An Intangible Pattern - Fate Bound.

Absurd

Alex waited restlessly in her room that evening. At six o'clock Cat brought her some soup but she could barely stomach a few mouthfuls. She tried to get some sleep but it was impossible to drop off, so she alternated between shifting her body restlessly and glaring at the clock, willing time to speed up.  By 11pm she heard everyone retire to their bedrooms and soft snores from across the hall indicated her mother had already fallen asleep.

At 1 am, Alex gently tiptoed down the stairs and noiselessly let herself out of the front door. She looked up at the stars glittering brightly in the chilly sky and pulled her cardigan tighter around her. Somewhere in the woods, she could hear a female owl calling to her mate “keewick, keewick.” Looking around at the doorstep she found a full biohazard mask and a small set of keys. She sighed in resignation as she slid the mask over her head and adjusted it. 

I'm the one who asked for this meeting.

She thought regretfully. She picked up the keys and looked at them curiously, it seemed as though they had been deliberately left next to the mask so she pocketed them. 

A fox barked sharply causing her to start in surprise, her nerves jarred by the sudden noise. She took a deep breath and started down the slope to the moon door, stifling the urge to scream as she scanned the shadows along the winding path. At the bottom of the garden, where Cat had blessedly strung solar lights, she saw Noah sitting at the cast iron picnic table. He was wearing a mask, like her own, which gave him a somewhat alien appearance. Upon catching sight of her he raised a hand slightly and she observed the glitter of metal at his wrist, where a chain extended to the table. Now she understood the purpose of the key. 

She moved into the light but did not sit at the table with him, instead she sat out of reach on the wall of a raised flower bed and crossed her legs.

“This is absurd.” she said, her voice muffled by the mask.

“I know, but so far it's the only foolproof solution I've found. How are you?” He asked.

She was silent for a moment while she fought the urge to burst into tears. Eventually she said, “Have you seen the news?”

He nodded.

“He died,” she trembled, hugging herself tightly.

“You didn't kill him.” He said urgently.

“What?” She choked.

“You didn't. Not everything was reported in the news, he got caught in his own anchor and drowned.”

“How do you know?” she said breathlessly.

“It's all anyone has been talking about. My friend heard it from someone who's daughter works for the coast guard. He got tangled in his own lines.”

She heaved a sigh, but looked down at her feet. Remorsefully, she asked, “And would he have made that mistake if he hadn't been stabbed?”

Noah was silent for a moment and then answered, “You don't know that he wouldn't.”

“Spare me,” she replied bitterly.

“It isn't your fault, Alex. He attacked you and you defended yourself. He died because of his actions, not yours.”

“It doesn't change anything. I still feel sick every time I think about it” she sniffed, tears were pooling uncomfortably along the edges of her mask.

“I understand, more than you realize,” he sympathized, his own expression mirroring the anguish she felt.  

She heaved, feeling some of the tension she was carrying ease a little.“Excuse me. I just don't have anyone else I can talk to about this.”