#5 Cutting corners
Silence, peace, darkness once more.
It was time for the Wetyios household to sleep, and it’s three little ones were all too happy to already snuggle against their favorite plush, blanket, or pet to play in candied dreams. Where fairies would probably invite them to continue living this phase in their lives full of naivety and happiness. Well… At least Rohmio would definitely have sweet dreams about that.
But Haila was still restless.
The lack of an afternoon nap meant that she should be exhausted, and by all rights, she was.
Even with Petyr and Ghaile’s help, she could still feel the aftermath of watching over the twins. It was to be expected when still nursing and being the best at putting Howl to sleep. But even with all of that, she couldn’t find sleep. Not by a far margin. And she’d never been the kind to rely on any sort of medicine to find rest.
No, it was that sensation that something was off still bothering her.
Was it because she’d finally realized that she was missing her routine of crying helplessly like a broken girl?
Even Haila herself didn’t know the answer.
Seven decades of waiting, living her ‘happy ending’ despite the cruelties and danger she endured felt absolutely numb when thinking of them. But then again, it was probably because she was not there in the first place.
That she’d been plucked out of her new home to her old one, where time had not moved farther than a few months after that.
But who could she discuss such things openly with? Haila had never been the kind to confide with anyone about her own troubles. Or well… Luma had been the one to force such things out of her.
But things were different now, and no matter how much she loved him, she wouldn’t give him that freedom of listening to her. At least, not until he proved he’d grown himself out of his sometimes suffocating kindness.
And then… A dreadful idea popped into her mind.
Well, not exactly as dreadful as it used to be.
Haila pulled a chair over and set it before the large fish tank in her living room. On normal days, it was just another outlet for her toddler to look at while also learning how to respect animals (even if the fish were just fake to begin with). But at night, if she turned on the few lights within, it was also an outlet for her to stare off into space and relax. Not that she did as often as she thought. Once it was dark, she’d forget about the tank completely.
Today was not such day though.
She glanced down at her fingertips. What would happen if she was to experiment on the bits that she’d ‘lost’? But, no. This is exactly why she’d entered the deals that forbade her from being the one to run such things. Now was a time to seek something else, something different.
Without further ado, she approached the lit up tank. Fingertips grazing the glass slowly until they suddenly dipped into it as if she was but tearing fabric itself.
The surface grew smudged, or rather wrinkled as Haila continued tearing a hole through, and then, when she was finally done, a large square staring off into space remained in place of the tank display. Well… Calling it space would be a disservice, there was a perfectly solid block of ground on the other side on which to step onto.
But Haila wouldn’t dare step in, every part of her that passed through was no longer hers. And so far half of all her fingers and a right leg had been ‘lost’. The time she’d spent unconscious inside seemingly had not counter for this change, but consequences had certainly still happened.
No, she was merely going to sit on a chair and stare blankly at this entrance for a period of time. Waiting, expecting the other side to notice that a portal had been opened once more.
Haila waited and waited in silence. Her head slowly nodding off on her chair like a grandma finally starting to fall for her afternoon nap. Except it was night time, and she was overdue for sleep.
But eventually, those familiar footsteps finally were heard from the other side.
Her ears flickered a bit, followed by her dozing face slowly waking up.
“Rare to see you again.” the girl from the other side commented.
“Hah… I wasn’t sure what to do to be honest. But, I do owe you a lot. Just like how you’re probably in debt yourself.” Haila mentioned with a brief smirk as she had a good look at her companion.
A half mask was covering Second’s gaze.
“You’ve grown.” the Viera mentioned, clearly meaning every word despite a lack of change outside of the new mask.
“HAH! It’s what happens you and those misguided kids drag me into your mess. Now I have to deal with my own instead.” Second retorted, though the usual sharpness of her tone was missing amidst all this.
This was the first time that the two had ever spoken since Haila’s imminent fade of consciousness or even memories. Before the entire mess of fragments had ever happened, and before the Viera was ever forced to crumble.
Their exchanges were almost always brief, or out of the norm known as ‘ordinary’. And yet… For moments of silence, to mourn and grieve over what isn’t and what is lost. Those are the times when they were the best company for the other.
They were both “Beasts” after all. Different, but one of the same kind nonetheless.
“Oi. Can I ask you something?” Second suddenly mentioned after a long pause of silence.
“Depends on what it is.” Haila answered with an exhausted smirk.
Second arched a brow at that response.
“That’s rich coming from you, who doesn’t bother hiding anything to prove that you exist.”
“The mad scientist is supposed to reveal only what’s necessary until prodded about it no?” was all that Haila would offer in return.
“......Fine…” the Second relented.
“You were never one to cut corners when you obsessively worked on anything. So why cut them at the last second? Fifty? Forty decades for you of working endlessly to find a way back home, never once asking me to just open a portal there. Only to suddenly come here all of a sudden and demand for one the moment that suffocating man arrived. You pretty much discarded your entire work. Why?” she finally asked with arms crossed.
“I won't’ even include you accelerating the loss of your body parts to this place, since that was a smart move to force that horrible gap you had on your leg to close and heal. But then again, that was also cutting corners and cheating.”
Haila fell silent at this. It was true, why spend decades desperately trying to find a way back on her own, when the answer had been staring at her this entire time. But the reasons behind it. Even she didn’t understand them herself.
She was, after all. Twisted beyond measure. Trails of thought based on logic and convenience warped in a way that no one would be able to tell the difference. Love that would burn anything down if what mattered the most was lost.
Why then, not cut corners until it was almost over?
She could only smile at Second for this.
Even her reason for taking in this ‘curse’ each time she entered the Locus was something she’d never answered.
What did she really want, what was she seeking?
It was terrifying to try to figure Haila out.
“Your husband doesn’t know he wasn’t the one to bring you back there does he?”
“No he doesn’t.” Haila stated calmly.
“And I’ll keep it like that. He doesn’t need to know his efforts wouldn’t have brought me back.”
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