The Garden of Forgetting
By Rayla Heide
More than memories are lost in this garden - what will become of Ahri if she surrenders hers?
Ahri ventures into the fabled Garden of Forgetting in search of relief from a painful memory.
- An Aesop: Memories, no matter how painful they are, are what complete you as a person. Trying to strip them away would make the rest of who you are fall apart.
- Alluring Flowers: The lilies are stated to smell quite lovely, and Ahri almost gives into their scent so that she can have her memory taken
- Being Watched: Ahri can tell from the moment she enters the garden that something has its eye on her.As she stepped into the garden, the back of her neck prickled as if someone were watching her. No figure was visible amongst the trees, but the garden was far from still.
- Cool Old Lady: The Gardener is friendly, lax, and displays a serene kindness towards Ahand her pain, having met many others who've suffered heartbreak.
- Foreshadowing:
- The possibility of Ahri being consumed by the garden was laid out in the first paragraph.
...those who stepped over the threshold of the garden began as one person and left as someone else entirely, or did not leave at all.- Ahri sniffs at one of the snow lilies as she enters the garden for the first time, and it shows hints of its ability to take memories.
A snow lily stretched toward Ahri’s face and caressed her cheek gently. It was too alluring to resist. Ahri pressed her face into its petals to inhale its heady scent. Her nose chilled and she took in the faint smell of oranges, the summer breeze, and the tang of a fresh kill. - Genius Loci: The Garden of Forgetting shifts like a living creature, its vines and flowers moving alongside Ahri and the Gardener. By the end, Ahri leaves the garden right as it's about to consume her, literally.
- I Have Many Names: The Gardener is known by many aliases in Ionian legend, such as "Eater of Secrets", the "Forgotten", or the "Witch Gardener".
