Sometimes It's Even Darker

Chapter 19 - Time To Pick My Poison

The first bus stops and the door open with a heavy snort. Tobi bites his lower lip so hard that he can taste blood and for the first few seconds he doesn't move, he just gazes at the vehicle inanely even though the rain is falling heavily.
- Wchodzi pan czy nie? - the driver asks irately but Tobi doesn't understand a single word. Finally he dares to open his mouth and the first words flow through the air:
- Excuse me, how can I arrive Germany from this place?
The driver looks a bit confused but he responds in English:
- Germany? I guess you should arrive Nowy Sącz and then go to Kraków. There's many buses from Kraków to everywhere, Germany too.
Tobi nods and comes in. He feels that his every step is a collosal effort.
- So please, take me to Nowy Sącz then.
The driver tells him the price and Tobi pays for his ticket. Fortunately it's not really expensive but he knows that he has enough money only for the journey itself – he won't be able to buy anything to eat but he doesn't care. He isn't hungry. His entrails feel totally topsy-turvy and he is afraid that he is about to vomit. He takes the last seat and curls up. Ultimately he can let the tears flow as noone really sees him right now – the bus is empty.
„She let me go. I don't believe it, she vanquished the ghostlights and let me go. What happened with her? Is she safe now? Did she return back home?”
„Is she still alive...?” he thinks then, afraid of his own mind. „She IS alive and there's no other way. It was the miracle and I believe in miracles.”
He wipes the tears away, angry at himself for letting them out. He still wears the clothes she bought him. These clothes are soaking wet but they smell like her home so he immerses his nose in the scrolls of material and takes a deep breath. This makes him calm down a bit.
„Aethie” he thinks „May God bless you to the end of your days.”
And he falls asleep.

***

Aethernia reaches her house and locks the door immediately. As she manages to simmer down, she walks calmly to the kitchen and finds the sharpest knife she has.
„My life has come to an end. However, it was pretty nice.”
She smiles sadly and looks at the shining blade. She is absolutely sure that in a few days the people will appear here, cruel and horrific. She still believes in Tobi, but she knows that he will tell someone. He is too forthright and reliant.
„When they come, they would find only a rotting body.”
She goes to her room. She wants to die there, as she spent there the most beautiful moments of her life. She sits on the orange sofa and puts the blade on her throat.
- God, thank you for the life I had – she whispers calmly – And for all the angels you have sent me.
She feels the cold touch on her neck as she clasps the knife harder. She looks at her equipment for the last time and suddenly her eyes stop on the canvas.
"It was blank..."
Aethernia reads and with every single word her hand slopes slowly. At the end of the letter the knife lies on her knees.
„He will take my secrets to his grave. He won't return anymore.”
Suddenly she smiles.
„Okay. You won, Tobi. I can wait a few days but I will be ready in every moment. However, I will abstain. We will see if your promise is worth anything.”
She puts her head on the sofa and falls asleep. The knife lies on the floor, still as clear as it was before.