Tartarus Thief | ONC 2021 [ROUND 2 WINNER]

Chapter 4

June 5th, 1973

Barny and I moved in together.

We've spent all week driving back and forth between our parents' houses, the hardware store and our new home. Today, we finally brought the big things over; the table, chairs, wardrobe and the bed.

We've been sitting on the sofa in front of the unplugged telly all afternoon. He'll have to fix that tomorrow. But for today, we're fine just sitting there, my head on his shoulder, his hand on my leg, admiring our new home.

Our new home. Mine and Barny's. I can't even describe how good that feels. Knowing that we'll hold each other every night, wake up together every morning. Knowing that when I come home, he'll be there. Knowing that we're going to be spending the rest of our lives –

Vita turned the page with such force it almost ripped. She pressed the pillow harder against her chest, lips pulled into a thin line. The rest of our lives, rubbish. How could she have been so naïve?

She flipped through the diary, until her eyes landed on the word love.

May 19th, 1969

Leo says I'm in love. Am I?

Barny and I went for a picnic today. He picked me up in his old Ford-something, made a stupid joke that broke the ice with my parents (Henry and Catherine – remember them, they've been good to me since the day they adopted me) and helped me into the car like a proper gentleman.

He found us a spot on the hill, where we had a beautiful view of both the town and the neighbouring forest. We sat there talking for hours, about... I don't even know. Pointless things. Random things. It didn't matter.

He took my hand after we finished the sandwiches. The sun was starting to set, colouring the whole world orange and red. It was beautiful. It lit up the spark in his eyes.

I think Leo is right; I am in love. I'll never forget –

Something stabbed in Vita's heart like a dagger at the three little words. I'll never forget. Except I did, she thought. Although she knew this story by heart from the amount of times she'd read her diary, she couldn't actually remember it. She didn't remember the feeling of his hand on hers, or the smile on his face, or the sound of his chuckle as they laughed over stupid things.

It was all gone. Even her diaries couldn't keep it alive, not really.

She turned some more pages. Her fingers worked automatically while her heart begged them to stop. If only Eucleia had agreed to help her. If only...

February 7th, 1969

I met someone today, in the library. I don't know if this'll turn out important, but I'll write it down just in case.

The library was packed. It always is during exam-week. The only spot I could find was at a table in the back, occupied by a single boy.

He looked up when I approached, smiling to show a set of slightly crooked teeth and dimples in his cheeks. He immediately agreed with me sitting down at his table, even moving some of his books to make space for me. They were on finance and accountancy.

We studied in silence for an hour or so, before he suddenly walked away. I looked after him, wondering if I'd done something wrong, when I noticed his books were still on the table.

He came back with coffee. "Figured we could both use some," he said. We had a short break to chat about our courses and complain about the teachers. He introduced himself as Barnabas Fletcher.