Up in the Stars

Eternity

And just like that, we are at our last chapter.

This journey has been absolutely surreal. 

☀           ☀           ☀

There is a restlessness in her bones as she waits.

A newly familiar ache in her limbs as she shifts in the uncomfortable chair.

The room is quiet, the only sounds coming from the clock on the wall and the scratching of a pen.

Enid stares out the window at the sprawling field outside.

An old oak tree stands proudly on the perimeter.

Branches stretched high toward the bright sky.

There is a hinting of leaves, a sign of the return of life.

She wonders if she is ready for this.

For the rest of her life.

"Dean Thomas will see you now." The secretary's voice startles her.

Standing slowly, she winces as her weight falls on her ankle.

It is the last of her physical injuries to remain.

She does her best not to limp as she pushes open the cracked door.

This office is one place she would have happily never returned to.

Dean Thomas is sat at his desk, a sugary smile stretched across his plump cheeks.

"Why, Miss McCarthy, what a pleasure!" His southern accent booms toward her.

The smile she gives him is small, fabricated.

Gesturing her toward the chairs in front of his desk, he begins a stream of pleasantries.

She knows just as well as he does how fake they are.

Settling in the seat before him, she becomes keenly aware of the empty space around her.

The last time she had been in this office, they had been with her.

Surrounding her on each side.

This time she is alone.

"How was your break?" It is a meaningless question, but she has to hold back something between a laugh and a scream as he asks it.

What if she told him the truth?

Started with running away, trying to change her identity.

Getting kidnapped, held hostage.

Assaulted.

How it ended with killing someone.

The familiar tug of guilt tightens in her ribs and she clears the thoughts away.

"Relatively uneventful." Enid lies through her teeth.

The dean launches into a masquerade of flattery on her performance at the Winter Gala.

"I'm here to unenroll." She finally cuts through as he starts a third round of compliments on her 'virtuosity'.

Dean Thomas freezes, his bushy eyebrows furrowing.

There is a long, tense pause as his beady eyes study her.

"Now, I don't think that's such a good idea. The Winter Gala was the most successful fundraising event we've had since I've been dean here and most of our highest donors specifically mentioned you as they pulled out their checkbooks." He says bluntly, all friendliness falling away.