Kintsugi

Chapter 12

Returning to the morgue for the fourth time, John knew he was desperate. He was grasping at straws, excuses, a way to tell himself that the love of his life was truly gone. He says to himself, "I know. I can't believe I'm back here again. Why? Well, because Belle said, 'Mama'." John paused in his movement toward where Marlena's body was being held, closing his eyes briefly, sighing, "Not only am I talking to myself, I'm answering myself...I just have to see you one more time, and then I'll know...you're really gone."

Opening the mortuary cabinet, he slid Marlena's body out. He was going to force himself to say goodbye, he had to, this one last time. He stared down at her, blinking his eyes to hold back the tears, and whispered, "You're still so beautiful. This-this is our last goodbye." Unable to hold himself back he leaned forward, softly kissing her lips. He paused for a moment, pulling back to stare at her face in awe, and saying, "You're lips are warm...she's breathing...no, I'm just seeing what I want to see..." That minute hope he felt, dissipates while he is again overcome with loss, and then Marlena's head moves slightly. At first he thinks he's imagined it, but then she moves again...

The dream shifts, and suddenly the demon has him, pushing him towards the wall, yelling, "This is a fight to the death, and if you don't give in to my needs, then you will die!" The hand that grips his face is Marlena's, the face contorted into a mask of rage was Marlena's, but John knows...this isn't her. John is nearing unconsciousness when the demon throws his body aside, saying in frustration, "You're no longer a threat to me...or anybody else. It's time I made good on my promise. It's time to end Marlena's wretched life, once and for all!"

John coughs harshly, trying to get his breath back, "No! No, don't do it. Don't take Marlena, please...take me instead...Please, please...don't take Marlena." John struggles to get up from the cold floor, grasping onto the table for support. He reaches for the demon, staring up at the most beautiful face he has ever known, and whispers, "Take me instead."

The dream shifts again, and Marlena finds herself sitting on the couch, in her old house, next to a strange man. She turns to him, feeling oddly at peace, and says, "Who are you?"

"I'm Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe," he tells her gently.

She stares into his eyes, deciding to trust him, "Why am I here?"

"I gave you a dream, a memory...so you could understand what I'm about to tell you."

"Are you a friend of John's? I think he may have mentioned you, although I'm a little foggy on the details right now," she said.

"You are the other half of John's soul," Gabe told her. "You are fated. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save you. To give himself over to a demon, to keep you alive. That type of sacrifice is the purest form of love."

"I love him too. I love him so much," she whispered, looking around. She realized that it decorated and looked identical to how it had been when she lived there with John. When they were so happy. She looks at Gabe sadly, and says, "But he's a priest."

"Is he?" he responds cryptically. "John's going to receive something from the daughter of an enemy. A journal. You thought it was destroyed at Maison Blanche. He's going to deny its contents. He's going to want to refuse the truth of what he reads as another trick from the man who has destroyed his life over and over again," Gabe said. "Don't let him do that. What is written between those pages...is truth."

"Kristen?" Marlena asked him, reaching out to touch his arm gently. Her hand touches nothing but air, because Gabe is gone. She rises from the couch, to walk over to the photos seated on the mantle, above the fireplace. Marlena touches the pictures delicately, as if she would break them. John with Carrie, and the twins...John with her. Everyone was so happy. Silent tears begin to make their way down her face, as she cries about what was lost, but in her heart...in her soul she also feels hope rising...