Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 90-

Day: 121

Days Left: 5359

Lives Saved: 0

"So, then Anna, you know my sister-law? Married to Richard Junior? Well, she..." Corinna struggled to breathe through her giggles, remembering the rest of the story. "Well, she then tried to-"

"Pass the hammer." Rin reached out her hand, waiting without even looking away from her work.

"Ah, right. Sorry!" Corinna handed the young woman the hammer, then continued her babbling. "Anyway, Anna, she-"

"Am I doing this correctly?" asked Rin.

"Yeah, yeah." Corinna patted Rin on the back. "It's perfect. Good job!" She bit her lip, hoping that didn't sound patronising. "Sorry, just so used to having my niece helping me out whenever I did any projects-"

"Don't worry about it."

Corinna pursed her lips, hearing the flatness and disinterest in Rin's voice. The urge to continue her funny anecdote lingered on the tip of her tongue, but she pushed it back, sensing that her audience was not being receptive. Ever since her encounter with Jessica, Corinna couldn't stop thinking about her family. Her memories, whilst the majority still there, was slowly being emptied. She shuddered at the idea of not remembering any of them, to become a blank slate like Jessica and Harmony with no precious memories to hold onto. With that fear cemented inside of her, every chance she got, Corinna would spew out more stories about her family to whoever would listen in the hope that the more she told them, the longer those memories would stay in her mind. She had become so distracted by this that Rin had completed the majority of the work on the new rainwater collection method whilst Corinna had rambled on about her cousin's wedding.

"And that's when Henry- have I told you about Henry yet?" Corinna swallowed, soothing her throat with built-up saliva. She could no longer remember what stories she had told Rin already. With little thought, she would run on auto-pilot, and the words spewed out of her, regurgitating her memories in breathless rants. "You know this reminds me of-"

"Your family?"

"Yeah, I-" Corinna paused, hearing a slight waver in Rin's usual monotonous voice. "Rin? Are you-"

"You talk about them quite a lot." There was something venomous in tone as if she was holding back from shouting. Rin stayed facing away from Corinna, only her cowering back visible. "Are you not capable of talking about anything else?"

"Rin... sorry...I-" Corinna stepped closer and saw that Rin was wearing her mask, the black ink shifting into spiked and jagged words. She wondered for how longer Rin had been wearing her mask unnoticed. "I just don't want to forget them. Talking about them helps-"

"Then talk about them to someone who cares." Rin stood up, sniffing. "Because I'm already sick of it." The young woman left Corinna alone, returning back to inside the warehouse.

Corinna scratched the back of her neck, still taking in what had just happened. Had she really been talking about her family that much? Recalling back the entire conversation, she realised very quickly that the answer was 'yes'. Corinna had not talked about anything but her family. At the very least she could have asked Rin about hers and involve her but no. All she did was recite the passages from her notebook. 

Some of the memories she no longer possessed, the feelings and emotions had disappeared when she reread them. They were just words now of events that she could remember. It was like reading someone else's biography. Corinna knew that she needed to hold onto those last memories, but with the realisation that her stories were becoming an annoyance, hesitation had settled in her mind. She had probably been boring Harmony too. Perhaps that was why Harmony hung around at the Land of the Lost instead of joining Corinna at Ivette's. Maybe she had gotten sick of hearing about her family too.

With that feeling of doubt embedded in her mind, Corinna continued improving the rainwater collection system by herself. Rin never returned back. Corinna almost went to look for her but knew from experience that sometimes space and alone time was a better remedy rather than the possibility of continuing the conflict by attempting to talk it out.

After finishing as much of the project she could for the day, Corinna went back inside to collect her belongings. There was no sign of Rin.

"Oh, is it that time already?" asked Ivette, looking up from writing in the record book of the shop inventory. "Are you sure you'll be safe out there by yourself? Why doesn't Harmony pick you up anymore?"

Corinna forced a smile. "Oh, no, it's alright. We meet up together at the Land of the Lost. You know how she is, losing track of time so easily."

Ivette frowned with a look of concern. "Sumit and Rin could at very least walk you that far. It's too dangerous for someone without a mask to be alone, even if this area is barely occupied."

"No, no," Corinna insisted. "I'll be fine, thank you." She put on her helmet. "See? I'll be totally safe. Anyway, it's a short walk and I've done it for the past few days and nothing has happened."

Once again, Ivette gave a doubtful look but sighed and gave in. "Okay, dear. Just be careful."

Corinna smiled and made her way to leave, but stopped. "Is... Rin alright?"

"I don't know her very well yet, but Sumit seems certain she will be."

"I should go and apologise-"

"He also said that it would be best to give her some space. Whatever happened between you two, my dear, I'm sure will cool down by tomorrow for you to talk properly."

"Right, thank you." Corinna made one last farewell then headed outside to the Land of the Lost.

Apologies for the late update. Been busy due to work. 

Thank you for all your patience and support.