INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 21: BEHIND HER SMILES

Weeks have passed. Xaviere and Petrichor have been spending a lot of time together. He followed her regularly to her rehearsals and competitions and she came around the dorm a lot. They will go to watch the football games together whenever Logan had a match; it was just an excuse to spend more time with each other. Petrichor and Xaviere were two love birds who could not keep their hands off each other and the affection they held for themselves was very glaring.

In The VOID, they avoided suspicion by acting really professional; it was no hassle for Petrichor but Xaviere struggled with it. Whether or not Zero noticed was a mystery because the man rarely showed emotions and he was hard to decipher. When a person has been in The VOID that long, things like human emotion becomes trivial them; an amorous relationship between VOID agents is the least of his concerns as long as it does not interfere with their missions.

Nothing has really changed about Xaviere’s studies. Things still feel too easy and others unnecessary; just as he has done in the past, he went to the classes because he did not want to disappoint his parents and honestly there’s nothing else he would use the time for. The only extracurricular thing he did was Petrichor.

On a particular day, Petrichor and Xaviere went to Alice’s shop. They placed orders; latte for Xaviere and Cappuccino for Petrichor. They sat at a table and had a conversation. They spoke about lots of things laughing intermittently at their many inside jokes. Unknown to Xaviere, Sarah sat a few tables away from them. She had come there with the hope that she might see him. She sat alone for a little over an hour sipping coffee.

When Xaviere first walked into the shop, Sarah was so happy to see him but then she saw Petrichor walk in next. She had never seen her before but she could tell this was the woman Xaviere always spoke off. She was very beautiful and honestly she felt Xaviere had done a horrible job describing that beauty. She saw Xaviere hold the door open for her; the shy library worker being so gentlemanly. This was a side of Xaviere she had never seen; she was well aware it existed but this was the first time she saw him exhibit his prim and proper British ways in a romantic manner. She was impressed but at the same time she was jealous; impressed with his chivalry but jealous of the fact that that was not her walking into the door at that moment. She was jealous of the fact that she was not the object of his affection. While he walked her to the counter, she sat alone, watching them.

She strained her ears and listened to their talks. She did not understand some of the jokes but she knew a lot of what Xaviere was saying. They have had conversations but nothing this interesting; she had never seen him this chatty before. With each passing moment, her surprise grew but so did her jealousy. She was already aggravated enough when she heard something that completely threw her off; it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Xaviere was talking about French Literature with this woman; not just any French Literature, the cheeky romantic ones she suggested to him, the ones he always talked down on.

She got up and walked towards their table. She took very bold, confident steps to their table and then said, “Hi Xaviere.” It was not until she spoke those words that she realized the gravity of what she was about to do. She was about to intrude on a date on the basis of a very stupid reason. She had no right to walk over there like that. What exactly was she supposed to say? She had so many thoughts within a split second.

She was still thinking when Xaviere suddenly said, “Sarah, hey, how have you been? It’s been forever.” He got off his chair and hugged Sarah briefly. In the little moment of their bodily contact, Sarah could feel his chest and saw the broadness of his shoulders. Those morning routines were really paying off.

“Petrichor, this is Sarah, my friend from the library. Sarah, meet Petrichor… my Petrichor.” Xaviere said as he really did not know what title he will introduce her with. They had earlier had a conversation about relationships and commitment and both came to conclusion that labels complicate the flow of things. So, it was only right that he called her his Petrichor.

“My friend…” those words were stuck on Sarah’s mind; how easily he rolled out the words, “My friend”. Was that all she would be to him, a friend? She was caught up in her thought when Petrichor said, “I have heard so much about you.” She stretched her hand forward and shook her.

“Likewise…” Sarah responded.

“Oh really, what did Xaviere say about me?”

“Let’s not bother ourselves with this talk…” Xaviere said feeling embarrassed. Sarah then said, “Nothing he hasn’t already told you I bet…” Petrichor blushed. Seeing her up close, Sarah became intimidated. She was really beautiful; Sarah did not stand a chance.

“I wondered where this book went.” Sarah said looking at the book on the table. It was the book she gave Xaviere to read; the same book he gave Petrichor to read, the one that Sarah heard them speak about a few moments ago.

“I am so sorry. That book has been due for days. It just escaped my mind. I should have brought it back earlier. II will bring it tomorrow.” Xaviere said.

“It is such an amazing piece of art; you have quite an amazing taste in literature.” Petrichor said.

“Thank you very much. It is nice to hear it for once.” Sarah said nodding and looking at Xaviere.

“It is really good and I am so sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I wasn’t really into the genre at that time but I finally gave it a chance and I must say; it is beautiful.” Xaviere said. On hearing the politeness of Xaviere and ‘his Petrichor’, Sarah got very emotional. She felt her face warm up and her eyes water. She felt like crying but she did not know exactly why.

“OK, thank you, bye.” Sarah said very abruptly turning around and walking briskly to the door. She was already outside and in a half run when Alice said, “Your change…” At this point, Sarah was far gone, crying as she ran in the cold.

“What was that?” Petrichor asked.

“I…don’t …know” Xaviere responded. “I hope she’s fine though.”

“Maybe she was really in a hurry.” Petrichor said. Xaviere was concerned at first but then Petrichor continued their discussion and took his mind off Sarah’s awkward exit. They finished their meal and left the shop.

The next week, Xaviere went to the library. He intended to return the book and pay Sarah a visit. It has been a month since he last came into the library. He wanted to see her because he told her he would. Now it was the time to return the book, he thought to himself, “Why not just kill two birds with one stone?”

On getting to the library, he did not see Sarah. Xaviere asked around about her. No one seem to know why she was not around or for how long she had been absent. Xaviere met with Mr. James who happened to be on duty that day. He said he had not seen her in a while and even told David, the Chief librarian. David sent her the customary email; she did not respond. Xaviere became worried. He had been to Sarah’s place once when he helped her move some of her stuff. Luckily, he still remembered the path to her place and was going to pay her a visit.

Xaviere had a bad feeling and left he tried to call her severally; she did not pick any of his calls. He left her several voicemails. He got into a cab and went to her house.

Sarah lived in an apartment building. Her room was on the fourth floor. Xaviere was going to take the elevator but it was occupied. He had to take the stairs. He ran up the stairs as quickly as he could. He finally reached Sarah’s floor. He came to her door. It was unlocked. As Xaviere walked into the room, he saw the most shocking thing. Sarah was standing on a stool with a rope around her neck. The end of the rope was tied to a hook on the ceiling. Sarah was about to kill herself and being the histrionic she was, she was going to do it in the most dramatic fashion.

“Sarah, what are you doing?” Xaviere said in a loud voice. He did not want to startle her so he spoke in a way that was calm and audible. Sarah with tears in her eyes looked at him and said, “I am tired. I don’t want to be alive; I just want to die today. I want to sleep and never wake up. I can’t do this anymore.

“We love you. Sarah, you are smart and sweet and beautiful and there’s so much potential in you. You’re on the path to greatness. Please don’t deny us of the amazing things you have embedded in you. There’s a future out there for you; think about your mother. She loves and she has put in so much into your life. She raised a strong, good woman. What you want to do is run away and I know you mum did not raise a quitter.” Xaviere said as he slowly walked forward. “Whatever it is you are going through, this is not the way. I am here for you Sarah, I got you.” Xaviere said still moving forward.

“No, no; you’re lying.” Sarah said with tears running down her cheeks. “You don’t love me, nobody does.”

“We love you Sarah; your mum, James, the workers at the library, we all love you. Sarah, I love you.” Xaviere said now standing a few paces away from the stool. Sarah held her hands over her face and cried. Her legs were shaky and Xaviere could see them. He was still coming closer when suddenly she jumped.

The stool fell to the ground as Sarah leaped off it. Immediately she jumped, Xaviere caught her in his hands preventing the noose from suffocating her. Using his powers, Xaviere cut the rope and brought her down safely. They sat there on the floor; she tightly hugged him as they both cried.