Eminence

Note 7 - Thoughts, Feelings, Actions

Warren's alarm went off at 5:45 every morning, and Emanon was always the first to turn it off. Getting used to his schedule was difficult for her, but she wanted to be awake when he was awake. She'd pull the covers off him and then stand on the bed, making it hard for him to sleep. Warren would groan for a minute, sit up half asleep, and pull Emanon down. She'd fall into him, and he'd hold her, leaning his head on her shoulder. He'd complain about it being too early to be awake, and she'd pat his head out of pity. This had become their routine for the last three weeks. This morning, however, Emanon would remind Warren that Jack would be visiting his house this weekend. When Emanon talked to Jack on the phone, he said he wasn't in town but would make a trip down when he could.

"Warren?"

"Hmm?"

"You know Jack is going to be visiting soon, right?"

***

Warren didn't answer and instead got up and headed to the bathroom. Warren wasn't pleased about meeting Jack; unfortunately, he had to, and he still wasn't sure about approaching him about Emanon. The time they had known each other didn't matter after what happened. They probably felt like strangers now. When someone becomes a stranger, do you still judge their character based on the past? Everyone has different criteria for what is considered forgivable. What does it take to be eligible for forgiveness? How do you know whether someone should be forgiven? 

If you were to bring the scenario to court, it might seem pretty obvious; too many variables muddied everything, though, and you could honestly argue from both sides, so it becomes a matter of ethics. Based on whose ethics would you judge it, then? You'd want to say the ethics of the majority, but that is a variable, not a constant. You could easily find a majority to agree with your argument, so what are we left with? 

"Warren?" Emanon called out.

"Yes?" He yelled from the shower.

"You've been in there awhile now; you won't be late, will you?"

He turned off the water.

"I'm getting out now."

Warren couldn't shake his stress. It wouldn't be a great day, and he couldn't look forward to the weekend to keep him going, either. He wiped the condensation off the mirror so he could shave.

"Are you not feeling well?" Emanon asked him as she placed her hand on his back.

Warren had started to get used to how inhumanly quiet Emanon was whenever she approached him. He hadn't even realized she opened the door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you knock. Did you need something?" He asked her. 

"I didn't knock. You were taking too long, so I came to check on you." She replied. 

"Emanon... You're supposed to knock before you enter rooms."

"You already welcomed me into your home, so why do I need to knock?"

"Is that a reference to something?... It's respectful to someone's privacy when you knock before entering a room they occupy."

"Really? I didn't think I needed to respect your privacy?" She was serious; she genuinely didn't.

"Why do you think you don't need to respect my privacy?" He asked, hoping for something that made sense. 

"-Well, because you're bound to me. The line between you and I is blurred aside from physicality. We're practically a collective being. I'd know your presence from miles away and could peer into your mind if needed. I choose not to."

Warren stared at her blankly. 

"-Thank you for not reading my mind...Please knock before you enter from now on."