Karl was doing his best not to show his discomfort, but Fortitude had been staring at him for over an hour now. Neither of them had said much of anything since Jacob had gone upstairs to take a shower and change clothes. Honestly, Karl wasn’t sure what to say to her. It wasn’t normal, how slowly she was regaining her memories. According to Jacob, she’d begun her awakening two months ago. Ordinarily, she’d be back to her usual self within a few weeks. He had to wonder if perhaps something had happened to her.
Karl glanced toward the stairs. Jacob was taking his own sweet time up there. Most likely, he was taking the opportunity to go through his entire grooming regimen. Jacob did a lot when he washed– cleansing, exfoliating, toning, conditioning, moisturizing . . . all those extra steps that, from what Karl could tell, really didn’t do much of anything. As for himself, Karl just got in the shower, sudsed up his hair with some shampoo, then used the lather from the shampoo to scrub down the rest of his body, and rinsed it all off. And he never felt like he was any less clean than Jacob was. But all those bottles of fancy soaps and lotions seemed to make Jacob happy, so Karl usually refrained from expressing his personal opinion about it. Besides, he still remembered how horrified Jacob had been when he’d found out that Karl just washed everything with shampoo.
Karl laughed silently at the memory, then turned to look at Fortitude again. She was still staring at him. Perhaps his face reminded her of something? Some memory that was just beginning to return to her, or maybe . . . Or maybe she’d been practically catatonic since she’d arrived, and had been staring at people and objects almost constantly for days now. Karl sighed.
She was most comfortable, and most alert and active, when Jacob was with her. That was understandable. The two of them had a connection that went deeper than mere memory and knowledge. But when Jacob left the room, it was like all the life went out of her and she became this creepy, staring doll. It was unsettling. Jacob insisted that she was okay, that this time was just taking longer than usual, and that she would be herself again soon. Karl and Hespah weren’t so sure. They had both expressed their worries to each other, and when Karl mentioned it to Jacob, he could tell that even though he would never admit it, Jacob was a little frightened by it too.
Fortitude took a breath, as if she were about to say something, but then she stopped, and frowned, and exhaled.
Karl perked up and watched her carefully.
She took another breath and held it. Then, finally, she said, "Hilde."
Karl smiled. This was the first time she’d mentioned her friend since she’d gotten back. "Yes?" he coaxed her, "Do you remember Grushilde?"
She peered at Karl as if trying to make out his features through a heavy fog. "You . . . are Hilde’s."
"Yes," Karl nodded, leaning forward eagerly. This was the longest conversation they’d had since Fortitude had returned. "I am Grushilde’s."
Fortitude’s large, dark green eyes darted around the room. "Where is Hilde?"
Karl hesitated. He wasn’t sure if she would understand this, or if it would just confuse her. "She . . . hasn’t awakened yet. She’ll come here when she’s ready."
"Is she . . ." She squeezed her eyebrows together and bit her lip in concentration. Karl could tell she was formulating a question in her mind, but it seemed to be one that she herself didn’t quite understand. Or perhaps it was that she understood the question but was having trouble comprehending some of the thoughts behind the question. "Is she . . . here?"
Karl blinked. "Here, in this house, you mean?"
"No . . ." Fortitude glanced away for a moment, then looked straight at Karl, her eyes begging him to understand what it was that she wanted to say, but didn’t quite know how to express. "Here . . . alive . . . ?"
Karl smiled knowingly. That was always the hardest concept to accept, when they first awakened. The idea of death and life, and of rebirth. "Yes," he said. "Grushilde is alive, in this world. She’s in Australia, for now. She hasn’t awakened yet."
"Oh."
Karl touched Fortitude’s hand, gently. "Do you understand what we’re talking about?"
"Yes . . . yes. She doesn’t . . . know."
"That’s right. She doesn’t know. Not yet, but she will. Just like you."
Fortitude sighed and looked out the window. "How soon? For her?"
Karl thought about that. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then gave the answer that felt right to him. "Soon. Maybe a year, or maybe two years, I think. Not much more than that." He looked at her. "She’s only about a year younger than you, this time."
Fortitude’s small, colorless lips spread into a calm smile.
Karl heard a door slam upstairs, and a moment later, Jacob appeared at the top of the stairs. "You two been getting reacquainted?" he asked cheerfully. A long shower always left him feeling extra chipper.
Karl grinned. "Actually, Fortitude here was just asking me about Grushilde."
Jacob paused at the foot of the stairs and looked at Fortitude, who met his gaze and smiled brightly. "Is that so?"
No comments:
Post a Comment