Chapter 54: Reached Out

Nothing. She wouldn’t even look at him. Will inched forward cautiously until he finally stood in front of her. “Hey,” he probed, still without a reaction.

She has retreated too far into herself. He squatted down in front of her. His eyes searched hers but she simply stared into blankness. “Let’s burn the place down,” he tried. Still, nothing. “Once we escape, everything will be fine,” he tried again, raking his mind to dig out all the things they used to talk about back in the days when he’d find her retreating into herself.

He almost sighed. Almost. He held it in. The last thing she needed was the perception that he was not supportive of her, annoyed by her much needed time to recover. Patiently, he sat beside her. His hand moved to the top of her head and patted. She made no move to pull away. His heart ached at the sight. ‘You should have pulled away and snapped at me, like how you did back in the days.’

Instead of saying that, he smiled. “Never thought you’d be so obedient now,” he started, not caring if she’d react to him. He knew she could hear him and he would try to reach out to her no matter what.

“Remember the time when they hit you for the supposedly ‘theft’?” He made a gesture of the air quote when he said the word theft. “You hid in the store room after that. Exactly like this,” he smiled at the thought of seeing her. Back in the days, he was basically forced into doing things he hated. Spending time with her was the only thing that kept him going.

“You were crying. Tears and snots. Remember what you told me when I went near you?” He paused. He was hoping for a reaction but there was still nothing. ‘I have to be strong, for her,’ he encouraged silently. Then, he pushed himself to continue.

“Go away!” He tried to mimic her, deliberately making his voice high pitched and tear-laced. He laughed. He wasn’t sure how to position the laugh. He might be laughing at her, or at himself for the bad performance.

He laughed and laughed. Then, his laugh faded out as he felt hope draining out of him. The laugh sounded forced. ‘Try again,’ he told himself.

“And do you remember the time..” he raked his mind but found nothing. ‘Pathetic. I can’t even find a good memory.’ He scanned her face with his eyes, as if searching for clues. ‘How’d she survive?’ The thought made his heart twist a little more.

“Just.. just forget about the past,” he said, a bit dejected. He peeked at her from the corner of his eyes. The silence was deafening. He sat there saying nothing for the next few minutes.

“You used to cry a lot,” he said suddenly, breaking the silence. “I see that you don’t cry anymore,” he added, “but I hope you will cry again. Let it all out. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself, you know.”

He felt tension leaving him. He leaned back against the wall beside her. His eyes were fixed at the wall opposite him. The words flowed out of him, sincere and natural. “I hope to meet you under better circumstances. Maybe at the bar I worked at, catching up over a martini. I want to hear your story. I want to know how you’re doing and if you were finally happy after leaving this shit hole. We can talk about plans and laugh over some bad jokes I’d make,” there’s a hint of smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he pictured the scene.

He turned to look at her. “I want to hear your voice again. I want to hear your story. I want to hear it all,” he talked right into her soul. His eyes focused on her, not bothering with the one-way communication.

Then, it happened. He saw it happen. Her eyes met his. She didn’t move anything else, only her eyes. But that was more than enough for him. Never in his life he felt so happy. Emotions welled up in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole. A tear rolled down his left cheek, followed by another tear tickling down from his right eye onto his thigh. “Welcome back,” he tried to steady his voice.

Her eyes remained on him. She acknowledged him but neither had the motivation nor the energy to move or react. She simply sat there, looking at him emotionlessly.

He leaned in slowly, extending his arms for a hug. She didn’t react. She didn’t flinch. That was a good sign. He maintained the pace of his movement, giving her time to react. Then, he enveloped her in an embrace.

“I’ve missed you,” he choked. He held her despite the awkward position. They didn’t move for a long time, simply enjoyed each other’s company in silence.

Zalen stood by the door. His shoulders relaxed a little. He continued on his journey to the office. His steps were steady and unhurried. His body felt lighter. There’s still warmth left in this world. It gave him hope.

In front of the office, he knocked on the door with his usual stoic expression. “Come in,” Chad called out from the inside. The moment he opened the door, he was greeted with the same scene Jack saw earlier in the day.

Chad sat at the head of the table with Hank to his right, facing the door. Nelly sat opposite him with her back to the door. She turned to look when he came in. He nodded at them, keeping his expression carefully neutral, quite opposite from the dramatic entrance Jack gave them that morning.

“You’re late,” Chad greeted nonchalantly. It wasn’t a reprimand. It’s a greeting they both developed over the years of working together. “Traffic,” he replied with a straight face as he plopped down on the chair beside Nelly. “What were you discussing?”