Their Villain, My Hero

The journal

It's been 2 weeks since Joseph reunited us. Thenceforth, I am grateful for every day I live, for every second I am with Chris. Tanya's house was and still is a safe place for us. I had time to recover and be able to start walking again. Although it was hard at first, with a drop of hope and effort, I regained my ability to move. The bodily wound and also the one in the soul healed with time, leaving scars behind them. I still have nightmares about the night in the woods; they became something common for me, but waking up, realizing Chris is in the same house as me, knowing he's there to protect me, nullifies any kind of fear. To be honest, I don't know what I would do without him. He is the rope that holds me high in the air. These days I've been with him were the most beautiful period of my life, even though we are still just friends. That kiss didn't change anything between us. It only was our way of greeting and feeling each other after seeing that we both live, that we didn't lose each other that night.

Today is March 4th, a beautiful spring morning. Chris and Joseph had gone into the forest to get firewood before I woke up, so I'm left alone with Tanya. Feeling a divine smell, I enter the kitchen to see what is going on.

"Mrs. Burkov? What are you cooking at 8 A.M.?" I ask in a warm, sleepy voice, laughing weakly.

She is so caught up in her work that she doesn't even look at me. I can see a smile on her face though. Ultimately, Tanya responds:

"I understood from Chris that you told him you love berries so tonight we're going to serve a berry cream tart at dinner."

Those words fill my heart with joy, but I don't want her to waste her morning in order to make me happy.

"Mrs. Burkov, I can't express how much this means to me, but I don't want you to get tired because of me. You need to rest!"

"Laura, you've been through a lot lately... Don't you think you deserve a little pampering from others?"

She stops for a second, this time turning her gaze to me. She takes my palms in her flour-covered hands, looking into my eyes.

"My dear, if I have decided that I want to do this for you, then I'm doing it with pleasure! You deserve more than you think! Learn to let people be there for you, will you?"

I gently squeeze her hands. Her skin is so thin and frail. I realize she is right.

"Thank you... for everything!" I say, my smile growing on my lips.

"You have nothing to thank me for! Now go and enjoy your day, this tart won't be made on its own!"

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you?"

She laughs, resuming her work.

"No. I don't want you to see the result until tonight."

Smiling, I nod and head upstairs. My favourite place in the whole house is the attic. There is a library with many books of all kinds. After spending 4 years in a Russian prison, reading becomes a luxury for you. It helps me relax my mind, knowing that I can travel to millions of parallel worlds and leave my body be the anchor to reality. While I'm looking for my novel to continue reading, I realize that I have left it in my room. Sighing, I start making my way to the stairs when a board under my foot cracks quite loudly and my leg passes through it. My heart shrinks. I lose my balance but I don't fall. The hole is not deep though and I can feel a flat object at the bottom of it, among the wood fragments. Carefully, I get up and take the flashlight from the table. Curiosity blossoms in me. Just by looking at the gap, a shiver runs through my spine.

The darkness is broken by my light. Inside of it is a black leather notebook, tied with a string. For a second, I wanted to forget about everything that happened here, but my crave for knowledge doesn't let me. Thus, I take it out and untie the knot. The covers are full of dust. I hesitate for a second, pondering the consequences, but then open it. On the first page is written the following: "Personal Research" and under it I can see Joseph's name. Shock flows through me. In the left corner is a small picture put face down. The impact of the photo on me when I turned it over was huge. An emptiness appears in my chest. It's Chris' face. He looked exactly like the day when I first met him. Sweat was running down his forehead; he was very tired. Traces of the demons of his mind could be seen in his gaze. I stop for a second, closing my eyes and thinking about Joseph's words: "He's unique", but why? I need to find out! "What could be so bad about his past?" I say to myself but deep down, I sense that there is a risk that I will not be able to look at him with the same eyes, but leaving the situation like this will slowly grind me on the inside. I guess that's one of the flaws of people: selfishness.