Wallflower was taken aback. How could Sunset blame herself for that? She wasn’t the one who freaked out over nothing.

“You can be honest with me,” Sunset said. “Is this... Is this about what happened with the memory stone?”

“N-no!” Wallflower could feel the pressure of tears behind her eyes. “I mean... Yeah, I still feel really awful about all that, but it’s okay.”

Sunset didn’t answer, and the silence left Wallflower squirming with trepidation. “I just d-don’t like people being behind me,” she said. “It’s not a big deal, really.”

“We never talked about what happened,” Sunset said.

“We...” Wallflower blinked. “Y-yeah. We never did.”

“I can tell it's still bothering you,” Sunset said. Wallflower could hear the slightest wavering in her voice. “I think talking about it might make you feel better.”

In that moment, Wallflower wished she could just disappear. She didn’t like saying no to people. It almost always led to conflict, and she hated conflict.

“If you’re okay with it, I mean,” Sunset said.

“Uhh...” She really, really didn’t want to do this, but Sunset did. What kind of friend would she be if she said no? Besides if she was going to be gone in a few weeks anyway, what did it matter?

“Wallflower?”

Wallflower took a deep breath. “Y-yeah,” she said. “Yeah. We can talk about it.”

Wallflower fiddled with her keys as she and Sunset stopped in front of her apartment’s door. “It's not much,” she said.

Sunset didn’t reply, and her continued silence was only widening the pit in Wallflower’s stomach. As the door opened, she looked at Wallflower as if wordlessly asking permission.

“So, uh... Here we are,” Wallflower said, motioning to Sunset. “You can come in.”

They stepped inside the apartment. Following the muscle memory of a hundred dreary afternoons, Wallflower unceremoniously plopped down on the stiff blue couch by the door. She watched as Sunset took a moment to observe the tiny room.

The only color in the room was a line of plants by the door. Four round pots were overflowing with thin coils of vines and leaves, and the greenery was decorated by dozens of pink and purple flowers. They sat on a dark wooden shelf turned lengthwise that leaned against pasty white walls. Sunset lightly held a petal between her thumb and forefinger, as if admiring the softness of the flower.

“Morning glories,” she said.

Wallflower perked up, surprised. “I didn’t know you knew flower names.”

“Only a few.” Sunset released the flower, and it fell back into place among the vines. “Just the ones I’ve seen in your garden.”

“If only I put as much effort into my home,” Wallflower stifled a laugh.

“It’s cozy,” Sunset said.

“It’s cramped.”

“To be honest, I didn’t know you lived on your own,” Sunset said. “I thought I was the only one in our class with her own place.”

“Yeah, well...” Wallflower stared at the carpet, and a shaky nervousness started creeping through her limbs. “That’s probably a good place to start.”

“Alright.” Sunset gave her a soft smile. She sat beside Wallflower on the couch. “ Whenever you’re ready.”

For a few moments, Wallflower took deep breath after deep breath, trying to psych herself up to talk. She saw Sunset lean forward a bit, and finally forced herself to speak.

“You asked earlier if I was still bothered by what happened with the stone,” Wallflower said. “And I am, to be sure. That whole thing was awful, and I was really awful for doing it, and—”

“Hey, Wallflower?” Sunset interrupted her.

“Y-yeah?”

“Whatever it is you have to say, I’d like you to say it without insulting yourself,” Sunset said. “It’s something a friend taught me, and it makes it a lot easier to talk about bad things without feeling bad.”

Wallflower wasn’t really sure how to respond. Degrading herself was certainly something she did, especially in her own head, yet until now she had never really thought about it as something to avoid. “Uh... Y-yeah,” she said. “I’ll try.”

Sunset smiled. “That’s all I ask.”

“Okay, so...” Wallflower closed her eyes. “Yes, I still feel bad about what happened. But that’s not what you saw earlier.” She looked at Sunset, and the brief moment of eye contact make her stomach flip. “W-what you’ve been seeing for a while now...”

“Are you okay with telling me what it is, then?” Sunset asked.

“It’s really... Nnnnghh...” Wallflower groaned, and she curled her legs to her chest. “This is gonna be really hard to do without saying anything bad about myself.”

Sunset nodded. “I know, Wallflower. It’s still difficult for me too, thinking back on everything I’ve done.”

After a few more deep breaths, Wallflower continued. “I used the stone for a lot of things. Any time I needed something—food, groceries, anything—I could just take it and make people forget anything happened.”

She braved a glance at Sunset, expecting to see disgust and anger. When she instead saw the same expression of attentive concern, she blinked in surprise. “You’re not mad?”

Sunset shook her head. “I’m here to listen, not to judge.” She shrugged, a sheepish grin on her face. “Besides, I’m no saint either, right?”

“Still, though,” Wallflower said. “For months I was stealing and lying, using that stupid rock to get away with it all. That’s pretty bad, no matter how you look at it.”

“Doing bad things doesn’t make you a bad person,” Sunset said.

Yeah, well...” Wallflower hid her face again. “Stealing frozen meals and cereal from the store is one thing.” Tears stung her eyes as she spoke. “Stealing memories is another entirely.”

“There’s certainly a moral argument against it,” Sunset said. “And, it could have been a lot worse.”

Wallflower lowered her head. “I made my parents forget me.”

“...Ah.” Sunset looked around the room. “So that’s why you have this apartment,” she said, then paused as if carefully choosing her words. “Were your parents, uhm...”

“They’re very religious,” Wallflower said. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on something really important, so as soon as I had the chance to leave, I took it.”

“I mean, that’s not the worst thing in the world,” Sunset said. “Maybe I’m just not very sentimental about parent stuff, but the way I see it, you did what was best for you.”

“Funny you say that,” Wallflower sighed. “I didn’t feel guilty about it at first. It was what was best for me, when I still had the stone. But after it was broken, I finally realized just how selfish and stupid I was.”

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“It was just another escape,” Wallflower said. “Rather than trying to work things out at home, or sticking through it for a few more years, I ran away. I wiped their memories of their own daughter and just left them. And now I can’t go back...”

Sunset looked away, staring at nothing as if entirely lost in thought. Wallflower briefly wondered what she was thinking about, then continued.

“I found this little apartment,” she said, “and used the stone to fool the landlord every month so I never had to pay rent.” After a moment, Wallflower saw the realization dawning on Sunset’s face.

“But now that you don’t have the stone...”

“Now that I don’t, I c-can’t stay here anymore.” Wallflower trembled beneath the weight of so many stressful weeks. For so long, she had been telling herself exactly what she was telling Sunset now, and yet something about saying it out loud was causing her voice to crack. As it did, the words began to rush out, like she had turned on a faucet only for an unstoppable waterfall to spew forth.

“I can’t go back to my parents—they don’t even know me anymore.” Wallflower wiped the tears from her face. “I-I’m gonna lose my home, and I hardly have anything to eat and I’m so, so tired, all the t-time...”

She looked to Sunset, who was sitting beside her in silence. After a shaky inhale, she continued.

“I-I... I have nightmares,” she said. “The same one, every time I try to sleep. For w-weeks now, I don’t even know h-how long. B-blood and tears and I c-can never breathe or move or e-even scream, and...” Her breathing shuddered as she recalled the end of her dream. “This awful pain—so bad I think I’m gonna die—and I always w-w-wake up exhausted, and it happens every night...”

“That sounds really scary,” Sunset said. In her eyes, Wallflower found a sincerity that urged her to reveal the awful truth of it all.

“Every morning, I lie in bed, s-staring at the ceiling, too scared to go back to sleep.” Wallflower buried her face in her hands. “I think about the nightmares, I think about the guilt, I think about w-what’s gonna happen to me...”

“Wallflower...”

“I’m so tired of it, Sunset,” she said, her voice getting softer with every word. “I’m so tired, all the time. I just want it all to stop...”

Sunset moved to place her hand on Wallflower’s shoulder, only for Wallflower to flinch and jerk away.

“S-sorry,” Wallflower stammered. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s alright,” Sunset said. “It’s my fault. I got so caught up and completely forgot.”

Wallflower stood up, her arms slamming down at her sides. “Stop doing that!”

Sunset looked genuinely confused. “Doing what?” she asked.

“You’re just trying to be nice, but I keep ruining it and then you act like you did something wrong!” Wallflower’s entire body shook as her eyes watered again. “It’s not fair!”

Sunset slowly got up, standing before Wallflower. “Y’know what I think?”

Fear gripped Wallflower’s heart. “What...?”

“I think you’re not being fair to yourself,” Sunset said. “You’re under so much pressure, Wallflower. Of course you’re anxious, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But I put myself in this position,” Wallflower said. “It’s all my fault!”

Sunset shook her head. “It doesn’t matter who’s at fault. What matters is doing something about it.”

“I can’t, don’t you get it?” Wallflower screamed. “I can’t do anything! I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t even think!”

“I never said you had to do it alone,” Sunset said.

“Wha—” Wallflower’s voice caught in her throat. “No! No, don’t waste—no, this was stupid. This whole thing w-was stupid.” She fell back onto the couch, whimpering.

Sunset knelt on the carpet beside her. “It’s not a waste of time to help a friend,” she said.

Wallflower couldn’t even bring herself to look up. She curled into a ball, hiding her face. “I-it’s a waste of time to help someone like me,” she said, her voice muffled by her sweater sleeves. “Someone terrible.”

“Wallflower, you’re not terrible,” Sunset said.

Wallflower’s voice dropped. “I can prove it.”

“You really, really can’t,” Sunset said. “Trust me. I’ve known some terrible people, and you aren’t one of them.”

Wallflower stood up, wiping the tears from her eyes. In complete silence, she shuffled across the tiny apartment and into her bedroom. There, beside the clock on the bedside table, she found the evidence she was looking for.

She walked back to Sunset and opened her hand, revealing the fragment of the memory stone. “If I’m not a bad person, then why did I keep this?”

Sunset said nothing as she stared at the little rock. Slowly, she reached out, lifting it from Wallflower’s open hand. As she did, Wallflower saw the faintest blue glow within the stone’s spiral etching. Sunset ran a thumb over the stone fragment and another glow intensified, this one a deep orange from Sunset’s necklace.

“Can you... Can you hear that?” Sunset said, never taking her eyes off the stone.

“N-no,” Wallflower said. “What’s going on?”

Sunset looked up, her expression unreadable. “There are still some memories trapped in here.”

“What?” Wallflower blinked. “I thought you said they were gone for good after three days.”

“I thought they were too,” Sunset said. “Breaking the stone didn’t free them, but maybe... Maybe after three days, they were just trapped, but not unreachable.” She lightly held the glowing gem on her necklace. “This geode lets me see other people’s memories. I’m not sure, but I think I can use it to let them out...”

Wallflower could only stare in disbelief. If this shard still had memories, and if Sunset could somehow release them...

“Is it all of them? All the ones I took?” she asked.

“I can’t really tell,” Sunset said. “If I had to guess, it’ll only be a fraction of them. But if this works, we would just have to find the other shards and—”

“We could bring everyone’s memories back,” Wallflower finished. “Even my parents...” If her parents remembered her, she could go home. Maybe she’d feel less awful, having set things right. Maybe the nightmares would even stop.

“Sunset, you have to do this.” Wallflower was a bit surprised by her own determination.

“I can’t promise this’ll work,” Sunset said. “And just to be clear, I’d like to finish our conversation.”

“After this!”

“Of course, of course,” Sunset said. “Alright, I’m going to try...”

Wallflower’s heart was racing. In the span of a minute, her entire life had been turned on its head, again. With Sunset’s help, she could fix this. She could have her life back. She could finally be free of the constant stress and hunger and anxiety. She held her breath as Sunset closed her eyes. When they opened again they were gleaming brighter than either of the stones she was holding.

Then, with a blinding blue flash, a colorful ribbon flew out from the stone’s spiral. It swirled above Sunset for several seconds, and then shot off, seeking out who it belonged to. Wallflower’s eyes lit up with the ethereal glow of ribbon after ribbon, a smile widening on her face as her sins were undone before her.

Another ribbon, tinged with a verdant radiance, rose from the stone.

“It’s working! Sunset, it’s working!”

The green ribbon spun around Sunset’s head, only to slow to a near-stop. Wallflower didn’t notice as it pivoted until its edges were aimed squarely at her.

“Mom... D-Dad...” Wallflower’s voice was the softest whisper. “Please be in there...”

Then, the ribbon burst forth and vanished between Wallflower’s eyes.

“Gah!” Wallflower stumbled. “Wha...”

At last, the glow in Sunset’s eyes began to fade. She sighed and turned to Wallflower, a smile on her face. “I think it—Wallflower?”

“Nnnnghh...” Wallflower shut her eyes. Images flashed in her mind—someone grunting, someone crying, someone lying on their back.

She started screaming.

“Wallflower!” Sunset was beside her in an instant. “What’s wrong? Wallflower!”

“I don’t want to...” Wallflower cried out, grabbing Sunset by the shoulders. “Stop it! P-please, Sunset, I don’t—!”

Suffocation. Blood and tears. Terror enveloping her entire being.

Wallflower screamed again, clutching her head. Tears stained her face as she collapsed to the floor.

“I... I...” Sunset looked completely stunned. She wasn’t going to help her. She couldn’t help her. Wallflower shut her eyes again, and she saw a face.

His face.

“No no n-no no no!” Tears blinded her as she looked up, trembling. “S-Sunset, please, I don't want to...!”

Wallflower saw Sunset drop down. She saw her holding a hand just above her own, paralyzed in trepidation. After a moment, she felt Sunset lightly touch her wrist.

Sunset’s eyes went white, and the world disappeared.