03-10-2020, 05:49 PM
Xia sat upright on a chair in her room, with her eyes closed and her hands on her stomach. She breathed deliberately, in and out, calming her heart rate as she meditated. It was important to her to remain calm during her imprisonment, allowing it to distress her would only endanger her baby, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen. So, in spite of her situation, she would remain calm, determined and accepting - at least, for the present moment.
Knock, knock.
Her eyes shot open, and her heart rate spiked a little before she could get it under control once more. They came on a regular schedule, those who gave her food, more books, medical check-ups and whatnot. This was not a regular visit. And nobody bothered to knock, she wasn’t afforded that much courtesy, given she was basically her grandmother’s prisoner, even if this ‘cell’ was rather luxurious.
“Come in?” she offered after a while, tentatively, uncertain, standing and taking a step towards the door.
A lock turned, and the door was pushed open, equally tentatively, until Xia saw her grandmother standing in front of her. She let out a squeak of fear and immediately jumped backwards, until she stood in the far corner of the room, staring with the wide eyes of a cornered animal facing a predator. Her grandmother stepped into the room, and she suddenly wondered what it would be like to die, to be murdered right here by her own blood. Then Olivia Pierre appeared behind her grandmother.
“Xia, I am not going to hurt you,” the Councillor said gently, holding out her hands in a calming gesture. It did not look very natural on her. “I know you have no reason to believe me, perhaps you will believe your friend.”
“She really won’t, Xia,” Olivia stepped past the Councillor and came over to Xia, putting her arm around the terrified woman and hugging her. “We’ve had a conversation, and this was all one big misunderstanding.”
“I… I don’t…” Xia stammered, unable to form a sentence, still staring at her grandmother in fear as Olivia led her over and sat her down on the bed beside her. Her grandmother took a seat on the chair that Xia had vacated upon hearing the knock.
“Xia, firstly I must apologise,” Councillor Chiu forced out the words. She was not used to apologising. “I was led to believe that you were provoking them, when you were really trying to end the feud. If I had known, if you had told me…”
“Councillor!” snapped Olivia. “Remember what we talked about?”
“Insolent… fine, fine, you are right. I am sorry. I should not try to blame you for my own insecurities, Xia, I should have attempted to find out the truth myself before punishing you for something you did not actually do,” she said as if she was reading lines from a script.
“You wouldn’t have locked me up if I’d told you?” whispered Xia, confused and cautious.
“Of course not! I have wanted to end this for a long time. Since I was a child, listening to my own grandmother tell me horror stories of her family being wiped out. But it was never possible, they always just led us on and frightened us. If I had known what you were trying to do, if I had known it was working, I would never have done this, believe me. I’m so sorry,” she said, genuinely this time, and suddenly burst into tears. “Oh Goddess, I’ve messed it all up!”
Xia, uncertain what to do, looked to Olivia, and then to her grandmother, and stood softly, walking over and awkwardly patting her grandmother on the back.
“It’s… okay,” Xia said, looking to Olivia for some kind of reassurance.
“No, it will never end now,” wailed the Councillor, “we’re always going to have to be afraid, we’re always going to have to be so afraid!”
“No,” reassured Xia, “we won’t. This will be over, I promise. That’s all I wanted. I wish you hadn’t… I wish this hadn’t happened, and it will take me some time to get over this and to, well, to feel safe around you again, but we want the same thing. For our family to be safe.”
“So…” Councillor Chiu wiped a tear from her eye, “so you forgive me?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Xia remarked, “but I might. If you prove to me you’ve changed, and won’t do something like this again. But, grandmother, Councillor, if you want to end the feud, it’s you who has the power to do so. I understand why you’re afraid, I do, and why you feel driven to make these choices. It’s time, though, to learn that the bad old days are over. We’re safe, grandmother… we’re safe.”
“I… I’m sorry,” whispered Chiu, looking up at her granddaughter.
“I know,” she said, turning away. “Olivia, do you mind if I come and stay with you for a while?”
“Of course not,” Olivia assured her, “you’re very welcome.”
“Assuming you’re not going to stop me, I’ll be leaving now,” Xia told her grandmother. “Think on what I’ve said, please. If you can prove to me you’ve changed, maybe I can forgive you for this.”
The two young women left the room, leaving the Councillor to sit with her head in her hands, sobbing over her own mistakes and wishing she could rewrite the past. Councillor Chiu was, however, suddenly very determined to move forward, and to change her ways. She had spent 78 years living in fear… one more second wouldn’t do.
*
“Why now?” Xia asked Olivia as she drove the pair of them back to Grapevale from the Chiu residence.
“The Auroras,” Olivia responded. “The Programme has been shut down. All of the Council have taken a hit, and I took a gamble that she’d be willing to listen to me as a result. They’re all coming round to the idea that reform is a good thing. Including your grandmother.”
“She has started supporting reform!?” exclaimed Xia, turning to face Olivia, who continued to look at the road.
“Not overtly, but it’s fairly obvious. Also, she’s been hurting. I’ve seen it, she is not coping very well with all this mess. She didn’t want to lock you up, it was killing her slowly with guilt.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“Of course not, but she was so relieved when I told her she was wrong. I worried that if I did it too soon that she’d just push back against being contradicted, or even start plotting with my own mother. But I understand that you might never be able to forgive her.”
“I’ll forgive her,” Xia sighed. “She didn’t hurt me, and I understand it. She was trying to keep our family safe, I can’t hold that against her for long.”
“She kept you prisoner for months,” said Olivia incredulously. “How can you find it so easy to forgive her!?”
“She’s my family,” shrugged Xia like it was obvious, gazing out the window.
“I… I’ll never understand that, the Chiu obsession with family. My mother almost certainly tried to have me killed. Twice. I’ll never be able to forgive her.”
“You don’t need to understand it,” Xia said, smiling as she looked out at the bright blue sky. “It is how it is, and nothing can change that.”
Knock, knock.
Her eyes shot open, and her heart rate spiked a little before she could get it under control once more. They came on a regular schedule, those who gave her food, more books, medical check-ups and whatnot. This was not a regular visit. And nobody bothered to knock, she wasn’t afforded that much courtesy, given she was basically her grandmother’s prisoner, even if this ‘cell’ was rather luxurious.
“Come in?” she offered after a while, tentatively, uncertain, standing and taking a step towards the door.
A lock turned, and the door was pushed open, equally tentatively, until Xia saw her grandmother standing in front of her. She let out a squeak of fear and immediately jumped backwards, until she stood in the far corner of the room, staring with the wide eyes of a cornered animal facing a predator. Her grandmother stepped into the room, and she suddenly wondered what it would be like to die, to be murdered right here by her own blood. Then Olivia Pierre appeared behind her grandmother.
“Xia, I am not going to hurt you,” the Councillor said gently, holding out her hands in a calming gesture. It did not look very natural on her. “I know you have no reason to believe me, perhaps you will believe your friend.”
“She really won’t, Xia,” Olivia stepped past the Councillor and came over to Xia, putting her arm around the terrified woman and hugging her. “We’ve had a conversation, and this was all one big misunderstanding.”
“I… I don’t…” Xia stammered, unable to form a sentence, still staring at her grandmother in fear as Olivia led her over and sat her down on the bed beside her. Her grandmother took a seat on the chair that Xia had vacated upon hearing the knock.
“Xia, firstly I must apologise,” Councillor Chiu forced out the words. She was not used to apologising. “I was led to believe that you were provoking them, when you were really trying to end the feud. If I had known, if you had told me…”
“Councillor!” snapped Olivia. “Remember what we talked about?”
“Insolent… fine, fine, you are right. I am sorry. I should not try to blame you for my own insecurities, Xia, I should have attempted to find out the truth myself before punishing you for something you did not actually do,” she said as if she was reading lines from a script.
“You wouldn’t have locked me up if I’d told you?” whispered Xia, confused and cautious.
“Of course not! I have wanted to end this for a long time. Since I was a child, listening to my own grandmother tell me horror stories of her family being wiped out. But it was never possible, they always just led us on and frightened us. If I had known what you were trying to do, if I had known it was working, I would never have done this, believe me. I’m so sorry,” she said, genuinely this time, and suddenly burst into tears. “Oh Goddess, I’ve messed it all up!”
Xia, uncertain what to do, looked to Olivia, and then to her grandmother, and stood softly, walking over and awkwardly patting her grandmother on the back.
“It’s… okay,” Xia said, looking to Olivia for some kind of reassurance.
“No, it will never end now,” wailed the Councillor, “we’re always going to have to be afraid, we’re always going to have to be so afraid!”
“No,” reassured Xia, “we won’t. This will be over, I promise. That’s all I wanted. I wish you hadn’t… I wish this hadn’t happened, and it will take me some time to get over this and to, well, to feel safe around you again, but we want the same thing. For our family to be safe.”
“So…” Councillor Chiu wiped a tear from her eye, “so you forgive me?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Xia remarked, “but I might. If you prove to me you’ve changed, and won’t do something like this again. But, grandmother, Councillor, if you want to end the feud, it’s you who has the power to do so. I understand why you’re afraid, I do, and why you feel driven to make these choices. It’s time, though, to learn that the bad old days are over. We’re safe, grandmother… we’re safe.”
“I… I’m sorry,” whispered Chiu, looking up at her granddaughter.
“I know,” she said, turning away. “Olivia, do you mind if I come and stay with you for a while?”
“Of course not,” Olivia assured her, “you’re very welcome.”
“Assuming you’re not going to stop me, I’ll be leaving now,” Xia told her grandmother. “Think on what I’ve said, please. If you can prove to me you’ve changed, maybe I can forgive you for this.”
The two young women left the room, leaving the Councillor to sit with her head in her hands, sobbing over her own mistakes and wishing she could rewrite the past. Councillor Chiu was, however, suddenly very determined to move forward, and to change her ways. She had spent 78 years living in fear… one more second wouldn’t do.
*
“Why now?” Xia asked Olivia as she drove the pair of them back to Grapevale from the Chiu residence.
“The Auroras,” Olivia responded. “The Programme has been shut down. All of the Council have taken a hit, and I took a gamble that she’d be willing to listen to me as a result. They’re all coming round to the idea that reform is a good thing. Including your grandmother.”
“She has started supporting reform!?” exclaimed Xia, turning to face Olivia, who continued to look at the road.
“Not overtly, but it’s fairly obvious. Also, she’s been hurting. I’ve seen it, she is not coping very well with all this mess. She didn’t want to lock you up, it was killing her slowly with guilt.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“Of course not, but she was so relieved when I told her she was wrong. I worried that if I did it too soon that she’d just push back against being contradicted, or even start plotting with my own mother. But I understand that you might never be able to forgive her.”
“I’ll forgive her,” Xia sighed. “She didn’t hurt me, and I understand it. She was trying to keep our family safe, I can’t hold that against her for long.”
“She kept you prisoner for months,” said Olivia incredulously. “How can you find it so easy to forgive her!?”
“She’s my family,” shrugged Xia like it was obvious, gazing out the window.
“I… I’ll never understand that, the Chiu obsession with family. My mother almost certainly tried to have me killed. Twice. I’ll never be able to forgive her.”
“You don’t need to understand it,” Xia said, smiling as she looked out at the bright blue sky. “It is how it is, and nothing can change that.”
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax