A World without Misery (now with images!)

Chapter 13 - The Weight She Carries (Part 1)

Chapter Thirteen – The Weight She Carries

"Vaida, do you remember? Do you remember that night in the hospital, after the Interfectus attacked and took everything from us? I saw you lying there in that bloody bed with the most pitiful sadness I'd ever seen. You had only one eye open, but they both stared dead ahead like there was nothing left in this world. I heard what had happened. I saw what the fire had done to your body. I could sense your sorrow just by standing in the same room as you. I could feel your misery like it was a part of me. I just started crying, and then I threw my arms around you. I remember it because that was probably the most sincere sadness I've ever felt. Do you remember?" Harvey said as he stood over her.

Harvey was soaking wet because of the rain, so the glow of fire reflected in the tiny droplets which covered his skin and hair. These same reflections caused Vaida's skin to shimmer. Harvey stuck his foot under her left shoulder and then lifted it so that she rolled over onto her back. She stared up ahead with her dry left eye, but she could not even bring her eyes to close. She could not summon a single word to her throat. When Harvey stepped closer to her and stared below, Vaida felt like he glared at the burn scars on her face. She instinctively felt the need to hide her wounds, but this was impossible because of the poison's paralysis. The whole situation made Vaida wish that she could somehow eject herself from her own body, but this detail was what made it truly terrifying for her. Her inability to hide her scars was the worst torture of all.

"I was just a dumbass kid, but I already hurt so much for you. Even with your burns and that self-hate you never could shake, we grew up together. Just like before. I got to see you change! I got to see you become obsessed with exercising. I got to see you execute a thousand little science experiments. I got to see you grow into a woman. But all that time, you were drifting away from me. You didn't need me anymore. You proved it when you set out to fight the Interfecti. You proved that I'm expendable. You proved that I am nonessential to you. I was the crying little boy who held you in my arms as your whole world burned to ashes, and yet you still crawled away from me," Harvey confessed with an accusatory tone.

Vaida commanded her lungs and her throat to produce a sound. She tried to force out a high-pitched scream which could pierce the rainstorm and announce her distress to someone nearby, but no sound came out. Her whole body was paralyzed; she was forced to stare into Harvey's dark blue eyes. A brief grin fell across his face, but it swiftly melted away into a disgruntled frown. He then lowered himself to the floor so that his knees fell on opposite sides of her hips. He nearly sat on her as he gazed at her scarred face.

"Do you know why that little boy cried for you? Do you know why I helped you with your experiments? Do you know why it hurt so much when you ran away from Bones City? It was because I was in love with you! I loved you even before the flames ruined your beauty. Vaida, you and I were always meant to be together. That's why the flames didn't take you. That is why I fell to pieces when you left! That is why I couldn't think about anything else. But Vaida, it's your fault that this happened! I begged you not to leave. I told you from the start that you weren't ever allowed to leave me."

A thin layer of angry tears arose on the surface of his eyes as his trembling face glared at her. He touched his hand onto her wet hair and squeezed so that his fingers rubbed across her scalp. He could see the terror in her left eye and the sadness in her right eye, so he lowered his face and pressed his lips softly against her forehead.

He said, "I've been wrapped around your finger my whole life. When you were gone, the wrapping unraveled and I lost everything I once loved. It all became so meaningless. So while you were running around out there without me, I did some heavy thinking, and I've figured it all out. Vaida, I was created just for you, and you were given to me. I don't know if you were destined to carry these scars, but even in my heart, you still shine brighter than the stars. I love everything about you, even though you left me behind. You're still the only thing that makes me happy. So I can forgive you for running away as long as you stay with me now. Please stay with me forever. Don't you want that?"