Dust to Dust

26

The one thing she wanted, if she had to pick one thing to happen before she died, was to wake up and see his face one more time. As she started to open her eyes, she prayed in her mind that all of that was a dream. She was back in her cabin, Delilah, Eren, and Corey all sleeping in the other beds. And that bright light coming into view was Jasper flipping on the light just to be an asshole. He would shake her awake and yell at Eren to get them mad, and end up getting chased around the camp. Delilah would watch them roughhouse, trying not to laugh and failing, still her old happy self.

Her eyes adjusted, and she realized it wasn't the lightbulb hanging from the cabin ceiling. It was the sun, clear as day. She was outside, lying in the grass. In the exact same spot she was with Asher last night. Nobody had taken her inside, but she most likely passed out from all the stress and overwhelming sadness.

Slowly, she lifted her upper body to face the lake in front of her. It really was a pretty view. 

"Are you alright?" Charlotte's voice asked from her side. Jenny didn't know how to respond. Of course she wasn't. She just found out that someone she truly cared for killed himself because of some messed up curse. And she was just supposed to sit by and believe it all.

"Is it true? The curse?" Charlotte was more trustworthy than Asher, because she actually had some sense in her. She wasn't running around yelling at some old statue in a church and splitting her wrists open.

"Yes. I understand that you don't believe it. We've made arrangements to gather proof, if you need it." she was talking in such a quiet tone. She knew how much she was suffering, and had probably stayed with her ever since the sun came up.

"When did you get here?" Jenny asked, voice cracking from all the crying. She turned to look at the adherent, who's veil was off. She looked incredibly sad for her, it almost hurt just to make eye contact.

"Earlier this morning. Asher stayed with you almost all night. He couldn't take you back to the cabin, or else Eren would have a lot of assumptions. They came out looking for you, so we told them and everyone else in your cabin that we had found Jasper dead just outside of camp. Attacked by an animal. Eren obviously didn't believe us, but couldn't exactly argue in a state of grief. I'm terribly sorry you need to go through all this. You're still young, you should be living, and you've witnessed so much death. I'm so sorry, Jenny."

"What kind of proof is Asher getting?" she was ignoring almost every remark, not able to keep a steady conversation. Nothing seemed to have a point anymore. Everyone she had grown close to was dead. And the worst part was that she could have done something to keep it from happening. But those chances were gone. There was no way to go back in time. They were all dead.

Charlotte sighed with sorrow, and accepted the state she was in. "He's set an animal just outside the boundaries. Across the river where we collect water. That river is the barrier between the rest of the world, and the cursed grounds."

Jenny looked down from the lake, and got lost in thought for a second. "Have you ever been in love, Charlotte?"

The question was seemingly out of nowhere, but she couldn't help but think of Jasper, and Charlotte knew that. She smiled sadly. "Yes. When I went to the academy I knew this wonderful girl. She was always so kind to me, and we quickly became friends. I wanted to be more however, but she was so dedicated to the lord that she denied me of course, thinking that a woman loving another woman was a sin. I disagree. It was then that I realized how badly I wanted to get out of there. And here we are."

It was weird to think about Charlotte getting rejected. She seemed like such a nice woman, but if the other girl didn't feel the same way, that was just the way it was. Saying it was sinful however, was just plain wrong.