Casey Wendell Crumb

Story 1, Part 2 • Not an Option

“Joseph, Kevin is back.”

“What? Don’t be silly. He is dead. We saw it together, okay?” He gulped.

“I got a text from him.”

“It could be anyone but it couldn’t be him.” He shook his head. "There is no way.”

Casey crushed the phone in her hand, then turned it off. “Yeah. It can’t be him.”

No matter how much she wanted to believe that he was dead, she still had hope that he would come back, in any way possible, at any moment in her life. She looked out of the window beside her then sighed, “It can’t be him.”

***

After leaving a kiss on Joseph’s cheek, she waved him goodbye. Waiting for his car to get lost from her sight, she stood at the front door, smiled as she watched him driving away. She turned away and opened the door, greeted by her family.

“Casey, there is a new package for you. It’s waiting on your nightstand.” While hugging her as a welcome-home gesture, Casey’s mother told her, then gave her a gentle kiss on forehead.

“From who, mother?”

“Someone named Dennis.” When she heard that name, she rushed to her room, locked the door, and while panting, walked slowly towards the package.

“There is no way you are alive. There is no way.”

She tenderly ran her hand through the package as though she could feel Kevin again. Brought with her longing to see him again was the shock as she read the greeting card. With the package in her arms, she fell on her knees.

Hi, Casey Cooke, the girl we let go, but Kevin didn’t. You are so brave and after all the struggles you have gone through, you deserve to be happy. We don’t want to say thank you for bringing Kevin back to light because that means the horde can’t live. But, we do thank you for being there for him.
—Dennis.

“YOU ARE NOT ALIVE. YOU ARE DEAD.” Then, once again, tears so quickly formed in her eyes, fell on the floor. “But, I do wish you were here.”

With her shaky fingers, Casey opened the beautifully wrapped and decorated box before her. She did not know what to expect, but she knew it was all about Kevin. When the things inside were revealed, she gasped in both awe and shock.

Her eyes sparkled brightly as if those eyes were the night sky with shining stars. In the box were pictures of her. Those pictures showed how much she had changed as an individual, how happy and beautiful she was. How fierce she was when facing the crowd with sharp eyes. She was no longer an invisible girl, she was the world’s attention. Not only that, there was also a little plastic sunflower and a note alongside it saying, “You are the sunflower to me, beautiful and reminds me of how good it is to be in the light”. She couldn’t resist a smile. The last thing she noticed was a mustard yellow notebook, on it was attached a small paper with an unfinished sentence, “Write stories about us here because I love yo-” and it stopped there. Her heart skipped a beat. It was meant to be, “I love you” but he couldn’t finish it. However, a smile was plastered on her face which was wet from tears.

Then, there was a letter written by Mr. Glass.

Hello, Ms. Cooke. Before I had the deal with the beast, the light revealed the real Kevin Wendell Crumb and he asked me to do him a favor. It is very possible for me to be dead when the package arrives. Also, this is likely to be my last written message. Read carefully.

Kevin Wendell Crumb told me he loved you. The first time you’ve ever called him was in the zoo where you were really scared. The second time you did it, it was in the facility where you so fearlessly went close to him and your hands were on his. Your eyes locked on each other. He was not as afraid as he used to be, but the horde was still stronger than him. But, he did want to stay in the light... with you. He noticed you were different and knew that you’ve survived. He knew you were a warrior. He knew you could bring him back to life whenever he was scared. Kevin loved you and you made him realize that no matter how broken you are, you are loved. The magical force of love, you brought that to him.

He asked me to collect these stuff which are now yours; the portraits, the sunflower, and that unfinished note... he never came back to light after that... I don’t know if he will ever again. Maybe, he had a feeling that he woudln’t come back again that he prepared this for you.

I had a suicide plan and this package is gonna be delivered by the time I am dead and on my birthday... consider this is a surprise from me. One more thing, Ms. Cooke: a mastermind never tells how he gets things done.

Bye,
Elijah Price.
p.s the texts you've received today were generated by people I have given an order, none of them is real.

***

She thought the package was all about him, to remind her of Kevin Wendell Crumb, the first person she could call home after many years, with whom she could be vulnerable without getting judged, by whom she was released from misery. Kevin Wendell Crumb, a friend and a lover. But, even when it was hard to get the light, all he thought about was her. It was all about her, without whom he could never be in the light without fear. It was all about her and how wonderful she was, how a broken girl had evolved. It was all about her and for as long as she lived, Kevin Wendell Crumb would too.

When asked if the beast was still alive, Casey always answered, "He is alive for as long as I am."

What was gone would never come back, not in the same way, at least. But, to want them back was also not an option.