𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

(5) talk to me ... no

The early morning sunlight was starting to break through the horizon, casting a warm golden glow across the garden.

The dewdrops that covered the blades of grass glimmered like tiny diamonds. A couple of birds were chirping in the distance. It was a beautiful day.

Aris had to physically pulled Thèrèse out of her workshop. She groaned, "Just a little more."

Aris gently slapped her on the back of the head playfully, "No, no, no, no. We have something to do today, remember?"

"Ugh, how could I forget?" Thèrèse groaned, rubbing her head where Aris had slapped her.

Aris chuckled, "That's what I thought." He said, leading her out of the workshop.

They walked together down a cobblestone pathway, passing by soldiers and medics, who were up early as they walked to work.

"WOOHOO!"

The hoverboards zoomed past, their riders laughing and hollering as they passed by. Thèrèse and Aris both had to jump back, dodging the fast hoverboards.

The riders letting out whoops and hollers, their laughter and smiles wide. Hugo looked over his shoulder, flashing a charming grin, "Let's go!"

The others — Minho, Gally, Frypan, Luke, Brenda, Teresa, Sonya, Harriet and Nico all replied with grins and shouts, some of them raising their arms in the air. The hoverboards zoomed faster through the path, the wind blasting through their faces.

"Watch out, watch out!" Hugo called to the others, as their boards got a little too close to each other, and a few of them almost lost their balance.

"Be careful, you morons!" Gally shouted, trying to keep his balance on his board.

"Oh shut it, Gally, it's fun!" Brenda yelled back, her laughter mixing with the sound of the wind.

Gally rolled his eyes at that, "Yeah, until you all smash into each other and crack your damn heads open!"

Bea rode on her hoverboard calmly, her reflection wavering in the sea.

Teresa, who was riding next to her on her board, noticed her silence. She slowed down and lowered her speed, so that she was now level with Bea.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Teresa asked curiously, her gaze fixed on the blue sea.

Bea shrugged, "Just lost in thought."

Teresa hummed in acknowledgement, "Seems like you've been 'lost in thought' a lot lately. You've been pretty quiet these days."

Bea kept her gaze fixed on the sea, her expression hard to read. "Yeah, well. Got a lot on my mind, that's all."

Teresa nodded, but there was a look in her eyes that showed that she knew there was more to it than that. "Anything to do with Casper?"

Bea's grip on the hoverboard handle tightened slightly, "What about him?"

"He was going on about you, the other day. Says you've been shirking your duties, spending too much time at that grave. You should see the look on his face, it was something." Teresa said, her gaze still fixed on the sea.

Bea grunted, her expression turning sour, "He needs to learn to mind his own goddamn business."

Teresa nodded, "I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon. You know how stubborn old men can be."

Bea let out a huff, "Yeah, I know. But it's not like I'm doing anything wrong. I'm just..." Her voice trailed off, her thoughts suddenly taking her back to that graveyard.

"You're just going there to, what? Talk to a rock?" Teresa prompted, her tone gentle but also slightly frustrated.

Bea's grip on the handle tightened even more, her knuckles turning white. She gritted her teeth, "It's not just a rock."

"Then what is it? Because to me and every other sane person in this base, it's just a freaking rock." Teresa responded, her tone slightly sharper now.

"It's her!" Bea snapped, her voice trembling with anger, "Prim. My little sister. It's her gravestone. Her name is carved in there, too, along with those of our parents. That's her resting place. She's under that ground! And I want to be there with her!"

As her words sank in, Teresa softened her expression, realizing the raw pain behind Bea's outburst. "Bea, I...I'm sorry. I didn't realize-"

Bea's expression still stayed hard, "Of course, you didn't. Nobody ever does. It's always the same thing, 'You need to move on.' 'You need to let go.' But none of you understand. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. That I'm some messed up freak, talking to a stupid rock every day."

Teresa shook her head, "I don't think you're a freak, Bea. I just...I just think you're in pain. I think you're stuck. And I think maybe...maybe you're trying to hold on to something that's already gone."

There was a pause in the conversation, and for a moment, the only sound was the buzz of their hoverboards and the wind in their ears.

Bea's shoulders slumped, and she released her tight grip on the handle.

Teresa studied her carefully, sensing the tension slowly easing from her body. "You know it's not healthy, right?" she said softly. "What you're doing. It's not healthy for you. You need to find a healthy way to cope with your grief, not... this."

"And what do you suggest, hm?" Bea said, her voice laced with bitterness. "Since you know so much about what's best for me?"

"Bea, come on. You know what I'm saying makes sense. You can't keep going like this. You're shutting everyone out, you're avoiding everyone, all you do is work and then go to her grave. That's not healthy, and you know it."

Bea bit her lip, her gaze lowering to the board. She knew Teresa was right. She knew she was living in a fantasy, a bubble.

But the thought of letting go, of accepting reality, scared her more than anything.

Teresa sighed, seeing the turmoil in Bea's expression. She slowed down her speed, so that her board was right next to Bea's, their shoulders almost touching.

She reached out and gently rested her hand on top of Bea's, where it was gripping the board handle.

"Look at me, Bea." Teresa said, her voice soft yet commanding. Bea looked up, her eyes locking with Teresa's.

"Bea," she began softly, "I get it. Really, I do. You lost everything. You lost your family, your home, your life. I understand. I do. But you can't live your life in pain like this. You're living in the past."

Bea's eyes widened slightly, and her grip on the handle tightened again. "I have nothing left but a stupid rock to visit every day."

"No, you have so much more, Bea." Teresa said firmly. "You have friends. You have people who care about you, who want to help you. You don't just have a rock, you have a whole damn life to live, and you're wasting it away, stuck in the past."

Bea looked away, her gaze returning to the sea. She knew Teresa was right. She knew that her friends cared for her, that they wanted to help her move forward.

But it wasn't easy. It was never easy. Her heart was still stuck in that graveyard, next to her sister's grave.

She sighed, reversing her hoverboard. "I can't do this. Leave me alone."

Teresa didn't try to stop her. She knew it was pointless. She watched as Bea sped away, her form getting smaller in the distance.

Once she disappeared into the distance, Teresa let out a sigh.

★