Convergent

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Tobias

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The next few days are a blur. All the remaining rebels of the Fringe, were executed. The Convergent and one of the remaining leaders of the Fringe finally came to an agreement of its citizens being allowed to enter and exit Chicago and the Fringe as they please. They were given rights and were protected under the new Coincide law. Another section of the fence surrounding Chicago was destroyed, making it easier for people of the Fringe to enter the city.

The funeral for my mother is today. Held where what used to be our home, Abnegation. Tris, Zeke, George, and Christina will be there, along with other people who used to be Factionless.

But I do nothing. All I am doing is standing still. Naked, in front of a mirror. I feel empty inside. As if another piece of me died.

Tris finally comes into the bedroom, dressed in a long black dress, with her blonde hair down, almost hitting her shoulders.

"Tobias," she whispers. "You have to move." I don't budge. She walks over, her high heels clicking on the wooden floor, and she sits on the white bed. Her hand touches my bare back, and she traces the flames down my spine. "You can do this. Do this for her, and for Amar. I know you miss her, as I do with my parents. I would do anything to see them again, and I will. One day. And you will too."

I turn and look at her. And nod.

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The funeral is held at Abnegation, the only place where she used to have a real home. We sit in black chairs upon the grassy hills, in lines, facing my mother's closed casket. I understand, now, how Tris felt at her brother's funeral, only days ago, and how it felt to loose one of your parents.

Even though I have been lied to, for more than half of my life, about my mother, and how she never told me that she was leaving, I feel as if I knew her and loved her as any other son who's mother was always there. Our relationship wasn't the best, but it could of been worse. She understood my pain, the pain of my father, who abused us both. At the time, she was the only one there for me, who I felt I could be safe with, almost as my safe haven. But when she left, all hope inside of me died, and shriveled into ash. I was alone in the house, being beaten by my father "for my greater good".

I sit silently, not looking at my mother and her casket, but at the grass beneath me, with dots of morning dew collecting at the tips, slowly sliding down the length of the grass as if the blade of grass were shedding a tear. My hands are folded between my lap, and my body hunched over. Tris sits beside me, with her ravens protruding from her black dress and her blonde hair.

Her hand grabs ahold of mine, slipping her fingers into them, and grasping my palm with hers. I sit up, and tilt my head over, looking at her from the side. Her blue eyes look foreword, towards the body. I, however, turn my attention elsewhere, to the skyline beyond, with what is left of the fence towering in the distance.

The golden sun peeks out from the dark clouds before it, creating a mixture of blood orange and black, painted across the sky.

I look to my left, and see people who used to be Factionless, and who used to work with my mother. In front of me sits the Council of the Convergent, legs crossed, hands in their lap, and eyes glued foreword.

Then, someone catches my eye. Behind me, sitting in a chair in the corner, is a tall man, whose grey hair almost matches his pale skin, and green eyes. My father. Marcus.

"Tobias, what's wrong?" Tris leans over and whispers. I don't look at her when I reply.

"I'll be right back," I say as I stand from my metal seat, and straighten my tie. Tris's hand draws back to her lap as I walk towards my father.