1001 Cranes | ✔

Step Nine

Nothing happened once the one thousandth crane came to be.

     However, something did a few days after.

     While arranging his ultimate fleets of paper cranes, Stephen picks up a particular one from a bunch aligned in rows.

     He doesn't remember folding this one. The crane he holds hostage is adorned with words, not stars or polka dots like the others. After inspecting it, he unravels the crane to read the words.

     Time freezes.

     It's a letter in the form of a crane. A letter from Alice. She was here. She was here - she was in the room. Stephen clutches the letter tight, as if it would suddenly sprout out wings and fly away.

     The letter reads:

     Dear Stephen,

     In order to make up for my inexplicable absence, I have a lot of explaining to do. Read carefully. This is a lot to take in.

     I've lied to you. I've lied to you, and I've been lying to you for years and it's hurt to lie for so long. The truth is, there is no such thing as eternal magic. Magic is not an infinite substance, it expires quickly. It has limitations and time is a big one. Not many priests know how to use magic, but for those that do know (like me), it's only a matter of time before a spell dies off. That restraint spell I had cast on you during our first meeting only lasted a week. It wasn't any longer than that.

     All this time, you could've killed me. You could've walked out and never looked back. And there's a reason for why I did this, for why I deceived you into believing that my spell was immortal since the beginning.

     I did it because I wanted to prove that demons can befriend humans, and the same can apply when the positions are reversed. I wanted to prove that you are not just a soul-sucking leech who's doomed to haunt and slaughter for as long as you live. You have the potential to be so much more than that. I wanted to prove that the world is not divided by demons and humans like everyone thinks. The lines are so blurred and no one knows that. No one gets that except us.

     I know I'm stating the obvious when I say this, but it's against the law for one to associate with a demon. If anyone were to break this law, they will be tossed behind bars for life. That's why I've always had you wear cloaks and robes whenever you needed to go out in public. I've tried so hard to be careful with not letting your identity leak, but some time before my disappearance someone managed to figure out the truth. It's just my luck that they happened to be an officer of the law. 

     And they're still chasing me. 

     I couldn't get you involved, I couldn't burden you with this, so I had to leave before the circumstances worsened. As of right now, I am wanted as a fugitive. I am registered as an official criminal.

     I understand if you never want to speak or see me again. I've deceived you. I've tricked you. I've become a criminal living a life on the run. Things have been rough. It hurts, it must hurt. No one is stopping you if you want to quit everything now. No one is stopping you from going back to the old lifestyle you had before meeting me.

     I left this letter in your room before the sun could rise. I will be leaving town once the sun sets.

     Goodbye, Stephen.

     - Yours Truly, Alice Heartlock

     The letter trembles in his hands. All this time, everything could've been different. Everything could've stayed the same. He could've returned to being the bloodthirsty killer that struck fear in the hearts of innocents.

     But does he want that life back?

     Stephen crumbles the letter up in his fist. With ferocious vigor, he shreds the paper into snow-like confetti before storming off.

     He's made his decision.