"Together Forever"

The drive to the gallery was a long one. It was worth the long trip, considering they were going to see Guertena's art gallery. It was beautiful. Everything about his paintings was beautiful. That was what led them to visit the exhibit all those years ago. That sole reason was why they were going to visit today.

Ib sat in the backseat of her family's fairly new white sedan. She looked out the window in deep concentration. The drive may have been a bit long, but she enjoyed it. She loved staring out the window and watching the fields of wild flowers the car sped past. Ib focused on the flowers and worked on stamping them into her memory. She wanted to keep the picture in her mind so that she could sketch them later. They're so gorgeous, she thought.

Just as Ib was memorizing the last field of flowers, her sister called out to her. "What are you doing Ib?" Ib turned towards her.

"I'm just memorizing the flowers. They're really pretty."

"What? You're weird."

"I want to draw them later. I have to memorize all their features."

"Oh. Well anyway, can I have some more of those lemon candies?"

"More? You just had some earlier. I'm trying to save them."

"Please? Just one!"

"Oh, fine. But just one."

"Yay! Thank you, Ib!"

Ib handed her sister a lemon candy. Her sister really loved those little things. Ib loved them, too. She always carried them around with her. But she didn't just carry them because she enjoyed their sweetness. They gave her a nostalgic feeling. She always felt a twinge of sadness whenever she thought about them for too long. She could never figure out why.

The same went for her sister, Mary. But it wasn't just a bit of sadness. It was a different feeling that was difficult to describe. It had some sadness and a tiny bit of anger mixed in. It also had pity. There were even times Ib felt like Mary was a complete stranger, even though she had known her sister all her life. She never liked to think about it. "Ib, what are you staring at?" Mary asked.

"U-um, nothing. I'm just spacing out."

"What an airhead!"

"Who's the airhead? I'm not the one who misplaced my sunglasses on my head yesterday."

"You would have too if you-"

"Girls, girls! Please don't argue. Look, there's the sign to the art gallery. We're here."

Ib smiled. "Alright, mother. I was just teasing."

"Yeah, mom. We were playing. I would never be mean to my big sister!" Mary giggled.

Mary reached out and hugged Ib. Ib blushed slightly. Her little sister was cute. Even more so, now that she cut her wavy blonde hair just above her shoulders. The hairstyle looked refreshing on Mary and complimented her slender shoulders.

"I'm glad you girls get along. Now let's get out there and have a great time in the museum. By the way, this was a fantastic idea, Ib." Ib's father added.

Going to Guertena's art exhibit was purely Ib's idea. The week before, Ib found an advertisement in the mail that showed a special discount for visiting the exhibition. The ad mentioned that more works of Guertena had recently been discovered and they were a must see. A yearning feeling overcame Ib and she convinced her parents to take the trip. For some reason, she desperately wanted to see the gallery.

The family walked up to the front desk and proceeded to buy their tickets. Ib looked around and felt waves of wistfulness. The museum looked almost exactly the same as it did ten years ago. Ib and Mary skipped through the gallery and were giggling, often saying things like "Look, do you remember this?" or "Wow, this one is new!" They soon discovered that a new wing was added to the building in order to accommodate the new pieces. Mary stayed behind to observe other art pieces while Ib went ahead.

"This is such a lovely exhibit" Ib admired. She made her way down the corridor, appreciating each work she laid her lively, red eyes upon. She eventually reached the end of the wing. As she was about to turn around and go back, she saw another corridor in the corner of her eye. Ib smiled with excitement and hurriedly walked toward the hallway. To her surprise, it came to a dead end only a few feet away. The hall was dimly lit and the lights flickered. The walls appeared to be drywall and looked unfinished. Had Ib not been looking carefully she would not have seen there was a painting hanging at the end of the hallway.

Ib slowly walked up to the painting, thinking how strange it was for this passageway to end abruptly and for it to be neglected like this. She also found it extremely odd someone had decided to hang a painting here.

Ib could barely see the painting in the dim light. She quickly pulled her cellphone out from the small leather satchel that was hanging from her shoulder. The bright light emitted from her phone allowed Ib to see the painting in all its entirety.

The art piece depicted what looked like a sleeping man with very light purple hair. The man looked no more than twenty years old. He was wearing a dark ragged looking jacket and a plain green shirt. He was holding a beautiful blue rose and was also completely surrounded by them. Ib looked down to the title, which read Forgotten Portrait. She thought that the name suited the painting, considering it was placed in this odd corridor, out of sight.

The painting was very different from the rest of Guertena's works. It did not display the same themes or color schemes as the rest of the paintings, yet it was without a doubt a painting done by Guertena. There was no mistaking the style and brushstrokes.

Ib could not tear her gaze away from the painting. She thought that the man in the painting looked familiar. She wondered if she had met him somewhere before. "Huh? That's impossible. He's a painting. I could never have met him somewhere." Even so, Ib could not shake the feeling that she knew the man. Confused, Ib dug around in her memory and thought that perhaps the man simply resembled someone she already knew. She dug deeper and deeper while still staring at the beautiful art.

Suddenly, something clicked in her head. "Garry…" she whispered. Ib surprised herself. Where did she get that name from? As she pondered this, she noticed there were tears flowing down her cheeks. She could not figure out why and wiped her tears away. But they would not stop.

She stood there crying and bewildered, unable to stop the waterworks and her thoughts of the man. Garry. She could not stop thinking about Garry. Garry. He was with her. He was always with her in that place. Why wasn't he here? Where was he? A sudden flow of memories that were once locked overcame Ib. She collapsed on the floor.

Ib saw flashbacks of Garry and her. She could see her nine-year-old self and the twenty-year-old Garry. She remembered how they were trapped in Guertena's world of paintings and she remembered giving him back his beautiful blue rose and how he was easily frightened by anything that jumped out and how he was very strong and could move all those heavy statues and how he would carry her away from danger and how he would hold her hand as they walked down the corridors and the scent of his jacket that he let her borrow while she was unconscious and that wonderful hard lemon candy he gave her and how they were they were separated and how she slapped him back to his senses when she found him and how he sacrificed his rose to Mary so that Ib would not lose hers and she remembered how peaceful he looked while sleeping after Mary ripped up his precious blue rose.

Ib's tears began to run down even more. She realized something. "He really wasn't sleeping…was he?" She sobbed harder on the floor at the horrible realization. How could she not see it before? How could she have possibly forgotten about that? How could she forget Garry? "Oh, Garry. Garry, Garry, Garry, Garry. I'm so sorry. I left you all alone in that world. I abandoned you and then I forgot about you. I'm so, so sorry."

She sat there crying for a long time. Ib heard a voice call out to her. She did not care to respond. The voice got closer and closer. Ib felt a hand softly touch her shoulder and she finally looked up. Even through her watery eyes and the dim hall, Ib could clearly see Mary's bright blonde hair and vibrant sky blue eyes. She looked concerned. "What's wrong, Ib?" Mary asked.

Ib instinctively flinched away from Mary's touch. She backed away from her sister. Or was this girl really her sister? What was she to Ib? Was Mary really related to Ib? "No. Mary really isn't related to me. She's a painting that came from that world. She…she killed Garry…"

Ib stood up and walked away from Mary. Her little sister looked hurt. Mary also stood up and followed Ib. "Ib, wait. Where are you going? What's wrong?" she called.

"Don't follow me, Mary." Ib blankly stated. She began to walk faster.

Mary sped up to keep up with Ib. "Stop, Ib! Why were you crying?"

"Leave me alone." Ib retorted. She broke out into a sprint and ran directly into another passageway. Mary did the same.

"Ib! Why are you running away?!"

Ib ran into different hallways and corridors trying to lose Mary. After some time, Ib lost sight of her sister. She stopped to catch her breath. She was having trouble breathing. "Oh…" she thought, "I shouldn't be running like that in my condition." Ib rested until she stopped panting.

She then looked up and saw a long painting that took up most of the wall in the long hall. Ice ran down her spine. It was the painting she saw all those years ago. It was the one that sent her to that world and trapped Garry and her. She read the title. Fabricated World. "I have to leave this place now." Ib thought frantically.

"Ib… wait… stop…"

Ib turned her head and saw Mary slowly walking towards her. An alarm went off in Ib's mind. She couldn't abandon her sister.

"Mary, quickly! We have to get away from here right now!" Ib yelled.

"What? I'm really tired right now. What are you-?"

It was too late. The ground started to shake violently. Ib and Mary were knocked to the ground. The lights flickered. The music that played in the museum suddenly came to a halt.

The shaking only lasted for a few seconds. As the girls collected themselves off the floor, Ib noticed that it was eerily quiet. She saw a new message below the painting. "Come along girlies. I have a big surprise for you." Her heart sank. She walked over to Mary and helped her up. Mary asked, "What happened?"

Ib didn't respond. Mary of all people should know what was going on. For all Ib knew, Mary could be the cause of this. "Come this way, Mary." She simply said.

The girls made their way made out of the wing. There was nobody in sight. They went down the stairs to the first floor. The lights flickered and then went out. Mary screaked in fright and tried to open the front entrance door, but it wouldn't budge. She tried the windows, but they were sealed shut. Ib rolled her eyes in the darkness. They left the front entrance and strode toward the large painting on the floor. There was fresh blue paint around it and a message. Ib read it aloud. "Come and play once again Ib, Mary."

"What… what does it mean 'play again'? What's going on Ib?" Mary panicked.

Ib stared at her. Did Mary really not remember? Ib thought that it could be possible, considering that she had also no memory of this place up until thirty minutes ago.

Ib grabbed Mary's hand. "We have to jump in. That's the only way we can get out of this place."

"What do you mean? How can we jump into a painting? You're being crazy Ib!"

"Mary, please trust me. I would never lie to you."

Mary thought about that statement for a moment and then hesitantly muttered, "Alright. I trust you, then."

"Okay. We jump after three…One…" Ib began.

"Two…" Mary counted.

"…and…Three!" Ib shouted

The girls jumped into the painting and there was an audible splash. It was pitch black, but they could soon see again and they realized they were underwater. The scenery that was depicted in the painting was all around them. Ib and Mary were fascinated by it, taking in the colorful fish and underwater bubbles.

And then, just as suddenly as they were faced by the scenery, it disappeared. The girls found themselves standing in a shadowy room with dark blue walls. They gradually tiptoed down the stairs in front of them, not wanting to make any sound. There were paintings on the wall that were familiar to Ib. She recognized them from when she first came here. "If this is the same place", she supposed, "then what we need is this way."

Ib and Mary walked hand in hand to the left hallway. Mary held Ib's hand tightly. Ib viewed back and gave her sister a reassuring smile. Mary shakily smiled back. Ib unexpectedly became aware of herself and swiftly spun her head back to the front, but did not let go of her sister's hand. What was she doing? This girl wasn't related to her. Mary is a painting. Ib had to understand that. But even if she did, Ib still felt a fondness for the girl.

They reached the end of the passage which was only a short walk. Ib saw what she was both expecting and not expecting. What she was expecting was a red rose in a vase on a small desk. What she was not expecting was another vase with a rose in it. The vase held a healthy yellow rose. Ib examined it and concluded that it wasn't a fake. "What's going on? Mary is a painting. The last time we were here, her rose was fake. But this one is real. It's just as real as mine and Garry's."

She handed the yellow rose to Mary. "Keep that rose safe at all costs." Ib said.

"Yeah, I know. If I don't I'll get hurt." Mary said. Surprised, Ib was at loss for words. Had Mary been playing dumb this whole time?

"Um…I kind of remembered this place after we jumped into the painting." Mary went on.

Ib paused for a few moments and then said gently, "…so…you remember everything…?"

Mary averted her eyes to the floor. "Yeah…I saw the way you were staring at my rose. It's not supposed to be real, right? But it is. I know what I am. I remember what I did."

Ib did not speak. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Mary knew she was a painting that escaped from this world and that she killed Garry. What should Ib do? As she was thinking, Ib heard a small sniffle. She looked at Mary. Her little sister was crying.

"Ib… you know…if you want to leave me behind…I'll understand. I would do the same thing if I were you. I would hate me too. I mean, who wouldn't? I did some pretty bad things. I… I killed Garry. I know I did. And I did it for fun. For fun… I'm really terrible. I'm just an evil painting. I'm not really your sister at all. And I don't deserve to be anyway…" Mary managed between her tears.

"Mary, I don't think-" Ib started.

"You should leave me behind. You would be safer without me. I could hurt you. I could hurt you really badly. I could even… do to you what I did to Garry. I really don't want that to happen! I don't want anything bad to happen to you!" Mary exclaimed. She was becoming hysterical.

Ib snatched her sister's hands. "No. I won't leave you."

"Ib, please! It's the only way!"

"I refuse to leave my sister behind."

"I'm not really your sister, Ib. Haven't you been listening? Or is your memory just faulty?"

"My memory is perfectly fine. Do you want me to prove it? I can recall us growing up together. I remember when you graduated middle school. I can recollect how you tried to make me a cake for my birthday and how you nearly burned down the whole kitchen. I can still clearly picture you taking care of me when I was really sick. I can remember us always being together. We were the inseparable sisters. Even if we're not related, in my eyes, you are still my cute little sister. I could never hate you. I still love you, Mary."

Mary stopped short. She took in Ib's words. She let them sink in. After a long while, Mary breathed, "But I'm not real. I'm another painting from this world. I'm not human."

Ib thought for a few moments, but then continued, "Mary do you see this rose? Does it look fake to you?"

"…No…"

"Exactly. The fact that this rose isn't fake means that you're not a fake either. It think means that you're not just a painting anymore. I think… it means you're a part of the real world now."

"You're right… I didn't think you would figure it out."

"Huh?"

"The only way for me to get out of this place was to take the place of another human. I remember that I really liked you Ib… so I took Garry's place so that I could live with you."

Ib put on a thoughtful expression. "So… basically… you took up his existence or life force and twisted reality so that you could be my little sister in the real world?"

"That's one way of saying it." Mary answered guiltily. "Sorry, I was just testing to see if you really meant what you said. I didn't want to be a burden on you. I don't wasn't you to suffer and end up stuck here like Garry." Mary thought for a moment and then continued.

"I didn't think anything of it before." She whispered. "You know, taking Garry's life…But now I know what I've done… I'm not sure if what I've done can be forgiven…"

Ib swallowed and hoped she would not regret saying these words. "What's done is done. You're here and Garry is… gone. We can't get him back. Garry is in the past and you are in the present, so as long as you're here and belong in the real world, I will never leave you here alone."

Mary looked at Ib and probably knew how hard it was to say those things. Saying it meant that Ib had to finally accept that she could never see Garry again and it pained her greatly. But Ib had to protect her little sister. She had to make sure she could do with Mary what she couldn't do with Garry: survive this horror till the end.