On strange trails

Chapter 11: Nothing but absolute silence

Cora helped Magenta carry Columbia into the lab. They said goodbye to her with tears in their eyes and Magenta gave her a small kiss. Cora felt so sorry for her and Columbia. There had always been a little spark between them.

After putting a blanket over Columbia, Cora went upstairs to look if Frank was okay. She knocked at his door. After not getting an answer, she walked inside.

She saw Frank laying in his bed with his eyes closed. His hair had dried and was hanging loosely over his face. Cora was relieved seeing him like that. Sleeping the pain away made things a lot easier. She threw off her heels and climbed into bed, next to Frank. She spooned him from behind.

"I'm not gonna lie to you. These are gonna be some tough days. But we'll get through that.", she whispered even though she knew that he couldn't hear her.

The next morning was weird. The usual laughter and noises were gone. It was quiet. Cora woke up very late. Quite understandable considering what they've been through. Frank was still laying next to her but he also was awake. "Hey", Cora softly spoke.

"Hey", Frank answered quietly. "You okay?", she asked. He shrugged and got up to stretch. Cora watched him as he fixed his makeup in the mirror. He also took off the clothes he was wearing the night before and changed into a pink night gown. Cora again closed her eyes as he didn't hesitate to change everything right in front of her.

Frank chuckled a bit as he saw her like that again. "Oh honey we really have to work on that", he said. Cora just blushed. As she noticed she was also still wearing her clothes from yesterday, she took off her red dress. She realized that she wasn't wearing a bra under it and immediately covered herself.

Frank rolled his eyes and grabbed a white nightgown and handed it to her. "Don't you dare covering yourself, it does the world a disservice", he said and smiled. Cora quickly took it on and smiled shyly.

When they went downstairs, they noticed Brad, Janet and Magenta sitting in the dining room and talking. "Good Morning guys", Cora said quietly. "Good Morning", everybody replied somewhat depressed. "We were talking about how we help Janet and Brad with their car. We could fix the flat, can't we?", Magenta asked and looked at Frank. He nodded. "I'll help you.", Cora offered. "That'd be nice, thank you", Janet said and smiled awkwardly.

They had some breakfast and no one said anything during the whole time. "So do you guys maybe have a new tire somewhere?", Brad said to break the silence. "Uhm yeah I actually think so. But I think it's for a motorcycle.", Magenta said. "Doesn't matter. We'll make it work somehow", Brad said and smiled at his fiancé. Cora was sorry for being so mean to them first. Even tho they were incredibly uptight, they actually were quite nice.

After they finished eating Magenta said she'd clean up the table and the others should already start fixing the tire. Cora, Janet and Brad went outside and Magenta started cleaning. Frank sat at the table for another minutes and got up. He went up the stairs and through a lot of dark hallways that hadn't been used in years. Until he stopped at a black door.

He opened it and turned on the lights. In he room were lots of papers and pictures laying all over the floor and the chair standing in the middle of the room. Frank walked inside and looked at his notes. These were the notes he wrote while creating Rocky. He remembered one of his first tries to make a heartbeat and when it finally worked he was so proud. He continued looking through the old notes and got lost in the memories that went with it. All the effort, all the work and time he spend. For nothing.

In the meantime Cora and Brad were rolling the motorcycle tire out of the castle. Janet was already waiting at the car. "Do you have a screwdriver, Brad?", Cora asked. "I'm sure I have one somewhere. I just have to look for it."

The three of them had been looking for the screwdriver for almost twenty minutes until they heard footsteps. It was Magenta who was carrying a toolbox. "Ahh Magenta! You came again to save the day!", Cora said.
Magenta smiled and opened the toolbox. "What do you need?", she asked. "A screwdriver", Janet said. Magenta handed it to Brad.

When they had finished Cora tried to get rid of some oil that was stuck on her hands. "How do you know so much about fixing a tire Cora?", Brad asked. "Oh well you know my father used to work in a auto repair shop and he taught me somethings.", she replied. "That's really unusual for a woman but it can never harm knowing such things as I just noticed.".
Cora nodded at him and they went back inside.

"Where's Frank?", Cora asked. "Dunno.", Magenta shrugged. "Frank?", Cora asked. But she didn't get and answer. She went into the lab but he wasn't there. She also went to his room and the room where the floor show had been but she couldn't find him. After some minutes of searching she found herself in a floor she had never been to.

Quietly and a little scared she walked along the dark hallway until she saw a light coming from a room on the right side. She gently opened the door and saw Frank sitting in the middle of the room, looking through notes and pictures.

"Here you are! I've been looking for you. What are you doing?", Cora asked. "Oh nothing", Frank said and threw the notes to the floor. He got up from the chair he had been sitting on. "Are you okay?", Cora asked a little worried now. "Yes. Of course I am.", he assured her. Cora sighed in disbelief.

"Look Frank I know you're always trying to seem like an absolute freak who enjoys everything about life but I can see you.", Frank looked at her puzzled. "You're hurting, you're lonely and scared. Believe me I know what that feels like and I know when a person is going through the same shit as I am. I can read the signs.".

Silence. Nothing but absolute silence.

"Trust me, you're nothing like me.", Frank then said.
"Oh no? When was the last time you felt truly loved?".

Again silence.

"Have you ever felt loved in general?".

Silence.

"That's what I thought." Frank looked to the floor. He'd never been lost of words but right now he really didn't know what to say. Cora had looked right through him. The realisation hit him harder than Rocky's muscles.

Cora felt bad for saying this. She immediately wrapped Frank into her arms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry", she whispered. "It's fine.", he said and looked up. "You were just telling the truth.".

"Yes I spoke the truth of your past. But only your past." He looked at her clearly trying to figure out what she meant by that. "Well you shall feel loved now.", Cora said and smiled at him.

It took Frank a few seconds to process what she just said but he soon realised. He smiled back at her and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Never had he felt loved never ever except of this moment when he finally realised what it feels like.