40 Chapter 40 (2/2)
Later that day, as the sun was going down, Emma and Wyatt went out together towards the empty fairgrounds. ”Do you remember our first date?” Emma asks. ”When we came out here for the fall festival?”.
Wyatt laughs softly and says ”How could I forget? I still remember the dress you wore and everything. It was probably the best night of my life so far”.
”And I still remember the day we first met” Emma says with a laugh. ”When we accidentally bumped into each other on the street. I never did get a very good look at you that time, but then I met you again at that convenience store”.
”Ha ha, yeah” Wyatt says. ”I never expected us to have the same class that day, but sure enough, there you were the next morning”.
Emma laughs softly and says ”But I ended up being the reason you lost that job...”.
”Well, it wasn't really your fault” Wyatt says. ”You needed help, and the choice was mine to make. Besides, because of you, I met Matilda and ended up getting a job with her!”.
”Yeah, I guess that's true...” Emma says. When Emma looks up, there was an old woman walking past them without saying anything. The woman simply walks past them, finds a bench near them, sits down and stares off at the horizon as the sun goes down in the opposite direction as to where she was looking.
”What?” The old woman says after a long period of silence. ”It suddenly got quiet, so I assume there's a problem with me being here?”.
”N-no!” Emma says, ”I'm sorry if we were being rude!”.
”Whatever” the old woman says. ”I just came here to clear my head anyways. Doesn't bother me at all if it's quiet all of the sudden”.
”Umm... so what are you clearing your mind for?” Emma asks.
The old woman sighs and says ”Guess it won't be quiet after all... look, I came from out of the city. I just come here every so often to remember what life used to be. My daughter used to live in this city... but- ah, never mind”.
”You came from out of the city?” Wyatt asks. ”Who was your daughter?”.
”Yeah, like I'm about to tell a human about my personal life” the old woman scoffs.
”Are you a laibah then?” Emma asks. The old woman glances over at Emma. ”I-it's okay! I'm a laibah too!”.
”Right...” the old woman says in an annoyed tone. ”I haven't been here for years. In fact, I never showed up here again after my daughter died...”.
”What happened to your daughter?” Emma asks.
”Nature took its course” The old woman replies. ”I came here again after hearing about some old fool and their ridiculous bill”.
”Are you hoping that the bill passes?” Wyatt asks.
The old woman glances over at Wyatt and says ”It will never work. Humans and laibah can never share the same city. Because of that very same principle, nature took its course, and my daughter with it. I just came here for... nostalgia's sake”. The old woman stands up and says ”If you don't believe me, look over there”. She then points towards the north, where the horizon was glowing with a yellow glow.
”What do you mean?” Wyatt asks.
”That's not the sunset” The old woman says. ”Think about it. The sunset is leaving a reddish purple glow over there to the west... that's yellow and towards the north. Do the math”.
”Do you know what's happening over there?” Emma asks.
”From what I've heard” The old woman says, ”people were whispering about a 'protest'. If you ask me, it looks like it's not a peaceful one”.
”W-What's happening over there!?” Wyatt panics. ”My family is on that side of the city!”.
”Don't know for sure” the old woman says as she begins to walk away. She then says to Emma ”If I were you, I'd get my distance from all humans as soon as possible”.
”Wait!” Emma says. ”What's your name?”.
”I don't see why any of that matters now” The old woman says. ”If you must know, the name's Tera... do whatever you want with that knowledge, because you'll probably never see me around here a second time”.
Wyatt and Emma quickly run back to the dorm, as Wyatt begins to worry about his home town Durley. When they get to the dorm, Jessica was acting nervous and waiting outside of the dorm. ”Wyatt!” She says as the two of them approach, ”I came here to talk. Mind if I come inside the dorm? It's uncomfortable standing in the halls of the boys dorm...”.
”Oh, you're back” Jackson says as they all enter the room.
”I knocked earlier” Jessica says, ”but Jackson told me you guys weren't home. I rushed over here when I heard to news”. Jessica closes the door behind her and says ”I saw a news report on my phone! They're saying there were outbreaks of violent protests in Durley! Apparently there were several fires started, and fighting breaking out! I know that you and Darren used to live there, so I-”.
”Have they said anything about reports of deaths or casualties!?” Wyatt asks.
”No, I haven't seen anything like that yet” Jessica says.
Wyatt sits down on his bed and takes a sigh of relief. ”I hope they're alright” he says.
”Wyatt, are YOU alright?” Emma asks.
”Yeah... I think I'll be fine” Wyatt says.
”I'm... I'm sorry” Jessica says. ”I just thought you'd want to know”.
”No... thank you for telling me, Jessica” Wyatt says.
”I'll go for now” Jessica says as she opens the door. ”I'll let you know if anything important comes up. Just... try and get some rest”. Jessica then closes the door after she leaves.
Emma sits behind Wyatt on the bed and wraps her arms around him. ”Wyatt...” she says. ”I'm really sorry. I didn't think something like this was going to happen”.
”Please don't blame yourself” Wyatt says in a low voice. ”You know it's not your fault”. Wyatt lays down on the bed, but Emma continues to hold onto him. ”We'll figure out what happened over time. No matter what happens, this is the reason we need this bill to pass”.
”I'm still here for you, Wyatt” Emma says. ”If you need to talk, I'll be here, okay?”.
”Thanks...” Wyatt says. ”It really means a lot, Emma”.
”I love you” Emma says.
Wyatt turns over in the bed and faces Emma. His face looked distraught, and he seemed very stressed. ”I love you too. Thanks for being here for me” he says.