His memories... intact, accessible in his mind... how could this be? Lovrenco felt his breath catch in his throat. His curse was suddenly... lifted?
One day, while the other young man was feeding the geese, he approached to ask. He sat beside him, watching the other boy's graceful fingers give seeds and feed to the other animals. A caring soul, Lovrenco thought of the young man. The young man's accent was sharp, a little dry and rough; he sounded Spanish, although his English grammar and vocabulary were perfect. He must have been in this area for a long time. Alone... why was he alone? It made no sense that someone like him, so sweet, so concerned for the group, had no pack, no clan. No human at sight.
"I see you're feeling better now," the other young man said softly, but with that unmistakable, harsh Spanish timbre.
"I can never thank you enough for what you've done for me."
"Well, since I'm not asking you to, there won't be any problem," the other smiled, still gazing fondly at the birds. Then he turned to him, his eyes questioning. "What were you doing in that forest?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I don't remember..."
"Hmm..."
"I know you don't believe me," Lovrenco said, frustrated. "But it's true; I have no memory of anything since what happened to me, since the accident. I forget what I've done or what's happened to me within hours..."
"How's your side wound?"
"It's getting better."
"How did you get hurt?"
"Hunters."
"You do remember that, though. Why?"
"Since the day you rescued me... I feel like I can remember everything. Everything, since that day. Since I've been with you."
"Perhaps you were under a lot of stress before, and that's why you didn't remember."
On the contrary, actually. I was under a lot of stress because I couldn't remember; because I didn't know what I was doing in some places, where I was, if I was alone, if I was being hunted... because my pack rejected me, because of this memory loss, thought Lovrenco.
Lovrenco grew impatient.
"Who are you? I've never seen an independent man here in the foods... apart from myself."
"My name is Neizan. Neizan Maradiaga. I've had... conflicts with other people."
"You? I can't imagine you having a conflict with anyone. Not even if they burned your house down."
Neizan smiled sweetly.
"That's a great compliment, but I'm not as affable as I seem."
Lovrenco didn't know if Neizan said it as a warning, a threat, or simply as a fact. In any case, surprising himself, he wasn't worried. This young man had saved his life. This young man was his only savior, the only one who had shown him affection in recent years. Lovrenco felt a deep fascination for him. And also, fear. Fear that it would all end. When he recovered, he would have to say goodbye to the only human who had shown him love and affection. When he recovered... he would return to the same life of survival and tension as always.
Suddenly, Lovrenco wasn't so eager to recover anymore.