@rosekillermicrofic - 23. Memorize - word count: 354
The cold gnawed at Barty’s bones, but it was the smell of the cold damp stones, the stench of despair, that made him shiver the hardest. Every scream would echo in his mind and off the black wall, as yet another prisoner succumbed to the madness of this place that showed him that mercy — even to one's own mind — was impossible.
Barty had never thought that a day would come when he would regret memorising Evan, but this place left not one thought of happiness intact. If a Dementor caught him with even a whisper of joy or peace, he would be punished with a cold that would bite into bone and soul alike.
The first time Evan had laughed at one of his stupid jokes had filled Barty with a sense of belonging, a thought that maybe being here wasn't so bad after all. Now the memories of those times filled him with dread, with a longing for the end to come.
The sound of Evan’s voice that had once captivated him with its quiet and steady sound, calming him in a way he had never felt before. Now it made him stiffen, bracing himself for the torment that would follow.
The touch that had once made Barty feel alive, as if nothing else mattered. It had only been him and Evan and the fire that would spread through his body — now felt like a brand of searing ice driven through his heart.
Whenever Barty felt his mind wander, even for a heartbeat, to Evan, fear would grip him for the punishments that followed. The walls would close in, the air would grow heavy, and the nearest Dementor would shift, ready to strip away his joy.
He hadn't even realized back then that he was memorising Evan. It had all felt so natural. But now these memories made him fragile in this prison that turns happiness into punishment.
The movements of the shadows in the corridors made Barty want to call out Evan’s name. But in doing so he would only invite the ice deeper in his chest.
How he regrets memorising love.
