Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 33: The Point

Reine opened her eyes and looked down. With her arms still outstretched, she stared at the increasingly dark water as night approached.

The vital liquid had ruled so much of her being. It had ended her mortal life, putting her on the path leading to this very moment. She'd often questioned her fate, but what if she'd never been in that precarious rowboat caught in a storm on the Venetian Lagoon? She would have lived her normal life, but for how much longer? Back in the Fifteenth Century, there was a strong chance she would have died in childbirth or from a simple disease easily cured in the modern era. And what if Max had passed first? He had only outlived her by a few years. Would he even have been away from home on that fateful trip?

Reine's head reeled from the possibilities, but one thing was certain. The past was the past, and there was no changing it. She quickly inhaled at a sudden thought. She couldn't change the past, but she could forget it. It was the only detriment to immortal reawakening, but in this case, it could be a welcome side effect.

It was a coward's solution, but not knowing the source of her unhappiness would take away so much pain. She stared across the water. Was it still even possible in her current condition?

"Do it."

Reine flinched at the interruption and lowering her arms, spun around to see Mal. "Do what?" she asked.

"Go ahead. Jump." Stopping a few feet away, he stuck his hands in his pocket. "That's what you were thinking of doing, right?"

"Why would you encourage something so stupid?" She frowned at both his unwanted appearance and sour attitude. "Shouldn't you be trying to stop me?"

He shrugged. "Maybe it's reverse psychology. Or maybe I'd pull you out anyway."

"Of course you would," she said. "God forbid Max found out that you let me get hurt. Or Gabe for that matter. It makes me wonder . . . where are your loyalties the strongest these days, Mal? With your boss or your friend? Then again, perhaps it's Noor you wouldn't want to disappoint."

"You've never liked me, have you?" He crossed his arms and diverted her question with one of his own. "Why is that?"

Reine sighed. "It would be too easy to say because you're a pompous ass, no?" When he smirked, she continued, "Very well. I have no reason to lie to you."

Crouching down, she sat at the edge of the dock and dangled her feet over the water. Patting the spot next to her, Reine invited Mal to join her. Looking straight ahead, she began speaking only when he had taken his place.

"Did you know Gabe told me about you on our first date? Or was that our second? I still don't know whether the coffeehouse counted . . .." She glanced over and noticed his scowl. "Oh, right. That's not the point. Well, anyway he took me to your old school for a little illicit sledding, which I believe was one of the things you guys used to do together."

Mal chuckled as he unbuttoned his suit jacket to get more comfortable, and she continued. "He didn't mention you by name yet, but he implied he missed the friendship you shared."

Reine paused, and he got impatient. "Get to the point, blondie."

"The point is, when I finally found out your whole history - about the car accident and your subsequent connection to Max - I couldn't help, but be jealous. You had this whole support network around you from day one. You didn't have to go through all of the uncertainty and confusion of your reawakening by yourself," she said with a sigh. "I had none of that, and I know it was petty of me, but I suppose I held that against you."

Reine expected the young man next to her to ridicule her childishness, but he remained silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, the subject was quite surprising.