The Binding

In a world where memories can be physically bound into books, Emmett Farmer is reluctantly called away from his rural farm life to apprentice under a reclusive Bookbinder. This mysterious and often feared profession involves taking people's painful or unwanted memories and sealing them away, offering them a clean slate at a significant emotional cost. As Emmett learns the delicate and secretive craft, he discovers that these bound memories are not simply discarded but meticulously cataloged and stored in a vast, hidden vault. The practice, while offering solace to some, raises unsettling questions about identity and truth. His training takes a sinister turn when he stumbles upon a volume with his own name etched on the spine, bearing a past he cannot recall but which holds the key to a shocking secret about his own life, the Binding process, and the powerful forces at play. Emmett must piece together the fragments of his forgotten history, navigating a world where knowledge can be both a blessing and a dangerous weapon, and confronting the profound implications of tampering with the very fabric of memory and self.