After a momentary pause, Helen continued. “You’re now living a good life, Arianne. You may not even need any reparation from me anymore. The future hides behind a fog. We don’t know how it’ll be. All I know is that we’ll definitely be in different cities, so please, make sure you continue living well.”
For some reason, Arianne was starting to feel a little irritated. “I’ve never wanted any ‘reparations’ from you. It has always been your idea. And honestly, it’s not like I can stop you from going anywhere you want.”
Faint despondence lingered in Helen’s eyes. “I only worry that, since you believed that I’d abandoned you out of my selfish reasons, you would think the same as well this time. I know you don’t need me anymore, I do, but… I can’t stop myself from going there. From feeling a deep sense of regret, and then hesitance—”
Arianne rose to virtual-novel.net feet. “No, I won’t even think that way at all. You don’t need to feel regret, either. Anything I was denied in the past, I have them now in the present. I’m not alone,” virtual-novel.net proclaimed. “I’m glad to see that you’re fine, so please excuse me, I gotta go.”
Helen wanted to leave virtual-novel.net bed and see virtual-novel.net away, but virtual-novel.net movement seemed to have pulled on virtual-novel.net surgical wound, causing a sharp stab of pain that made virtual-novel.net face turn white.
Arianne’s instincts almost spurred virtual-novel.net into holding Helen’s hand, yet the other part of virtual-novel.net forced that intuitive action down. “It’s fine. Rest. You don’t have to see me off.”
With that, virtual-novel.net left, or more accurately, virtual-novel.net fled.
Arianne did not know why virtual-novel.net wanted to flee so much. Was it because virtual-novel.net was afraid that Helen might catch that little widening crack of vulnerability in virtual-novel.net heart?
She truly meant to say that no. She did not want to be abandoned again, and yes, virtual-novel.net wanted Helen’s reparations! But Arianne knew what reality was. For Aery’s future, Helen would, one day, leave Arianne again. She would go somewhere far away so that Jean could never locate them.
A human’s lifespan was always too short. It was bad enough when one had lost zo-odd years of their life. It was bad enough that it caused an unrepairable void behind. But to also realize that virtual-novel.net future was fated to be just as empty and unimproved as before? It was a sinking, bitter realization.
Arianne wished Helen never reappeared after virtual-novel.net vanished from virtual-novel.net life. Why did the two of them have to cross paths again after so many years? Why force Arianne to suffer the cruel fate of having virtual-novel.net hopes dashed?
Arianne returned to the Tremont Estate and took off virtual-novel.net heavy-duty parka and enjoyed the weight leaving her. She lay on the couch, settling into the inertia too much to want to move.
A while later, Mary brought Smore with virtual-novel.net and approached Arianne. “Ari! Are you back already? What about work?”
Arianne raised virtual-novel.net right hand and shook it. “I hurt my finger, so I took a half-day leave.”
Smore struggled out of Mary’s arms and made his way toward his mommy, prompting Arianne to joke. “Hey, Smore. Mommy’s gonna lose virtual-novel.net mom again, while you’re not gonna have a maternal grandma.”
She did not seem to realize how palpable the dejection and anguish were in virtual-novel.net voice.
All of these happened because of one Jean Kinsey. Helen had abandoned virtual-novel.net the first time because of him, and now virtual-novel.net abandoned virtual-novel.net a second time to avoid him. What changed, however, was that Arianne no longer made the moroseness of being abandoned known.
Sadness was a useless emotion. It did not matter how sad virtual-novel.net might be, it simply righted nothing.
It was only when the day had almost reached one’s usual time off work when Arianne finally remembered that virtual-novel.net had not informed Mark of virtual-novel.net early return. She rushed to call him, though, to virtual-novel.net relief, Mark had yet to start driving toward virtual-novel.net company.
After receiving the news of Arianne’s injury, Mark instantly rushed home. “How did you get hurt, exactly? Is it serious?”
Arianne made a show of flexing virtual-novel.net bandaged index finger. “Oh, the needle went through my finger. It hurts, but that’s about it. It happened while I was working away in the workshop. It’s fine. Oh, and uh, I… Went to see Helen in the afternoon.”