They appear at the cliff side that overlooks the lighthouse, but this time there is no bench. The air is cool as the breeze from the ocean brushes against their skin. It is late, and it appears the sun just finished setting. The purple flowers they used to memory jump sit in the ground between them. Without speaking to each other, they both advance down the path that leads to the house. After walking across the last bridge, the back of the house is visible. What they see is not a house, but the foundation of one; multiple wooden beams that shape the frame of the home that is being built.
Dr. Rosalene- "Heh, look what we have here."
Dr. Watts- "I bet they saw this cliff, and thought it was not dangerous enough without people living on it."
The walk around to the front of the house where they see John sitting on the soft grass leaned up against the newly crafted wall. His clothes are covered in sawdust; his hands are rough and covered in blisters. He rests with his left hand on his forehead, his eyes shut and a very obvious fatigue that seems more than overwhelming. There are three large stacks of two by fours along with a large pile of thick, coarse rope to the right of him, and an old blue Chevy pick-up truck with more two by fours in the back to his left. Before Eva or Neil had a chance to interact with anything, they see a woman walking from the path below towards John. She is older, around his age. Her hazel eyes shine in contrary to her slightly wrinkled skin, and her hair is a light grey color, cut short below her ears. She wears a cotton based light blue dress that comes down to her feet. A portion of the dress, from her shins down, is made of a dark grey colored material. She stops about 10 feet from John with a concerned expression on her face as she speaks.
Isabelle- "Nick called and said I should come."
As if he is bothered by her concern, he lets out a long sigh, and continues to keep his eyes shut and his body leaned up against the wall. She continues walking, and stands with her back facing the house, at the left side of John. She keeps her face forward, most likely due to the fact that eye contact is out of the question.
Isabelle- "I brought you pickled olives. They're your favorite, right?"
She places a small glass jar full of picked olives on the ground in front of her. She looks to John, but there is no response.
Isabelle- "...I heard about River. Will she be ok?"
Finally, he lowers his hand from his head, and opens his eyes. You can tell from his expression that he is severely depressed, as if the life left his body, leaving nothing but an empty shell.
John- "Her illness was just diagnosed in its late stage. Fortunately, it's treatable."
He eyes close, and his voice seems to weaken with every word.
John- "But the medical bills..."
Finally, he turns and faces her; concern in his voice.
John- "We can't afford to finish building this house, Isabelle."
Depressed even more so by his words, he turns and looks to the sky above, as if to find an answer written in the stars.
John- "We can barely afford to pay for her treatment."
He wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead.
John- "I'm just relieved that she'll be okay, but... You don't know how much this place means to her."
He closes his eyes once more, his voice now shameful.
John- "She's going to be heartbroken."
Isabelle- "...I'd help, but Ted and I have been barely getting by since the market crashed. What are you going to do now."
John, with a sense of determination in his voice.
John- "I'm... I'm going to tell her that we can make it. I'm going to tell her that we can afford everything... I don't want her to do anything crazy."
Isabelle- "You shouldn't lie to her."
They now face each other.
John- "You don't understand, Isabelle. If she found out, I'm not sure which she'd choose."
Isabelle- "So what? If she chooses not to save herself for the sake of this place, then so be it. It's what she really wants. I really dislike when you neurotypicals think you know what's best for others."
John- "...I hate when you call me that, Izzy. Do you think this is all about her? What about me, Isabelle? After all these years, am I not allowed to be selfish even once?"
He turns away from her, and closes his eyes.
John- "...I don't want to be alone, Isabelle."
He stands up suddenly, with a hint of anger in his words.
John- "I'm not going to let her die."
Isabelle- "That's arrogant."
John- "I don't care."
He turns to his right and starts walking towards Neil and Eva.
Isabelle- "Where are you going?"
John- "I'm going to pick something from this cliff to bring back to her. It'll at least give her some comfort."
Isabelle- "...That doesn't make what you're doing any less wrong."
She takes something framed out of the pocked sewn into her dress.
Isabelle- "Nick wanted me to give you this."
John turns around to see what it is.
Isabelle- "He said it's called 'Everything's Alright'."
He turns back around.
John- "...It isn't."
With those last words, he continues walking down the path, and never turns back. Isabelle stands still, not sure of what to think of the whole situation, when Eva decides to look for items to memory jump. She first walks over to the item Isabelle placed on the ground for John. Inside the golden frame is sheet music, probably for the piano. Because the jar of pickled olives was right next to them, Eva decides to use it as the trigger object, and she pushes the first essence through it. They then walk over to the truck to use that, and when they walk through the entrance way of the house to look for more items, Eva's scanner beeps signaling an item has been found. She checks to see that the walkway itself counted as an item. They found nothing within the house, so she decided to go where john was at the edge of the cliff. From over the bridge, they see John on his knees digging with his hands at the ground around the purple flowers they used to memory jump last time. Suddenly, Eva's scanner beeps twice, and she sees that the image of John digging up the flowers counted as two memory essences. Without questioning it, they head back to the pickled olives, break the barrier with the rest of the items, and disappear into the next memory.
To Be Continued...