Silent Retribution

5. Metanoia

Metanoia: "the journey of changing one's mind, heart, self or way of life; spiritual coversion."

Jae was abruptly awoken from her sleep, her heart racing from the terrifying dream she had just experienced. She sat up, gasping for air, her hands clutching her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her hands moved up to cover her face. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. She looked around the dark hospital room, taking in the familiar surroundings. Slowly, she began to relax, the fear of the dream fading away. Wiping her tears away, she glanced over at Charlotte, who was still sleeping.

"Stupid dream." She muttered as the memory of it came flooding back. She remembered the gun pointed at her, its muzzle so close to her face that she could almost feel it. With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes, hoping to get a few more hours of rest before she had to get up.

-

Jae was in her office, going through paperwork, while Charlotte assisted her with what she needed to authorize as an uncomfortable silence filled the room. It's been like this for a month, Jae couldn't help but notice that Charlotte had been behaving differently since she was in the hospital. She had been more distant, often avoiding contact with her unless it was about paperwork and giving brief answers when they did talk.

Jae got the feeling that there was something wrong and she needed to find out what it was

-

Jae leaned on her crutch as she approached Charlotte's bedroom door. She had been gone for quite some time now, and Jae had the opportunity to go inside. She felt a little uneasy about snooping in her room, but her curiosity got the better of her. Jae sighed heavily. Walking in, she glanced around and smiled to herself. Her room was still the same as when they were teenagers. Her walls were still light blue, and her white cloud rug was still in front of her bed. Her collection of plushies scattered across her bed. Jae shut the door behind her as she stepped inside the room.

Walking over, she sat down on the bed, searching for her diary. She was sure it was here somewhere, but she couldn't quite remember where. She checked the bedside table, then peered underneath the bed, shifting the pillows aside. Suddenly, something hard knocked against the floor. She looked down and saw a journal lying there.

"Oh wow, I remember this." Jae picked it up. It was the story that Charlotte was telling her about.

"I wonder how far she got." Carefully, she opened the book and began to turn the pages until she reached the last one. When she looked at the date written on it, she realized it was the same date that Jin-sun had passed away. As she skimmed it, she realized that it was actually Charlotte's diary. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, her heart racing as her eyes widened. Her hands trembled as she quickly flipped back to the beginning of the journal, noticing the date marked two years ago. Her mom's name came up as she turned the pages. Page after the page, Jae kept seeing Simone's name pop up.

She had been reading for ten minutes, and now the journal was closed and placed beside her. Her thoughts were a chaotic swirl, and her hands shook with anger as she clenched them together. She no longer cared if Charlotte discovered her. In fact, she wanted her to. Charlotte acting differently makes sense now and what she said that night in the hospital.

-

Charlotte approached her bedroom door and then noticed Jae-in's scent. With a smile, she opened the door and closed it behind her. Jae-in was sitting on her bed, the crutch propped up a couple feet away from her.

"Jae-in, if you wanted to see me, you could've just stopped by the -" Her eyes shifted over seeing the journal she hadn't written in for seven months next to Jae. She suddenly went pale, her eyes quickly darting over to Jae. She quickly snatched the journal away, clutching it against her chest.