Thomas couldn’t take it anymore, Ivy was too engrossed in that dumb camera. Even while they were walking aimlessly towards an altar, which they had no idea where it was or what it even looked like, Ivy still had the camera just inches from her face as she flipped from picture to picture.

  Thomas quickly snatched the camera from Ivy and held it above his head. Ivy tried jumping for the camera but she was too small to do anything. “Ivy, we need to focus and find that altar ok?” Thomas said as sternly as he could but that tone never suited him so it came out more as just a fake deep voice.

  Thomas’s words didn’t affect Ivy in the slightest as she began punching him in the stomach causing him to bend over from pain. She took this opportunity to grab the camera back. “Why? Why do we have to go protect some rock? If it’s so important Albert would send someone who’s not a kid to protect it right?” Ivy began looking through the camera again. Thomas knew she was right in a way, they were just kids. How could they protect anything?

  “Here, look at this.” Ivy said showing the camera screen to a crumbling Thomas who was halfway to being pain free when he stopped to look. It was just the same picture from before, the one of the deer eating the back of his shirt and everyone else was there, except something was off. Something was missing this time but Thomas couldn’t put his finger on it.

  “You see it?” Ivy said impatiently tearing the camera away and pressing it against her own nose as she stared deeply into it. Thomas breathing became more quick and his heart was racing so much he needed to rest his hand over it. Last time a secret was found in one of those photos it turned out to be his best friend moving through them. He couldn’t handle it again if it was something similar.

  “It’s right there!” Ivy said showing him the screen again and pointing to the space above his head in the photo but there was nothing out of the ordinary where she was pointing.

  “Ivy…?” Thomas’s voice was shaken. He grabbed the camera and brought it closer to see if the thing she was talking about was behind the trees. Ivy made sure to keep a grip on the camera still to make sure Thomas couldn’t steal it this time.

  “Please see it. I’m not lying to you!” Ivy screamed. With the screen still being feet away Thomas squatted down and fought against Ivy’s grip to bring it even closer while accidentally hitting some buttons on the side causing the camera to beep a few time. Finally her grip gave way and the camera slapped Thomas across the face and fell to the ground.

  “Why did you let go?” Thomas said rubbing his face, he quickly realized he was talking to himself. Ivy, who he was just talking to, just now had disappeared. His heart shrank as the weight of the earth’s gravity became apparent all too sudden for him like this was all some dream.

  “Uh… Hey! Ivy?!” Thomas screamed looking around not even sure about the name he remembered or who it belonged to. He wasn’t sure if Ivy was a friend, sister, or stranger anymore.

  “Ivy… Ivy…” Thomas said over and over dropping to his knees. His whole world was collapsing. The picture he had of his whole life had cracks spreading through it like thin ice, all of the cracks leading back to a single point, Ivy.

  Thomas tried to think back to the time of the photo that Ivy was trying to show him but he couldn’t remember her being there. He knew Willow was there but the other two he couldn’t even picture their face anymore.

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  Thomas picked the camera up that was resting on the ground between his knees. It chirped like a bird once he had a solid hold on it, like a bird who knew it was about to be fed. The screen was still displaying the same picture.

  “Ivy?” His words were hollow, he no longer could speak of her fondly for he had no memories to anchor those emotions.

  The picture now showed Thomas with the deer eating his shirt and Willow was there too, but that was it. Just the two kids and an animal.

  “You’re confused. I can see.” A familiar voice was the only thing that could tear Thomas’s attention away.

  “Luci?” Thomas said as his eyes locked with the man in white sitting on the ground just a few feet away from him. Between the two there was a campfire that was burning bright. Thomas lost the strength to support himself and dropped backwards landing in a sitting position.

  Thomas didn’t know where he was anymore. There were no trees around anymore, just an open grass field that seemed to stretch forever in all directions. He felt a little comfort since he could see the stars again.

  “My camera. Can I look at it for a moment?” Luci said as his arm stretched impossibly long towards Thomas passing over the open flame.

  “No.” Thomas said simply holding it to the side making sure to cover it with both his hands. “Ivy will want it back.” He continued and gave Luci a sour look.

  “Grief can make you do stupid things, I get it. So I’ll over look you telling me no this once.” Luci said not as if he was mad but as a father who was trying to console a sad child. Luci’s hand moved closer to Thomas and grew in size like an optical illusion.

  “My sister…” Thomas began to speak, Luci’s shaking head made his words lose all meaning. Thomas had silent tears streaming down his face as the camera traded from his hand to Luci’s.

  The arm retracted slowly, bringing the camera close to his face. Luci pushed a few buttons making the song the camera was trying to sing before come into full bloom. “I was confused at first to. But this proves it. That Ivy girl is way too damn smart.” Luci said holding the camera up. Thomas hadn’t seen the photo that was now on the camera before. It was of him lying in a pool of blood.

  “She edited herself out of all the pictures. She deleted herself from existence.” Luci said throwing the camera back to Thomas who caught it and took a closer look at the photo he just saw to make sure he saw it correctly but it was of the same photo Ivy was trying to show him now.

  “That doesn’t make any sense. How…” Thomas tried to fight Luci’s proposal with his words but once the camera chirped once more the world around him grew silent. He looked down at the camera once more and it was a photo of him and Ivy standing next to each other. Thomas didn’t recognize the picture and didn’t know even when it was taken.

  “She did miss one. That’s why you can still somewhat remember her.” Luci said waving his finger at Thomas before fully reclining from his sitting position to lying on the floor.

  An overwhelming surge of emotions poured over Thomas as he looked at the last piece of evidence he had of his friend. “Is there a way to bring her back?” Thomas words escaped desperately between his heavy sobs.

  “I suppose you could but should you? Your friend knew what she was doing. After the first photo she edited herself out of she started to lose memories and the more she did it the more she forgot.” Luci said in a callous tone as he turned his head slightly to see Thomas now hugging the camera.

  Luci let out a sigh and sat up. “She deleted herself. She was going through something so immense that she thought the easiest way was to just not exist. If you brought her back wouldn’t she just do it again?” Luci let a single tear trail from his eye, it was as if he was speaking from experience.

  Thomas knew everything that was happening was too much for him to handle but he could never imagine leaving Willow behind, his friends are what gave him strength to keep going. “I know what you are going to say. ‘I know she’s in pain now so I can better help her with it.’” Luci said perfectly copying Thomas’s sobbing voice for a moment. Thomas was going to respond but Luci perfectly guessed what was going through his mind. But something in the air grew heavy.

  “But it’s true!” Thomas yelled fighting desperately with this stranger, trying so hard to convince him that he knew Ivy better than that when he could hardly remember her name, but each time he thought of her a spark grew in him.

  “I know it is. But this is what she chose. So you should be a good friend and respect her choice.” Luci’s voice cracked. The fire between them grew with intensity matching Luci’s emotions.

  These words hit Thomas in his heart. He never thought of it that way. He didn’t know if it was selfish to wish her back. “Will she at least go to heaven?” Thomas said, his eyes fixed only on the screen that was littered with his tears.

  Luci chuckled and laid back down. “She’s already there kid. I promise once you see her there, all of those emotions and memories you had of her will come back.” Luci’s words offered some comfort for Thomas. The campfire shrank until only embers remained.

  Thomas tears continued to fall as he looked down at the picture of him and Ivy. Her smile was first to go and just like a glitch she vanished from the picture leaving just Thomas in frame. “Goodbye Ivy.” Thomas said unsure if this was the first or last time he had said those words.