At a Price

I. Shattered Glass

Bryan Stevenson

I woke up with a cold sweat. Looking out the window, I'd say it's about 5:30 in the morning. I think it's way too early for me to be up, but horrid dreams say otherwise. I've woken up like this for the past week, and I hate it, but I can't do anything about it. Unless you talk to Thalia about it...

No. Even if I did talk to Thalia about how she shouldn't let people's hearts break, she'll never listen to me. Though I guess it wouldn't hurt to try...

Sighing, I stand up out of bed. Ew, why is it so stuffy in here? When I realize how humid my house is, I decide to go outside. Might as well get the day started, right? I almost jump back at how cold the doorknob is. Jeez! Why's that so cold? It's about 27 degrees in here? Once I recover from the shock, I turn the doorknob and open the door.

A cool breeze hits my face, making me smile. The sun is peeking its way above the treeline, turning the sky the prettiest shade of blue that I have ever seen. I close the door and close my eyes. I breathe in a sigh of content, the smile still plastered on my face. I love nature. It's so peaceful, and for some reason that peace has always calmed me. There's no lights to blind you, no noise to distract you. Nature's just so... calm, so quiet. Well, it's peaceful until someone giggles to break the silence.

My eyes snap open as I hear a familiar voice say "I see you haven't changed at all."
"And you're still sneaking up on me, obviously," I reply. The girl's face turns a light shade of pink as she looks at the ground. After a few moments of awkward silence, I continue. "I thought you forgot about me."

"Never," she replies, her eyes travelling up to meet mine.

"So, Thalia, why are you here," I question.

"You called me. I thought it only polite to check in," the girl answers.

"I've called you many times before, but you never came. Why now answer me when-" I never got to finish.

"Bryan, I don't answer you because I know what you're going to ask. You want me to stop letting heartbreaks happen. I'm sorry, but I just can't. Heartbreak has to happen in this world. Please just try to understand Bry-"

Following Thalia's example, I cut her off. "No, Thalia, I have tried to understand. The only understanding I've come to is that I can't understand. Not only does heartbreak hurt people, but it also hurts the planet, and you know what? It hurts me that all this happens. You have the power to stop it, why don't you?" My questions visibly perplex the girl, her eyebrows knitting in frustration.

"Bryan, you and I both know that I have to do this. Heartbreak helps the world go around."

"Yeah, and it helps the world break down. What's going to happen when people start to notice, Thalia? How are you going to explain this to them? Huh," I press her.
"I-I don't know, but that hasn't happened yet. Nobody has caught on except you and-"

"Thalia, you told me about it. You let me carry this burden because it was too much for you on your own, and I'm totally okay with. What I'm not okay with is the fact that you're letting yourself stop caring about it because I'm doing the worrying for you. I can't handle that."

"I do care about my responsibility, Bryan. The only difference is that I understand how absolutely necessary it is. You know, you talk a big game about how people will notice that the earth breaks, but look around you! Not everyone cares about this planet like you do! These people that you're trying to 'save' are the same people that throw their trash around on the streets because it's convenient for them. Do you really think they're going to notice the little things like this? I doubt it. You know what people are sure to notice? When suddenly, heartbreaks stop. When they fall in love and there are no ups and downs, only happiness. People have grown to be used to this type of society. I can't just change that because of you," the girl shouts at me. Her pale face is turning red again, though this time, it's in anger.

I decide to keep my cool for once. "If they've grown accustomed to heartbreak, surely they can adapt without heartbreak," I reply calmly. The girl closes her eyes and clenches her fists.
     "Do not challenge me," she warns. A cool wind blows around us, and the fallen leaves seem to swirl around her feet.
     "I'm not afraid of you," I lie. I'm definitely afraid of this. She scoffs, turning away from me, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like the words 'you're impossible.'

"Don't you think that I hate this even more than you do? I hate it so much. It's so hard to watch these people go through everything, knowing that I let that happen. I can't do anything about it, either. Why can't you just support me. Tell me it's okay, let me cry, tell me that I'm not the worst person ever? Please." Thalia begs me. About halfway through, her voice broke. I didn't have to see her face to know that she was crying.

I walked over to her to wrap my arms around her in an awkward sort of hug. That's not normally what I would do, but it felt like what I needed to do. She hugged me back, and I could feel her tears staining my shirt. We stayed there for a moment before I finally got my thoughts together enough that I decided to speak.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Thalia. I didn't know. I just... don't understand. If you hate it so much, why do you let heartbreak happen," I ask. Thalia pushed herself away from me, looking betrayed.

Wiping her tears away from her face with the heel of her hand, she replied "no, of course you understand! How could you? You still think I'm this-this horrible person. I can't stop this because it's my responsibility. I can't just abandon it! You know, not all of us can run from our problems like you did, Bryan." She missed that last part, spitting my name like it was venom.

"I didn't run away. I chose to take on other responsibilities that would actually make me happy for a change! Instead of being your babysitter, I moved up here so I could spend my time watching over something I care about. Maybe you should do the same. Choose to stop heartbreaks, and help people be happy again, instead. Maybe then you'd be happy, too, if you made the choice to stop this" I shot back. From the look she gave me, I knew I'd messed up.

"I'm sorry, Thalia, I don't know what came over me."

Thalia held up her hand. "Stop. You know, I came here to get some answers. Looks like I got them," Thalia says, backing away from me.
"Thalia, wait, I-" Thalia turned around and ran away before I could finish. Great. I just blew any chances of her actually stopping this. Out of frustration, I kick a rock. The rock bounces across the woods before stopping. The silence takes over once more. Walking back inside, I sit on my bed, putting my head in my hands and closing my eyes.

Once again, all is still.