Tandem

Raechel Harchey

She opened her eyes to a beautiful scene. It was peaceful, with only the rustling of the trees overhead and the chirping of birds as they sat content on their branches, surveying whatever lay below. The stream trickled along beside her, and the fish darted in and out of the reeds that billowed with the rhythmic lapping of the war against the bank. It was like nowhere she had ever seen before. Raechel felt the overwhelming urge to inhale the wholesome air and fill her lungs with the pureness that surrounded her with great gulps.

The pain had subsided and Raechel had all but forgotten the crippling sensation that consumed her as she collapsed, bewildered and exhausted, onto the floor of her Nook. It was as though this very environment had relieved her of all the terror and agony and could only be healing the mental scars she carried from the procedure, somebody else's scars.

She focused on the ground that lay before her, discarded vegetation and twigs shed from mighty trees above, concealed the surface beneath. Raechel was careful to tread lightly to not disturb the stillness.

The snapping of twigs underfoot seemed to pollute the soft sounds of nature and for a moment she couldn't understand how her careful

footsteps were making such violent cracks. She stopped in her tracks, but the footsteps continued, they began to quicken, and she was sure that they were coming from behind her in the woods. Raechel spun to catch her pursuer but there was nobody there. She peered through the trees to her left, it was definitely coming from that direction, but she could see nobody, not even an animal. She kept her eyes fixed towards the forest with the stream behind her and frantically threw her eyes across the band of woodland, searching for anything that could explain the rapid footsteps charging towards her, heavy and certain. She was desperate to flee but her feet stayed rooted to the ground as though they were fastened with leather buckles. And it was then that she saw him. He had stopped running now and instead opted for more dignified and calculated steps that appeared to have a rhythmic sequence of their own, mocking the natural rhythm of the stream behind her. When he decided that he was close enough he stopped and stared coldly back at her. His eyes were empty and void and Raechel felt compelled to look away. This man was somebody she had never encountered before but his stare was filled with hatred and resentment as though they were old enemies.

To her dismay she began to smile, it was as though she was no longer in control of her own body because she knew that she felt anything other than smiling at that moment. Her brain screamed at her limbs to take her away from this man but all she could do was grin back at him.

He did not return the gesture. Instead, he pulled something out from his pocket, never breaking eye contact with Raechel.

"Bertie." She whispered in disbelief. Where this name had come from Raechel wasn't sure, but she was certain that it belonged to the person before her, the person clutching a piece of paper in his left hand.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. But Bertie did not respond, he simply raised the piece of paper, which Raechel noticed contained a long letter to its recipient, above his head as though he were about to strike her. His arm came down hard upon her cheek with such force that she found her head spinning ninety degrees to the right. It felt as though it was close to snapping clean off.

"Why did you send me this?" He growled through gritted teeth, gesturing to the letter that was now practically crushed in his hand.

"Bertie I...I..." Raechel couldn't get the words out into the open. She stuttered clumsily. She could feel her stomach flipping inside her.

"I told you never to send me things. You promised me that you wouldn't do this. You gave me your word." He hissed.

"I never sent it I promise. I did write to you Bertie but I never sent it. How could I send it when I don't know where you're staying? That

letter stayed at home, it never passed the door. I made you a promise and I swear I didn't break it." Raechel felt herself reaching out towards him but he threw her hand away. The force of his action flung Raechel off-balance and before she could catch herself, she felt her body crumple to the ground, her head slamming against what she could only have guessed to be a rock on the edge of the stream bank.

"You shouldn't lie Arina, lying is wrong. It's even worse when you lie to someone you love." He said through gritted teeth.

"Bertie, get help please." Raechel heard herself mumble, her vision blurring with each breath. Blood began streaming from her nose, covering her lips and slithering down her neck.

"You will never send me things again Arina." He seethed. Through her blackened sight, Raechel was just able to distinguish the image of Bertie clutching what appeared to be a stone, its shape imperfect with perforations and jagged edges. She couldn't help herself from likening it to the shape of her skull as she lay helplessly on the rock awaiting whatever hell was to follow. The cold stone on her face made a sickening crunch as it greeted her cheekbone. At first, she felt nothing. It was as though the world had taken pity on her and allowed her to feel numb to the violence and horror she was to endure. It was then that the darkness swallowed all the light from her eyes and the world

became silent as the blood that had once coursed through her veins became still and her lungs exhaled for the very last time.