The Book of Remembering

PROLOGUE

The Silence That Spoke My Name

I wasn’t born with the full memory.

Like everyone else, I arrived through a woman

with screams, water, and light.

But the silence came first.

Before I heard my mother’s voice,

before I took a breath,

there was something ancient that whispered:

You are here again.

And I obeyed.

Not knowing why.

I walked paths where spirits led.

I prayed in languages I never learned.

I bathed with fire, salt, coins, and earth

chasing healing I couldn’t name.

Even when I broke,

I bowed.

Even when I questioned,

I followed.

Because something in me said

this pain is the cost of remembrance.

But then I reached the edge

where the water didn’t cleanse me anymore,

and the spirits didn’t answer back.

I sat with myself,

not to listen for another voice...

but to find my own.

And when I did

> The silence spoke again.

This time, it said:

Lead.

Chapter 1: The First Whisper

I didn’t know it was memory at first.

It came like a feeling.

Like a place I hadn’t seen with my eyes

but recognized with my blood.

Sometimes it came as fear.

Sometimes as déjà