Chemical Poison . Howard Stark

Chapter 31

Is it tragedy or comedy that sheds the most tears? Was it the brutal murder of first love or the mocking of a constant love? Perhaps it was the ending in an unhappy marriage that gave the most gasps. Or the sudden climax of danger within a time of civil unrest.

It was both the poison and the cure; unable to differentiate from the other. Both like the other - that perhaps, poison and cure; comedy and tragedy, are and always will be the same.

No wonder the most compelling and greatest comedies in literature also ended in the most tragic ways imaginable, that the stories which are meant to  invoke glee would end with sorrow. That the tragedies are not really tragedies, but retellings of the cruelty of society and all that surrounds it.

This story is neither a tragedy or a comedy, it is something of the same.

Had Anneliese attended a university - specifically had taken a Shakespearean course, she would have known the name. But at las, she did not even attend.

One may question, if this ignorance of the arts - that embody the past, present and future so poetically - would one day appear in all the forms she loathed the most.

Unfortunately, time was about to tell that story...

... and time wasn't a luxury for those who held onto the past.

Within what would often be called a dark and dangerous time, Anneliese only feared death on a few occasions. Able to count on her fingers all the times she begun praying for a quick death - knowing it would only be brought upon a slow painful end.

Alas Anneliese didn't fear death often, only the possibility that her death was certain.

She didn't expect to add to that tally as the plane begun its descent into London. Shaking, rolling and lights flickering. She didn't dare look outside the window, knowing the only sight would make her face grow even whiter. So, she begun praying.

Religion used to be a big part of who she was, but that was stripped from her. Hope for better days was also taken... and then there was the prayers towards science. Pushing all her faith that Howard and Alexander - supposed experts in flying a plane - would find a way to not crash the plane.

She was wrong.

They found the whole scenario amusing.

As she huddled herself into the seat, holding onto the straps for her dear life. She couldn't block out the noise of their laughter and boasting. Her eyes snapped open when Howard dared Alexander to do a flip.

That was when she added to her count.

Peaking through the open window, her eyes grew large as she noticed just how close they were to the ground... and Howard had just dared Alexander to do a flip.

"Come'on Grey, too afraid?"

The scoff echoed across the insides of the plane. Bouncing from the metal interior and the large stock of alcoholic beverages that both boys must've drunk their way through. A new thought appeared; a scarier one.

The slurring in Alexander's voice confirmed her worst fears: "Errr- aren't we a... a bit close?"

For what was the hundredth time, Anneliese regretted trusting the two to fly her to London... but she regretted falling asleep until now even more. Without her knowledge, the two has begun a drinking game - cans and cups of alcohol scattered across the floor.

The entire cabin reeked of alcohol - vodka specifically. Following the trail of cans on the floor... she watched in horror as both boys were still drinking.