AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know enough to be aware that you would do this,” he shows me his injured palms. “You're only hurting yourself, and I can't help you when you’re like this.”
“You're hurting me. You and the rest. Are you turning your back on me now? You don’t know what I feel!” I explode into tears.
“I know exactly what you feel, child, but stop doing this to yourself,” he looks at the wounds in his palms, and I soften.
“I'm sorry, Han! I don't know what came over me…” I cover my wounded palms and look around, bewildered.
“From now on, you are no longer welcome here, Rebecca. Stay away from the dojo, for the sake of everyone, but especially for your own good.”
“Don't do this to me, Han! Don't abandon me too!” I clutch onto his hoodie, but he grabs my wrist and pushes me away.
“I'm sorry, Becca,” he steps back and takes my access card from around my neck. “Take care of yourself.”
I feel like I'm losing it, and I kick the dojo door when I hear it close. I wipe the tears off my cheeks, continuing to glare angrily at him for a few seconds, before turning back towards the locker room. I gather my belongings and head off to work.
“Becca? What are you doing here? It's not your shift yet.”
“I wanted to come early,” I absentmindedly respond to the other nurse, and arrange my medication doses for when my shift begins.
“I heard about…”
“I don't want to talk about it, Sidney,” I cut her off, and her expression changes, lowering her head and focusing on her own tasks.
In turn, I decide to step outside into the garden and grab a cup of coffee. I try to regain my balance, but I feel like I'm sinking even deeper into despair. I glance at my bandaged palms and gently lift the edge of the bandage, noticing how quickly they are healing after applying some lotion from the patient's supplies. The wounds are superficial, but I'm young, I can endure this physical pain. The only pain I can't handle is the one here, in my chest.
“Rebecca from Manderley, here you are!”
“Here I am, Bebeto,” I sigh and sit a little closer to the edge of the bench. “And I've told you before, I grew up in Matlock, not Manderley.”
“Manderley doesn't exist. It's a fictional location from the story.”
“I know, you've told me. I've seen the movie too, during Movie Fridays, after the staff with the projector changed it at your insistence. Or have you forgotten?”
“I was surprised to hear that even your friend knows about the movie. Yesterday, I showed him the theater play on your YouTube channel.”
“Which friend are you talking about? I don't have any guy friends, except for you.”
“Hm... what did he say his name was...? It was a complicated name, and I knew I would forget it. Forgive a poor old senile man.”
“I won't forgive you. Make an effort for me, Bebeto! How did he look?” I swallow hard, and a sense of unease washes over me.
“Tall, solid, and strong, with broad shoulders and a boxer's build.
“Blond, brunette, or chestnut?
Manasseh, Samael, or Uriel?
“Blond,” the old man seems closer to the truth that I fear.
There is no more room for doubt.
“Is his name Manasseh, by any chance?”
“Yes, yes! Exactly. Just like in the biblical story. He was huge, like the very Angel of Destruction. His broad shoulders seemed unreal, like immense wings.”
“That’s stupid!” I stand up from the bench and feel my whole body trembling. “There are no angels, Bebeto. There are only humans. Manasseh is not an angel, he's just a man... a mad one.”
“I know you never take me seriously when I talk about the Bible, but he himself admitted that he is here to bring disaster.”
