Chapter 95: The Paradox of Forgetting
š Act I: A Scroll That Erased Itself
Ne Job was cataloguing scrolls when one dissolved into mist the moment he touched it.
Twinkle buzzed nervously.
Ao Bing leaned over. "Did that scroll justā¦ vanish?"
Taiyi Zhenren frowned. "That's Miracle #250-F. Archived as 'Forget-to-Remember.' It erases itself when read."
Ne Job unrolled it.
Inside was a single line:
> "To forget is to remember."
Then the words vanished.
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š§ Act II: The Bureau Reacts
Lord Xian summoned the Department of Paradox Management.
"This scroll," he said, "is unstable. It claims forgetting is remembering. We must test it."
Ao Bing grinned. "So if I forget, I remember?"
Taiyi Zhenren muttered, "Contradictory."
Ne Job volunteered to investigate.
He held the scroll.
It erased itself.
But suddenly, Ne Job recalled a miracle he hadn't thought of in years ā Twinkle's first hum.
Twinkle pulsed softly.
---
š Act III: The Puzzle of Forgetting
Ne Job designed an experiment.
He asked three interns to read the scroll.
- One saw: "Forget sorrow." Then remembered joy.
- Another saw: "Forget laughter." Then remembered silence.
- A third saw: "Forget patience." Then remembered wisdom.
Taiyi Zhenren documented the results: "Forgetting triggers recollection. Absence becomes presence."
Ne Job whispered, "It's not erasure. It's renewal."
---
š§µ Act IV: The Festival of Forgetting
The Bureau announced a new event: The Festival of Forget-to-Remember.
Interns gathered in the Reflection Hall.
Each read the scroll.
Each forgot something.
And each remembered something else.
- Ao Bing forgot thunderfruit chaos. He remembered calm.
- Taiyi Zhenren forgot footnotes. He remembered clarity.
- Glimmer forgot mischief. She remembered kindness.
Ne Job forgot fear.
He remembered trust.
Twinkle hummed in harmony.
---
š Act V: The Verdict
The Bureau conferred.
One scroll wrote: "Ao Bing: Bold. Renewed."
Another: "Taiyi Zhenren: Precise. Softened."
The third floated to Ne Job and wrote:
> "You embraced forgetting as remembering. You win."
Lord Xian nodded. "Intern Ne Job, you have shown that forgetting is not loss. It is renewal."
Ao Bing tossed confetti. Taiyi Zhenren footnoted the silence. Glimmer winked. Twinkle pulsed.
---
š Epilogue: A New Registry Entry
The next morning, a new entry appeared in the Miracle Registry:
> Miracle #250-F: Forget-to-Remember
> Status: Paradoxical, reflective, renewing.
> Effect: Erases memory to awaken recollection. Teaches that forgetting is remembering.
Ne Job added a note:
> "Some miracles don't preserve. They erase ā and in erasing, they remind."
Twinkle hummed.
And somewhere in the Bureau, a scroll dissolved ā not into nothing, but into memory.