8.4) You Mustn't Run Away

After Alice Truman had awakened from her coma, she had moved to Iceland with Abigail’s financial support.

As Victor Truman sat on a rock below the hill, he could understand why. Alice’s single-story house was built over a small isolated green hill, far away from the rest of civilization. The hill itself wasn’t very far from the ocean, so he could smell the ocean breeze. It was a liberating feeling.

The Sun was gentle on him, despite him not changing out of his black suit. It seemed that Atlas had fulfilled his end of the plan. It was now up to the rest of the world to “die with dignity”. For Victor, that meant entering the house and talking to his sister that he hadn’t seen in fourteen years.

Fourteen years…

He looked at his hands. He was old. He was still in his thirties, but perhaps his stress over death had made him age quicker than normal. It was paradoxical.

Then, he could hear the door of the house open, with Abigail stepping out alone. She closed the door and walked down the hill, approaching him.

“I’ve said my farewells to her. She understands the situation,” she said. “It’s up to you, now.”

“I don’t understand why you won’t stay,” he said. “I’m sure Alice would prefer having you around. You were the one who took care of her all this time.”

She shook her head. “You and your sister are trying to make up for fourteen years of lost time. My presence will only slow that process down. And I’ve already told her everything I needed to.”

She put her hands deep into her pockets and closed her eyes. “Now, all that’s left is for me to leave and you to enter. Then the rest of your story will naturally follow, Victor Truman.”

Victor looked at her with concern. “What about you? Where are you going?”

“I’m going back to Oneiros. I told someone there that I would return once I was done ‘saving the world’. We didn’t exactly save it, but I still believe I should go back and prove that my words weren’t lies.”

Victor felt a tension in his heart. He had a gut feeling that Abigail wouldn’t die such a peaceful death.

He gulped. “It’s just a promise, Abigail. It shouldn’t be that serious, especially at the end of the world. Can’t you just compromise this one little thing before you die, for your own happiness?”

Abigail sighed with a grin. “My entire identity revolves around a promise I made a long time ago, Victor. Breaking a promise would go against everything I stand for.”

He frowned. “A promise you made a long time ago...? You mean our promise? It’s been long dead, Abigail.”

She closed her eyes. “Not to me. Never.”

There was a sharp pain in his heart.

“... So it’s my fault that you’ve been voluntarily suffering all this time. And you’re going to go die alone in the name of that promise.”

“Victor…”

He shook his head. “As the person that gave you that promise, I want you to break it. Come with us, Abigail. We can laugh and cry together before everything ends. The three of us.”

Abigail stayed silent. Victor continued.

“You told me that you wanted me to make you feel accompanied, the way I would when I was younger. And believe me, I am trying my best to do that now. So let me continue doing that for you. I want you to stay, Abigail. You have no idea…”

Abigail didn’t break her silence. She stepped closer and held his face, forcing him to look into her eyes.

Her eyes were blue, resembling a crystalline photo of the Earth itself. They were the same as the ones he had seen back when they had promised to change the world together. They were the eyes that he had always feared betraying; the eyes that had shone whenever he spoke of his naive and foolish ideals.

But despite his betrayal, her eyes continued radiating with the ideals he had bestowed upon her. It was clear to Victor that she had gone and surpassed all expectations he had of her. Her ideals no longer belonged to him. She was the one who had protected them with her life. It was hers.

Abigail Kovacs no longer needed his approval. She would not turn her back on the promises she had made.

She took her hands off his face and stepped back, as if she knew she had made her point loud and clear.

Victor chuckled bitterly. “You’re insane.”

Abigail grinned. “Who do you think I got it from?”

She crossed her arms, clearing her throat. “With that out of the way, if there’s anything you want to say, now’s the time.”

Victor closed his eyes. The truth was that he had loved her from that very day. He loved how she would listen to him, how she would follow him and joke with him. But she had changed; she was no longer that person. She was someone who prioritized her ideals over her own happiness, rendering her unable to stay with him.

And he was certain that she felt the same way about him. She loved how he would talk to her, how he would accept her and fantasize with her. But he had changed; he was no longer that person. He was someone who had abandoned his ideals for his own desires, rendering him unable to stay with her.

He wondered if it would be easier for both of them if they continued avoiding the topic until their deaths, but he decided to ask anyway.

“Tell me, Abigail. Did you ever love me?” he asked with the calmness of a man who had nothing left to lose.

Abigail chuckled without a blush. “I still do, Victor.”

“I see.” He sighed. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to ask.”

She lifted the hair off his forehead with her hands. “Close your eyes, Victor.”

He closed his eyes. Soon, he felt her lips momentarily rest on his forehead. There was no happiness or catharsis–only acceptance of the fact that they had both loved each other.

As Abigail stepped back, Victor emotionlessly stared down to the floor, unable to say anything further. It seemed to him that the only thing left to do was say goodbye.

Then she tapped his chin, as if telling him to look at her.

When he lifted his eyes, she was shaking her head with a soft smile on her face.

“This is no good, Victor Truman. I can’t let you meet Alice in that state of mind.”

Victor frowned. “What?”

“This isn’t you, Victor. I know this isn’t you. You’re not some heartless monster.”

“I betrayed you to try and become immortal, Abigail. Of course I’m heartless…”

She shook her head again. “But you abandoned that immortality just to return to me. I won’t accept that this is the same man who made that decision. And I refuse to send this shell of a man into that house.”

He shrugged. “Unfortunately, this is all I’ve got.”

Abigail sighed in frustration, then mumbled. “I guess I can’t blame it all on you… I suppose I didn’t try hard enough.”

“... What?”

Abigail cleared her throat. And for a split second, he could see her blush before she held his face and deeply kissed him with genuine passion.

He was in such a shocked state that he forgot to close his eyes. And as the sunlight shined into his eyes, he felt his eyes slightly water. He didn’t need to close his eyes–it was impossible to see anything clearly. The tears he believed had dried away began to flow once more.

Abigail…

The frozen heart of steel had been thawed in a single expression of genuine love.

She pulled herself back with a blush still on her face. “I never got to practice this, so forgive me if it was lackluster.”

He frowned, still breathing quickly and rubbing away the few tears from his eyes. “Wh–The hell do you mean lackluster? And how would I know if it was lackluster? This is the only romantic kiss I've gotten in my entire life!”

She laughed and tapped his chest with her fist. “There you are. There’s my Victor.”

He blinked, then sighed, seeing her point. “Fine, fine, I get it. You don’t want me to be a machine around her. Point taken.”

He took a deep breath and nervously cracked his knuckles. “Fine. I’m back. Okay? I’m back. I’m going to face the end as a human being.”

Abigail shook her head. “Not just as a human being. As a brother.”

She looked up at the sky. “Now, it’s time to part ways.”

He pouted. “You’re going to make me feel things again and then immediately depart? That’s cruel.”

“Is it painful?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Good,” she said. “That means you’re human. You should feel sad about leaving behind a friend. You should feel nervous about seeing your sister again after a long time. It’s human to feel these things. Stop running away from yourself.”

“... Okay. I won’t run away.”

“Good!” Abigail said excitedly. “Then I’ve fulfilled my role in your story, Victor. It’s time for the closing chapters of your story.”

“But…”

She shushed him, putting her finger on his lips. “I know. You wish things were different. I do, too.”

She smiled gently, lowering her hands. “But who knows, Victor? Maybe we’ll meet again in another lifetime. But let’s get through this one first, okay?”

He nodded. “Then… I guess it’s goodbye for now, Abigail.”

She nodded back. “Yes. Goodbye for now, Victor. Hang in there.”

After one last kiss, Abigail Kovacs turned away from him, walking down the path back to civilization.

He put his hand on his lips, thinking about how he had now been romantically kissed twice in his entire lifetime. He felt lucky. Then he shook his head, realizing how embarrassing the thought was.

Then, it dawned on him that this had been their final encounter. It hurt him deeply. But he recalled that this pain was natural–that he should be hurting.

So as Abigail walked further and further away, Victor reluctantly turned to face the house upon the hill with the pain lingering in his heart. It was time for the final act of his life to begin.

With nervous courage, he walked up the pathway leading to the front door of the small house. When he got to the door, he stared at the doorknob, hovering his hand above it. But when he finally grabbed onto it, he realized that the door hadn’t been fully shut.

All it took was a gentle push.