Written in Life

(Chapter 13)

I tossed and turned in Karianne's night shirt, thinking about what had happened. Tears slid from the corner of my eyes, but I had no idea why. Was I homesick, afraid? Was there something inside of me trying to tell me what I was doing is wrong? There was weight heavy on my chest... something that was so unbearable that it seemed death was the only way to lift it.

"Bernie." I jumped and saw it was Cody, leaning by my bedside. I turned over on my side to face him and quickly wiped my tears away, hoping he wouldn't see them.

"You should be quieter," I warned." Karianne's a light sleeper." He sighed and turned around, leaning on the bed and putting his hair in my face, making it tickle my nose. I sat up and slid off the bed, sitting beside him." I can't sleep," I whispered, rubbing my eyes.

"Me either," he whispered back." Hey, are you okay?"

I looked at him, surprised." I guess so... why?"

"You just... have you been crying?" he whispered. I hesitated.

"What makes you think that?" I asked, burying my face in my night shirt.

"The streaks," he whispered, following the black lines with his finger, from the corner of my eye to the tip of my chin. For some reason, I couldn't make myself pull away from his touch. I felt my face get hot and anger flared up inside of me. Why was I acting this way? He was a childish, lazy bastard, I tried reminding myself, but it wouldn't go away. I heard his chuckle and turned to look at him.

"The story messin' you up?" he asked.

"Yeah... it's the story," I whispered, half to myself. Karianne stirred in her sleep and we both froze. She turned over and sighed, hugging her quilt closer. I let out a sigh of relief and gasped in surprise as Cody's hands laced between mine.

"Lets get out of here before she wakes up," he said, standing up. He helped me up and walked out the door, holding it open. I stopped and looked to Karianne, a ray of moonlight shining on her, making her face glow with a fragile elegance. Guilt tugged at my heart. It was like leaving a man behind, going against my oath. I sighed and put on a long waist coat. I wasn't leaving her behind. I would be back. It didn't help much to tell myself that, but it gave me enough encouragement to leave.

"Sorry," I whispered, stepping out of the house and shutting the door softly behind me. Fear shot through me and it wasn't just for Karianne. It was also for myself, the weight on my chest growing heavier. I sighed and turned and Cody looked at me with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded faintly, looking at the ground. He gently lifted my head with his finger. He looked at me... but not with his normal mischievous smile and bright eyes... I could actually see maturity, responsibility, care. His eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he leaned forward gently. Our lips brushed and that's when I woke up.

I leaned back and planted a hand on his cheek. The crack was so loud I thought it would wake the whole town up. He looked at me, shocked, but I only looked back with blind fury.

"I'm still Bernice," I hissed." And I wouldn't let that happen in any story unless it was required in my own." A flash of hurt crossed his face.

"Well, you didn't seem to stop me from coming forward!" he whispered. I let out a groan of frustration.

"Cody, it's just the story. Obviously, our characters are in love. We just can't let it get the best of us," I said, hiking up my dress. I looked back and he was still looking at me the same way... I felt a strong surge of guilt pass over me, but looked away. It's just the story, I told myself, and it wouldn't get the best of me again.

I looked back." We're going on a walk," I reminded him. He walked up to meet me and we walked, silent and having no idea where we were going. My lips tingled where Cody's had just barely touched them, feeling wrong and burning like acid. I rubbed them on Karianne's waist coat to try and make the feeling go away, but it only got worse. I sighed and bit my lip, hoping the pain would ease the unwelcome feeling.

"So, any idea's on what were supposed to do, or even better, after we do it, how do we get home?" Cody said, breaking the silence. As if almost on cue, I felt a sharp edge against my side. I reached into the waist coat and retrieved a piece of parchment paper, the border etched with fair designs that boggled the mind. I unfolded the paper and a small, fine handwriting covered the front- a picture of an inkwell and quill on the back. My stomach lurched with sorrow as I recognised that the handwriting was none other than my mother's. Cody leaned close and we began to read the fine print.

If you get this paper, the likes are that you have hopefully arrived safely in your first novel. Your goal here is to find an object that represents a genre for it's purpose. After the object/objects are retrieved, you are expected to send them back to the council immediately, using the inkwell on the back of the paper. You will encase the object in ink and will them back to the Hall. There is a barrier in each story that keeps you trapped until you have found the item and willed yourself out with permission. Use great caution when doing this, for if a story is disturbed by it's original pathway of how the story is supposed to be carried out, it will collapse. The greatest of luck to both of you.

The paper slid out of my hands and floated to the ground with a soft brushing sound. My hands shook and my breath came out in ragged, shallow gasps. I realized Cody was trying to hold me up then. I spun to look at him so fast that my head spun, but I managed to keep my balance.

"What if we never find it? What if we never get out of here? What happens when our story carries on and we're in someone elses novel?" I asked, my voice raising from a whisper to a shout." How are we supposed to know what will happen? What's meant to happen? How do we know who to trust? What happens to the characters we replace?"

Cody shook his head in disbelief, uttering the words, " I don't know..."

I sunk down to the ground and focused on the terrain around me. The stars sparkled above us, winking as if mocking us, as if we should have known... I should have known. The trees swayed from side to side in their peaceful slumber of the night. Frogs croaked in the distance, calling out to the melody of the story, binding the threads of the words on a page and forming the imagination of the reader to see what I saw. A face flashed in front of me and I jumped, but it was gone when I tried to look back and see it again. I followed feet to the top of the body which they belonged and Cody stood above me. I stood up.

"We should keep walking. I think it's a part of the story," he said. I nodded and noticed my hand was tightly gripping his, as though for reassurance. I let go and we walked in the darkness, winding around trees and hopping over roots until we saw the moons twin dancing in the black water of the lake we had first come to when we arrived. We both walked to the edge and Cody took off his shoes, placing his feet in the water and kicking until the water bubbled. I sat and splashed handfuls of water in my face until I calmed down. I would get through this I know I would. I looked to the bubbles Cody was making with his feet and narrowed my eyes, as though my vision would dilate like a microscope. It doesn't look like Cody is making those. Suddenly a bubble popped in front of me and before I could bring my hands out of the water, a force pushed me in, the black water swallowing me whole...