in about two weeks.

CHAPTER NINE: ANOTHER CHANCE AT LIFE?

"Oh weary heart!
labor in the misery of your state
that after fate there shall be fortune."

Garcilaso de La Vega
[unofficial translation, sonnet IV]

The fun little trip they had planned turned out much different than anticipated. The two had gotten used to expecting the most unexpected events, so it was nearly impossible for anything to surprise them; despite it all, going from a pair to a group of five in so little time would have been unthinkable less than a month before. Getting attached to a bunch of strangers wasn't on the bingo card of that uneventful year.

"If you get me to Haven, I'll vouch for you all," Michel had said after a long while of silence outside the building. "I cannot guarantee that they'll let you stay... usually they are very lenient. In any case, I'll do everything in my power. I'm one of three doctors, and the most experienced one, they respect me."

Sophia and Tom exchanged a glance before moving a few steps away to speak in private. Something was different, both of them knew it; their understanding of this change was not yet at the same level, though.

"Marc and Anna are from the bunkers. There's a really good chance that they will keep them..." started Sophia, whispering.

"They would have a chance of a semi-normal life."

"We could... We could leave some things hidden here, just in case, and use the rest as an offering... to convince them."

Tom lifted his gaze to meet hers: the hard cold façade had disappeared, leaving in its place a sad expression. "So, Mrs. I never show any emotion except for anger," he said in a soft tone while smiling. "Is this how you imagined motherhood would be like?"

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

Tom instinctively went in for a hug and was surprised to find no resistance whatsoever. The woman let him hold her, holding him back just as tight.

"Is it weird that I want them to stay with us? We've known them for so little..."

"No. I want them to stay too. Don't tell them I said that."

She chuckled. "I won't."

They did as planned, without outright stating their intentions, using the excuse of needing to make space for the new member of the group. Nobody suspected a thing, until Marc asked if they had enough gas.

"For Haven? If Michel pointed in the right place, we have plenty."

"What if they don't let us stay?"

Sophia was so taken aback by the question that she took a bit too long to answer. "We'll think about it when it happens."

He didn't appear satisfied with the answer. "But you have a plan, right? You always have a plan."

"Well, you heard Tom earlier. I need to learn to trust us. We're great at dealing with situations."

He once again wasn't quite happy, but dropped the subject.

A sense of guilt mixed in with worry washed over her for lying. In the wake of all those disorienting emotions, she couldn't recognise herself anymore either..

Tom didn't have any kind of dilemma on the matter: he didn't want to deal with any feelings or oppositions from their side. The stakes had never been so high, the situation was getting unbearable; anything that could happen would prove beneficial to some degree.