One more message
Albert decided to leave Marla alone for some days, he would go see what she was doing, but he would not interfere. He had mastered the art of observing without being noticed, so he was really up to date on what was happening in Marla’s life. In the meantime, he took profit of his free time to heal his wounds, both real and metaphorical, and to support Asha through her grief. She was a strong woman, and they both knew it, but she was clutching onto her son desperately.
He would spend hours with her, talking to her and trying to make her understand that he would need to leave eventually. She started accepting it, and when Albert thought she was ready he made his announcement.
-Mom, I’m leaving for the university, tomorrow.
-Are you sure about this?- she asked.
-I am. There are things I need to do, and it’s the only way I can give Mayra the revenge she deserves.
-Don’t let them kill you, Al.
-No one will touch me, mom, I promise.
That evening Asha cooked him a special meal and looked particularly cheerful. She would still look at the chair where Mayra used to sit with longing, but she wouldn’t start crying for nothing. It was hard, but life kept on and they had to move on too. The twins were particularly sensitive to that positive change on their mother, and they were chattier than they had been in days. They insisted on Albert to stay some more days, telling him how much fun it would be and how he was going to get bored at the university. They eventually gave up, and the meal continued with high spirits. Before going to sleep Asha and John insisted on taking him to the station the following morning.
-Yes, we want to come too!- the twins prompted.
-Well, it’s going to be a family farewell then.- she smiled sadly, remembering how the last time there had been more of them to bid Albert goodbye.-Now, you three go to sleep!
Albert went to sleep, decided to deliver Marla one more message before he was able to confront her face to face. He dreamt himself into the pale purple room Marla was occupying now, he could not imagine her as the girl who would have slept in that room, but he guessed that she was sweet and innocent some time ago. She was deeply asleep, as usual, lying on her back. It was really warm so she was sleeping over the sheets completely naked. She was beautiful, no one could deny it, and there was a strange wilderness about her. But a person was more than a handsome body, and a part of her was completely rotten. Knowing the real Marla helped make what he was about to do less difficult. He had never hurt anyone willingly, neither in real life, nor in dreams, and he was a bit nervous, he almost felt his concentration slipping away. He made himself focus on something easy, like the lamp on the nightstand. It was a nice paneled lamp, a darker shade of purple than the walls. As soon as he felt better he focused on what he intended to do. He looked for an appropriate surface to leave his message in, and he found it quite quickly since there was a full body mirror just opposite from the bed.
He took a deep breath and put all his efforts into writing the message on the mirror. “Don’t ever forget what you did. I will never do, and most certainly I will never forgive. Beware because I am coming back, and I will have no mercy.” When he finished he felt tired as if he had just run a marathon. He looked at the message, seeing how red smears had appeared as the liquid ran down. Marla was still lying on the bed as if nothing had happened, however thin scars marked her stomach, the same as the message written on the mirror. They weren’t deep scars, but they were enough to bleed small drops.
Albert woke up the following morning feeling as if he hadn’t slept a bit. It had been a good effort, though, and he was sure that he would need to make bigger efforts if he wanted to win the war he had with Marla. He went downstairs into the kitchen to have some breakfast, his mother insisted on pampering him and had prepared warm pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup, his favorites.
-See, this is the reason I need to leave! You’re stuffing me with food!- he joked, but he ate it all, all the same.
His mother watched happily how he had breakfast, insisting on him to eat even more food. She even gave him a piece of fudge chocolate cake that made him think that he wouldn’t need to eat in a week. When Asha was finally satisfied by the amount of breakfast Albert had eaten, they set all together for the station. It was a short farewell, they had had their share, already, of long ones. Albert got on the train, sat down and remembered the first time he had taken that same train.
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