Glitch (The Write Awards 2013 Winner)

Glitch - Chapter 29

A box had inexplicably taken up her usual resting place by the window. Freya paused in the centre of the room and observed the change with a tip of her head in confusion. It was a nondescript thing. Plain cardboard, unmarked, unopened.

“Did you put this box here?” she called to Alexa who was pottering around in the kitchen behind her.

“Yeah.” Freya waited a few moments to be given further explanation, but it was evident that Alexa was busy with something else judging by the clattering of kitchen utensils and the rattle of drawers being pulled open and shut.

“What is it?

“Didn’t you hear? They disbanded the Convents a few days ago. All inmates were released. Those are the belongings you left behind. This is what happens when you barricade yourself in this flat. You miss out.” Ignoring her friend’s well meaning advice Freya proceeded towards the box and carefully unfolded the flaps. The first item to come into view was a cream jumper; folded with care. She slipped her hands underneath the delicate material and gently lifted it into the air. She had recognised it from the moment she opened the box. It just felt necessary to confirm before leaping to conclusions. Her fingers curled into the soft material of the jumper as she tightened her grip by instinct.

“These aren’t my things…” Freya wanted to keep her tone without change. But it was an impossible task and her meek mummer was immediately infiltrated by a tremble as the emotion caught in her throat and dipped the rest of her words in undeniable melancholy.

“The Guardians said to make sure you got it.” Alexa replied; still too engaged in her culinary occupation to fully notice the change in Freya’s tone.

“I can’t believe they did that.” The murmur cut with disbelieving disappointment. They were still playing with the same morally dubious tricks. They had given her this box in the hope it would break her so that she would agree to their ridiculous demands. This wasn’t accidental. They had done this on purpose. She gazed down at Wren’s belongings as the tears battled against her will and formed escape routes down her cheeks.

“What?” Alexa had finally noticed the change in her behaviour and stuck her head around the door with a frown of concern bunching across her forehead.

“Nothing.” Freya replied as she scrubbed away at the tears. She didn’t want to explain Wren. It was difficult enough as it was to accept what had happened without vocalising it. She didn’t trust herself to make it through an explanation and therefore she bundled the description deep into her mind with a determined sniff to clear her system of the outward indication of her inner turmoil.

The box didn’t contain anything of much worth. Only sentimental value. A few clothes, the daisies she had kept on the bed side table and some perfume. Freya carefully cradled the familiar bottle in her hand and sprayed a few droplets into the air. The scent immediately hit into her biggest resource of grief; sending her physically lurching forward with the sudden impulse to cry. By association the scent alone brought back vividly clear memories of things Freya had not heard or seen in a very long time. The melodic ringing of her chuckle, the luminosity of her smile, the sense of companionship and support provided by her mere presence. It had never been easy to accept that it was gone. That her time had ended with so little warning and so abruptly.

Holding the cold, lifeless items without an owner in her hands only made it clearer to Freya. Wren was dead. She was still at the stage where she had to remind herself of the fact. It still didn’t seem real. And every time she was forced to convince herself of it the grief stung with the same force as it had done that night. Her hands were now shaking with the struggle to hold back the tears. Freya buried her face into her arm and took in several sharp breaths to swipe away at the strengthening desire to give in to the wave of emotion. Eventually she located the composure to continue searching through the items.