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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
Words:
702
Chapters:
1/1
Kudos:
5
Hits:
1,122

Letters

Summary:

The letter trembled slightly in his fingers as he caught the familiar pattern once more, founds events mismatched and belonging to others, a basic code that translated to a horror that only he seemed able to see. Willing to see.*

Work Text:

Letters
by Ann

 

River loved Christmas. She made the day for them—always. It didn't matter about presents. Didn't matter how many waves came in on the Cortex with well-wishes. Didn't matter about the music or food or anything. She made * them* matter. All of them. Family. She'd always dragged Simon away from work or his studies, and found a way to bring them all together.

Until now.

Simon stared down at the letter in his hand, slowly reading over the words once more, immediately finding the ones which made no sense, the letters standing out from the page. So innocuous looking within paragraphs, interwoven with real memories and thoughts she'd voiced, but making no sense. River *never* missed Christmas. Even for this. He couldn't see it, couldn't believe what he was reading,. His fingers were at the Cortex again, checking to see if she'd returned his wave. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken to her now, letters came almost every two weeks as she'd promised but the last wave…it had to have been months ago.

He looked back down at the letter, paper well-worn and dog-eared. There had to be something else, some other reason. is parents might let themselves believe that staying at school was the norm, but Simon wasn't convinced. Di you, they'd convinced themselves River was heading for valedictorian of her class, showing such amazing progress she couldn't be, and wouldn't let herself be, torn from her studies.

He knew better. He knew River, knew his meimei's mind as well as he knew his own, and these letters weren't River. They weren't someone else completely but they were twisted, confused, emotions screaming out from underneath the ink. The letter trembled slightly in his fingers as he caught the familiar pattern once more, founds events mismatched and belonging to others, a basic code that translated to a horror that only he seemed able to see. Willing to see.

*They're hurting us, get me out*

The same message again and again, for six months now. Since the waves stopped, since River's visits were rescheduled with no view to ever come about. Simon's chest ached reading them, the hidden message prevalent and pleading in each and every one. Slowly, he dropped it onto the ever growing pile beside them. He'd tried speaking to his parents, but they didn't want to face the possibility; given how much River had pushed to get in, the efforts she'd gone to to be accepted, and how much Simon had disliked the idea of her moving away, they were convinced he was reading into things. Becoming immersed in a fantasy in which he heroically rescued his sister from whatever atrocities were being committed on her. The worst that his mind could imagine, it sickened him to think about. His mother had even suggested speaking to someone professionally, that perhaps his delusions, as she untactful referred to them, could be resolved (through medical intervention).
.

*They're hurting us*.

His eyes drifted back to the letter. It had always been him and River, from the moment she'd been born they'd been drawn together. Younger than their peers at school, gifted and unique as their parents called it, they'd naturally grown closer over the years. Too close in some ways. Much as Simon had hated moving to Capital City away from her during his first rotation, he'd been relieved too. The line that had been blurring was set straight again, words spoken over waves and letter no longer held the same degree of teasing and temptation that they had. Touch was not an option  and, with it gone, the line was set sharp once more.

Now he missed that closeness, the intensity that had only grown as they'd aged.

Perhaps he really couldn't be without her, perhaps he *was* reading too much into things, Simon couldn't be sure. But he knew River and he knew nothing would make her miss this. If it meant embarrassing himself and his family, guilty as the latter made him feel, he was willing to do so.

Willing to do anything.

 

end