Kaila stared at the stone wall. She moved around, fidgeting. This place, this cold stone-walled dark room. Somehow she had learned to appreciate it. It was cold, but not too cold. And somehow, she couldn’t hold a grudge against Adrian. She was also kind of kicking herself about kissing Adrian, because she did not want any excess feelings. Falling in love with Adrian was not something she wanted to go through again. Kaila closed her eyes, worrying about it all, and slowly fell asleep.
~
Lucida walked over to her “father’s” house, a guard accompanied her. She loved visiting Adrian’s father, who had become Lucida’s father. He had taken her in, not to be a slave, but to be like his own daughter. Now he was old, so she lived with Adrian, but she still visited her father every two weeks. The guard knocked on the door, and Lucida began feeling like a little girl. A servant opened the door, but for some reason she looked sad. “Is everything alright?” Lucida asked. The guard waited outside for Lucida as she walked in the house.
“Afraid not… your father…”
Lucida braced herself.
“…is very, very sick.”
Lucida felt her knees give in. The servant caught her. Lucida gained control of her knees and stood up. Lucida looked at the servant, and then ran to her father’s room.
“Lucida!” The servant called. But Lucida didn’t look back. She kept running, running for all she had. “Father!” She cried as she ran to his room. He laid there, barely breathing. “Father!” Lucida cried as she kneeled down to hug him. He laid there, barely able to move to hold her in his arms. “Luci…” He breathed. He inhaled and exhaled loudly, as he could barely speak. “I… want you to tell Adrian… that I love him… and that… if I’m still alive… I want to see him… aga-”
Lucida just sat there crying as she looked at him. The physician stood there, watching every move. Lucida looked up to him. “Is he, going to make it?”
The physician looked down. “I don’t know, but I don’t think he will.”
Lucida began crying more rapidly. “How… much longer?”
“I think it will only be a few more days.”
Lucida dropped down to the floor. This man, who was like a father to her, whom she loved so much, was going to die. He never had to help her. He saw her on the street, and took pity on her. Maybe it was because she was albino, helpless, and an orphan, but all she knew was that he was the kindest man she knew. Maybe that was why Adrian didn’t visit his father anymore. He wasn’t as kind to people… he enslaved them. Lucida knew his conscious smote him daily because of his father’s kindness. Her father had now fallen in a deep sleep.
“Let’s give him some time to sleep.” The physician said. Lucida slowly walked out. She walked to the door, and walked out. The guard looked at her pale face, which had somehow become paler.
“Lucida?” He asked.
She looked at him, and fell on him, crying. He was shocked and was unsure of what to do, so simply stood there, lightly holding her. When she finally stood back up, she looked at him and tearfully said, “Father… he’s dying.” Thomas felt a wave of sadness, too. When Lucida’s father had been well, he would always take pity on the guard and invite him in, even though he was merely a servant.
“Thomas…” Lucida said. “How am I going to tell Adrian?”
Thomas was always shocked at Lucida’s easygoing manner, talking to him, a guard, a servant. “I… don’t know.”
Lucida obviously needed help walking back, so Thomas grabbed her arm and had her lean against him. It was a slow walk, but it was better than Lucida falling down. When they finally got back, Adrian met Lucida to talk about how Father was.
“Adrian!” Lucida cried and threw her arms around his neck. Adrian was startled and almost lost his balance. He put his arms around Lucida, but was still confused. “Lucida?”
“Father…”
Adrian’s eyes widened. “Is he… de-”
“NO!” Lucida yelled. “He isn’t… not… yet…”
Adrian fell on his knees to the ground, Lucida falling with him.
“He wants you to visit him…” Lucida said, crying.
Adrian was in shock. Everything was falling apart in his life.
~ ~ ~
Octavia walked in the stick hut. “Sethe… what happened?”
“Bardo… he’s so kind… but I know he hates me!” Sethe cried louder.
“Woah, that’s kind of an assumption isn’t it?”
“How could you love someone who killed-”
“SETHE.” Octavia said, future mother voice in tact. “YOU DID NOT KILL A MAN. HE DROWNED BECAUSE OF A STORM.”
Sethe sat, thinking about the statement. Her tears began drying out. “He could’ve held on, if he wasn’t also trying to hold on to me…”
“Sethe, you can’t keep living like this. You have to talk about it to Bardo, to get it off your chest… in fact, talk to all of them.”
Sethe’s eyes widened. “I don’t know-”
“Do it!” Octavia said, eyes growing wider and narrower at the same time. “Or you’ll never forget or forgive yourself.”