Restoring Memories

Nesrin and Ceylan had just joined the restoration staff of an open-air museum preserving the remains of an ancient city. They surveyed the ruins around them, finding very little left of the city; some scraps of wall, a few statues, minuscule traces of road.
Nesrin stopped to pet the nose of a stone lion, analyzing the contrast between her young-looking fingers and the years recorded by the moss and dirt on the statue. “Hard to believe this was our childhood home.”

“I know. I sometimes wonder if immortality is really so wonderful.” Ceylan picked up a shard of pottery that broke in her hands. “All those years we were gone; we should have been stopping the decay.”

Nesrin’s mouth twitched. “The time for such thoughts is past. Just focus on what we can do now.” She flicked her fingers and the mold and grime fell of the lion, releasing the familiar grey stone underneath.