Blindening

Part 2 - Collisions

Chapter 6 - Continuation

After thoroughly reviewing the notes that Dani had written, his close group of friends were deeply upset and saddened. Isabel and Clara began crying softly on the couch, overcome with emotion, as Han decided to go outside to check on how Ivy was managing. As Han approached Ivy, who was leaning on the fence, gazing off into the distance, she mustered the words:

"Was this my fault?" before breaking down entirely into sobs and heavy breathing.

Han comforted and consoled her, assuring her:

"None of this was your fault or the fault of any of us. Dani made this choice on his own. Dani tried to convey his emotions, feelings, and inner suffering to his friends over the years, knowing that they could never truly understand the immense pain that weighed upon his soul."

Han and Ivy sat down together on the front steps as Han continued to speak compassionately. Breaks in his voice could be heard, making it obvious to Ivy how hard it was for Han.

He told Ivy, "Dani had a deep void inside his heart for a long time now. I was never able to even come close to filling it, no matter my efforts. Dani was a guy who desperately wished for love and a life without many struggles. Yet, he repeatedly gave the keys to his heart to those who would exploit, abuse, and slowly break his soul and sanity over time."

Han reflected that it was not even two days ago that Dani had told him that he had finally started to develop real romantic feelings for a girl again. After all the tragedy and everything Dani had gone through in the past, Han had wondered if Dani would ever love again, so it made him truly happy to hear that he hadn't given up on love.

Han sighed and said, "I just wish I understood where Dani could have gone off to."

Ivy brushed off her tears as she turned her head to Han and asked:

"Which girl did Dani develop feelings for?" thinking that the girl could potentially help them find Dani.

Han replied, "Yes, I know the girl very well—it's one of the girls here."

Stunned, Ivy's heart skipped a beat. Her cheeks turned visibly red, and her heart began to beat faster.

"Who is she?" she asked, looking at Han with curiosity in her eyes.

Before Han could murmur anything, Isabel opened the outside door and called them back inside. Isabel informed them that while Han and Ivy were outside talking, she had taken a closer look at Dani's notes and discovered that some of the pages were missing.

The group gathered around the table and took another look at the notes. There were visible rips inside the notes. Though shocked at first by this finding, after everyone saw the rippings where those pages used to be, they came to the same conclusion: they needed to find those lost pages to uncover possible leads on where Dani could have gone.

Ivy was still desperate to find out from Han who exactly this girl was that Dani had fallen for. Her leg was shaking up and down, feeling anxious to know who the girl was. Ivy asked Han again, pleading:

"Please tell me the girl's name, thinking that information could be useful to Dani."

Han's blunt refusal to say the name of the girl without Dani's approval grabbed everyone else's full attention. Despite the girls' constant pleading and repeated requests for Han to just reveal her name already, he remained determined in his decision.

"Locating Dani's missing pages and uncovering any other potential clues should be our priority right now," said Han.

With heavy hearts, the girls reluctantly agreed to let go of trying to uncover the girl's name for now and wiped away the remainder of their tears.