Found in the December 2011 edition of Expanded Horizons, Memory is a bittersweet tale that is perhaps a little too short as there's enough of interest in the two protagonists that you could do with reading just a bit more about them. Perhaps this is the beauty of this particular tale, as it implies much with few words and leaves you imagining the centuries of backstory as its two immortal protagonists meet and fight and kill each other over and over.
"It’s half theatrics and half misplaced nostalgia. After all, she doesn’t need the sword to kill him. She could drown him in the vast expanse of water that is slowly eroding all the coasts, eating the land bit by bit. But it seems to have become tradition and there are few things to cling on to these days. As a result, she carries the sword and waits by the sea."
For Lei, her past is full of lost love and old wounds, born in the ancient battle that started their eternal enmity; for Zaniel, there are hints of power and a taste for riches but both lose a little more of themselves after each battle and here they are, brought to another meeting which only one will walk away from.
What is most intriguing about this story are the questions left open when the story closes: there are only hints at how things began, and what might ultimately happen between the two protagonists is also left for the reader to guess but Lei is drawn well enough that these are things you want to find out as the story weaves a subtle spell that makes you care about her despite the very short glimpse into her life you are given. Very lovely and quite atmospheric story.
More about Silvia Moreno-Garcia can be found at her website here, and don't forget to hop over to check out the other stories on Expanded Horizons here.
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