No one's POV
As if Irene weren't freaking out enough on the patio, the appearance of a helicopter above nearly sent her over the edge.
"It's a monster!" The Victorian patient shrieked, as she pointed to the helicopter as it zipped by.
Seulgi immediately took Irene's hand and assured her it was not a monster but a flying machine. Seeing that she'd had enough, she then rolled Irene back to her room, all the while trying to explain the various forms of modern transportation. The Latina-American only half listened, however as she was still quite rattled.
After Irene was eased into bed, she quickly fell asleep, having been worn out by her little trip to the patio.
The Korean rebel at that point lowered her head and slumped into a chair. Seulgi was most certainly getting the feeling that things were not going as well as she had hoped.
"Fuck."
Irene slept for a while, then waking just before lunch. Lunch was fine, save for the fact that the Korean-American was forced to explain what Jello was. Seulgi hated Jello more than any other food in existence, her mom made it all the time for dinner when she was growing up. That wobbling food substance constantly reminded her of tense, quiet and uneasy dinners at the Kang household. It's never easy growing up in a house where your parents hate each other.
"So as I explained, it's called Jello. It comes in many flavors and can be used in different ways like in salads, as a dish by itself, and many say it's fun." Seulgi explained, in a rather matter of fact tone of voice.
"Oh..." Irene mumbled as she put some on her plastic fork and watched the red colored substance wobble. She then shoveled it in her mouth.
"I like this Jello. Do you like Jello?"
The Korean rebel shuddered and glared at the rather innocuous looking half eaten square of Jello on Irene's tray, "No, I hate it. It's evil."
"So I shouldn't eat it then?" Irene asked puzzled.
"No eat it if you like it, just keep it out of my sight. I can't stand to eat or even look at Jello."
The Victorian patient quickly finished off the Jello and continued with her lunch. Irene had calmed down slightly since this morning, but still felt very uneasy and scared about what she had seen. Strange looking buildings and flying machines, she understood none of it.
Just after lunch, Mary arrived to see how Irene was doing. Seulgi had previously explained to her of who Mary was and how she had helped the Korean rebel. Irene greeted the elderly woman with utmost courtesy and thanked Mary for her generosity.
Once Mary expressed a desire to hear more about the Victorian age and what it was like, the Latina-American seemed to perk up a bit.
Seulgi at this point excused herself to take a break and get something to eat. Though things weren't going so well, she hoped once they got home things would go better.
Irene and Mary spoke for more than an hour and Mary very much enjoyed the 1st hand descriptions of live in the Victorian era. Irene enjoyed speaking of her time and what it was like. Mary just before she left, thanked the latter for the wonderful talk and invited her to come over and have dinner some time after she got settled.
For the next three days, Seulgi did her best to acclimate Irene to the modern world.
The next day, Seulgi then went to the library and got some children pictures books. She figured children's books would be the best way for Irene to learn. One book was of various types of houses and buildings. Another book was about all types of transportation and a third was just a pictorial book of various places in the world.
The Victorian patient would look through the books and Seulgi would explain what everything was. Irene politely noted each thing and did her best to keep it all straight. But with so many new facts, pictures and stories of the modern world, Irene felt even more disconnected and isolated. She however kept those feelings to herself as she could see Seulgi was trying hard. Though at times, the Latina-American felt as if she was trying too hard.
The only place Irene put down her ever increasing feeling of isolation and loneliness was in her diary. Even her "relationship" with Seulgi was being effected, as Irene just wasn't sure if she really knew who her lover even was.
The next day, Seulgi planned to demonstrate the tv and radio. She had brought in a small portable radio and placed it on the table next to her bed.
"Now Baechu, this is a radio. I told you that music and sound can be recorded, but it can also be transmitted over great distances through use of radio waves."
"Radio waves?" Irene asked, adding yet another thing on the ever growing pile of things she didn't understand.
"They are in the air and always have been. I don't understand how it works, but it does. There are lots of stations and each station puts out different kinds of programs. Some play music, some talk about sports and have people describe sports games, some have political shows where people discuss politics and other relevant topics of the day. Do you follow?"
She nodded and said yes, despite the fact that she really didn't.
"Here, let me show you," Seulgi said as she turned on the radio. "I put it on a station that tells you the news. It isn't a recording, it's broadcast live over the air."
Suddenly, a clear male voice came from the radio;
"Today in financial news; Stock of the Stromberg shipping line fell dramatically upon the breaking news of their newest supertanker— the Liparus, being lost at sea. The ship which was launched 8 months ago and was the largest in the world, was apparently lost with all hands in a yet to be explained mishap. All attempts to reach Karl Stromberg, the founder and head of the Stromberg shipping line for comment, were unsuccessful. The New York Stock exchange today, fell slightly in heavy Trading..."
The Korean-American then turned off the radio, as Irene began to look somewhat uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
"I do not understand how his voice could be coming from that. You said it's not recorded, but someone was saying that just now. It does not seem right."
Irene just wasn't used to such things and it seemed somehow unnatural. A similar demonstration of the television went just as well. Instead of being fascinated and in awe of the new technologies, the Victorian patient seemed extremely intimated by them. In fact, Irene was rather scared of them.
It was more than the technology, Irene felt so much stress and isolation from being thrust in her new world that she just seemed to slowly withdrawal. Seulgi would notice her getting quieter and less responsive, but hoped it would get better when she got used to things.
The next day came a bit of good news. The doctor said that Irene was well enough to leave the hospital. Mary had previously arranged for a limo to return her and Seulgi to Herford. Irene of course among her many worries was what she could wear as she had no clothes.
Fortunately, the Korean rebel was able to help Irene there and had bought her a simple but conservative dress.
Irene was put in a wheel chair and brought down to the entrance. She took her first elevator ride, but that didn't bother her all that much as she had seen a prototype elevator on display at the Crystal Palace in London in 1867. The Latina-American was dismayed to learn the wonderful Crystal palace, was destroyed in a fire in 1936. She explained of how her mother would take her there on Sundays after church sometimes.
They got in the long black limo and whisked off. The Victorian patient didn't like riding in this rather fancy horseless carriage. It went much too fast for her tastes and she was afraid she was going to crash.
Then Irene did spot a few buildings that she managed to recognize, but even those looked different. She hopped getting back to Herford would make her feel more at home.
But as the limo rolled into Herford, she found a town that had greatly changed. Where she once remembered fields and forest were drab looking apartment blocks and factories.
Buildings she did remember were gone and replaced with other buildings. It was all very different.
But soon they rolled up in front of the Bakery that Seulgi lived above. Irene was somewhat relived to see the church. As soon as she got out of the car she walked across the street towards the church.
"Where are you going, Baechu?" Seulgi asked.
"I need to see my mother or have they moved her and put up a one of those car parks you told me about." Irene said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
Irene knew the cemetery and where her mother was buried, only there were a lot more graves. She avoided looking at them as she knew far too many of the names. With Seulgi following along, the Victorian patient quickly found what she was looking for and got yet another shock.
Not only her mother's grave but her father's as well.
Carlos Ferrer
1812-1897
In the back of her mind she knew her father was dead, but seeing the grave really drove it home. Not only was her father dead but her whole world was dead. So Irene quickly broke into tears.
Seulgi cursed herself for not anticipating the latter wanting to see her parent's graves and quickly helped Irene back to the apartment.
She had cleaned up the place really nice and tried to make it as welcoming as possible for Irene. The crying Latina-American hardly seemed to notice as Seulgi walked her in the apartment and eased her into bed.
A bit later, Irene had recovered and Seulgi showed her around the apartment. The Victorian patient thought it looked comfortable and cozy, but she missed her room and her home more and more. All the changes were simply too much for her to process.
After the Tour, Irene with an embarrassed look, said. "Seulgi, this is hard for me to say, but I don't feel right us living in sin. I will sleep on the couch. Please don't take offense— I..."
"I understand," Seulgi immediately answered, looking as if was perfectly okay. However, she felt deeply disappointed inside. "You can sleep in the bed, I'll sleep in the couch. I know this is a lot to get used to. I bought you some other clothes to wear in the next few days, plus some sleeping clothes. We can get you more when you feel like going out."
Irene nodded, "Thank you for being so understanding."
Seulgi actually did understand, despite her deep disappointment. She had noticed that Irene had retreated inward and seemed to be more and more falling back on her Victorian upbringing and morals. It was all she had left and Seulgi guessed as sort of a security blanket. She also noticed that Irene hadn't been very affectionate lately.
"Baechu, I laid out some of your old things that I had bought at the sale, your comb and a few items. I even have your journals all out for you." She announced, bothered by the slight tension that seemed to pervade the air since they arrived.
The Victorian patient went over and looked at the journals, reading several entries with a slightly happy look.
However, Seulgi noticed that Irene avoided reading any of the entries that were from the other time line. She read no further than the day before the Korean rebel arrived. Irene seemed to shudder even looking at the last few volumes. Seulgi had told her that there were entries from the time before she changed the past. The Latina-American was afraid to read them, it just didn't seem right for them to be there.
Then Seulgi had offered to take her to the Inn a bit later, but the latter didn't seem interested. In fact, she showed little interest in leaving the bedroom. Irene spent most of the 1st day either resting or quietly reading a copy of 'Emma,' by Jane Austin. That night after Irene had gone to bed, Seulgi lay on the couch feeling more and more like her lover was slipping away from her.
It was obvious that Irene wasn't adjusting very well and more and more there seemed to be a gulf growing between them. It was very depressing as all of her efforts to make the Victorian patient comfortable seemed to fail.
Just before she fell asleep, Seulgi thought how cruelly ironic it was. How she felt so close to Irene when separated by the span of 149 years and now she's in the next room and still hardly felt close at all.
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I moved the plot ahead a bit. The Victorian girl is not adjusting well and things don't look so good and up.