(304 days after Nolan's crossing)
Maybe she was wrong about that stupid notebook.
Clara shakes her head. She refuses to believe that. The truth is, though, the hours she spends poring over John Chapman's notebook do not make it less incomprehensible. It's a jumble of numbers and strange shapes, nothing of which stands out as a message. She remains undeterred, however. John Chapman is an enigma. The intricate way in which he has encrypted this message can be explained simply as a byproduct of how his peculiar mind functions.
He must be brilliant, she says to Nolan, but I just don't know what to make of it. The two of them sit in plastic deck chairs while Chapman sways like a buoy in the pool's shallow end.
Nolan smiles indulgently, but his heart clearly isn't invested in the notebook the way Clara's is. He hasn't even looked at it, but instead is trying to solve his own mystery—a paperback whodunit called, Death by Misadventure. Clara thinks he's immersing himself into that book in order to avoid their own real-life mystery. Nolan doesn't exactly approve of this latest obsession of hers, but being Nolan, he prefers to stay out of it rather than discourage her or argue with her in any way.
To Clara, his reluctance is based on the fact that he doesn't want anything to change, whereas Clara feels that if things don't, part of her will always be that little girl who ran to the edge of the hotel grounds and kept running, pushing against the invisible barrier of her world.
She has accepted that Nolan is content. But for how long? Can he really live out his days with her here and be happy the whole time? Can she?
Clara has no idea how long they both will live, or if they'll ever die, for that matter. They don't breathe, but their hearts beat. They don't drown, but they don't float either. They don't eat, but they grow tired. They sleep. Who's to say what their lifespans will be. Clara is happier now that Nolan is here, happier than she can ever remember being, but she fears the tenuous nature of her joy.
How can it last?
Maybe you should take a break. You've been at it all day. He nods at the notebook.
Clara puts the ledger on the ground beside her chair and rubs her eyes.
Maybe you're right. She stands and stretches, reveling in the knowledge that Nolan is watching her. She meets his eyes. I think I'll take a walk around the hotel, maybe sit on our bench and look at the forest for a bit. There was a pileated woodpecker there yesterday. I'd like to see if it returns.
Just let me finish my chapter. He holds his book up. I'll meet you there.
They've had another dry summer, but the forest is still mossy and damp-looking. Clara strolls along the hotel border, wishing she could walk through the trees, maybe even find out what's on the other side of them. All she can do, though, is run her hand along the wood's edge, touching the tips of the branches that extend onto hotel property.
She perches on the bench and waits for the woodpecker and for Nolan. The woodpecker doesn't show, but eventually Nolan does.
As he approaches, she notices the book he's carrying is thinner than his mystery novel. Joining Clara on the bench, he opens Chapman's notebook to a random page and thrusts it in front of her.
So, Mr. I'm-not-interested, you couldn't resist looking at—
He cuts her off. I recognize this! The lines of numbers on the page waver as his hand shakes. These equations. These symbols—it's exactly what my father has been writing in his notebooks for my entire life.
He runs his fingers eagerly over the worn pages.
This is something, Clara. This means something, I know it does!
The corners of her mouth turn up into a smile. How the notebook can have anything to do with Nolan's father is beyond her, but he's right: it does mean something. It has to.
Maybe she wasn't wrong after all.
A/N: Wait... what? Could it be? Does John Chapman possibly have a connection to Nolan's father? And will the notebook finally give Clara and Nolan the answers they need? Stay tuned!
Thanks a million for your ongoing support for the Fold Series! It means a lot to me that you're still here reading these updates, and hopefully enjoying them too.
I've been in several competitions with today's dedicatee (her story won runner-up in the Freeze-Dried Fiction contest!). @Fairytale_Fabler (Alicia) has got some serious skills and is able to write in a variety of genres. Looking for a fantasy? Check out FAIRYTALE: WINTER'S BITE. How about a memoir? Try EMILY ROSE: A PREGNANCY STORY. And if you're looking for love, filtered through many different genres, take a look at BE THE LIGHT THAT GUIDES ME HOME, her entry for the Love Shots contest. No matter which way you go, you won't be disappointed!
Today's media is courtesy of Brenderous, Flickr Creative Commons.
YOU ARE READING
UNSPOKEN: Undone Realms Book 3
Science FictionBook Three of the award-winning Undone Realms Series! Clara and Nolan have been living happily together in their hotel-sized pocket realm for almost a year. But is everything truly all right now? Clara has her doubts. Something seems...off to her...
