“Did it work?” I ask.
She stares at me and shakes her head, her eyes widening.
“I couldn’t do it,” she whispers. “I couldn’t do the one thing she needed.”
Endless relief spreads through me.
“Why?” I ask silently.
A moment’s pause.
“Because of you,” she says.
Silence.
“Because I love you.”
More silence.
“Because El is dead.”
Goosebumps spread over my arms.
“And you are here.”
A tear finds its way down my cheek.
“Yes,” I say, smiling weakly. “I am here.”
Her expression softens.
“Marry me,” she says.
“Yes,” I hear myself say.
I can’t really grasp what is happening.
She walks over to me.
Grasps my face.
Kisses me.
“Hi,” she says between kisses against my lips.
“Hi,” I say back.
We stare at each other for a very long time, and then, she suddenly gets up.
I follow her with my eyes.
“What are you doing?” I ask her as my heart plummets, because she walks past me with scissors in her hands and strides to the bathroom.
I run after her as she doesn’t answer.
I turn on the bright lights in the bathroom, which I never do, because I hate the bright ceiling lights. Whoever invented them should be imprisoned, but right now, I need to see. My body is on full alert because the last time she went into the bathroom, she cut open her wrist.
But when I see her, I relax. At least part of me.
