Irene's New Life

Irene Alder

2/8/975 AD

It's been a few weeks since I started work as a slave on Master Olaf's farm. It's been quite boring, but here we go with yet another day of housework.

A thin stream of golden light burst in through the window at the head of my bed. It covered my face, colouring it a beautiful golden-orange. My eyes flickered beneath my eyelids as my sleep ceased. Opening my eyes, I got straight out of bed. My bare feet landed on the cool floor, untouched by the morning rays.

"Rise and shine, girls! It's morning!" a feminine voice boomed from the doorway of our little slave house. It was Frida, Olaf's wife.

"Oh? Irene! You're already awake. Good, very good!" she gave me an approving smile before turning to the rest, "the rest of you! Follow Irene's lead next time and wake up earlier!"

"Yes ma'am," the small voices of the abruptly woken women murmured from far within the building.

"Well, get dressed and meet me out in front of Olaf's place," Frida ordered before pivoting on her foot and walking in a beeline for the house.

"Why does Irene always get the praise? I can cook and clean better than her and yet, they like her more?" I could hear some of the girls complaining and insulting me. It was a common occurrence - see, I wasn't really liked around here by anyone save for the men and Frida. "It's her looks," another one answered. I could feel their disgusted gazes on my body as I dressed myself.

"It's not polite to watch a woman get dressed," I spoke, giving the women a look over my shoulder as I fit into my clothes. The clothes were nowhere near as elegant and beautiful as the clothes I used to wear back at home. These clothes were dirty and crinkled, both evident signs of their age; the colouring scheme wasn't too great either - a disgusting reddish brown colour. "Shut up," one of the women spat in response, giving me a hateful glare. My eyes fell on hers for a moment, before quickly looking away as I exited our little shack which really did pale in comparison to Olaf's mansion.

It was a short walk from the slave house to the master's house. Which made sense, considering this is where we women spent most of our day - cleaning dishes, washing clothes, dusting the interior. All the housework, really. As I made it up over the hill, onto the plateau the house was on, Frida came into view, standing in place, tapping her foot rather impatiently. "Irene! You made it!" Frida exclaimed with bright eyes, lifting her arms up in relief. "Where's the rest?" she asked looking behind me.

"They're coming," I answered quietly.

"These women really need to get their act together! We don't have any time to waste these days!" Frida complained in exasperation.

"We're here ma'am! Sorry for the wait! Hilde here lost her clothes," the three other maids came running up the hill, lifting their dresses as they ran so as not to get them messier than they already were. 

"Hilde, keep a better eye on your clothes next time!" Frida scolded the woman known as Hilde. "Well. Now that everyone is here, it's time we get to work! Irene," she nodded in my direction, "you will be cooking the meals today. Hilde and Hilda, you'll be cleaning the clothes. And, finally, Gertrud, you'll be cleaning the house today!" With that, we all left to our individual posts. Hilde and Hilda went to collect the dirty clothes of the day prior and set out to wash them in the river. Gertrud accompanied me into the house. "Irene, are you sure you're food will be able to please the master?" Gertrud asked with no worry for me, rather, just trying to get in my head.

"I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out," I answered confidently, holding my head high, showing absolutely no signs I was effected by her words.

I felt her gaze drill into the side of my head with very strong distaste before it flicked away from my head and she spoke, "Well, bye, Irene," And, with that, we split ways inside the house. Whilst I went to the kitchen, Gertrud went to the grab up her cleaning supplies. 

The inside of the kitchen was full of a variety of different things used for cooking such as pots and cauldrons. The room also had a small cupboard which was full to the brim with bread and a great deal of vegetables. To actually cook the food, there was a fireplace in the centre of the room. First, I spent a few minutes cutting up a variety of different vegetables and pieces of bread. Then, I had to fill the cauldron with water, which wasn't too difficult as there was a door that led directly from the kitchen out to a well. After that, I lit the fire and placed the cauldron, full of water and the different vegetables, over the raging flame. Taking a seat beside the steaming cauldron, I began stirring the concoction absently, my thoughts elsewhere. "Ah, this brings back memories," I smiled lightly, staring at the fire. I was remembering my few, short lived, weeks I had with Aslerta after ditching our village. More specifically, how Aslerta would always cook us freshly caught fish over a fire, just like this. "That really did make me hate fish," I chuckled quietly, the edges of my eyes tingling with the feeling of tears forming. "I wonder how Aslerta's doing with Guttorm," tears broke from my eyes in two synchronised streams. "When will I get to see him again?" I broke into a full on sob, tears falling from my eyes in massive outbursts. My hands moved to cover my eyes as the water continued to fall from them. "No. I-I have to s-stop c-crying like this," my hands clenched into small fists against my eyes as I forced myself to think of something else. The tears eventually began to subside as my mind flooded with pictures of Aslerta smiling - pictures of Aslerta and I having fun every day, when Aslerta was supposed to be working. Images of when we kissed for the first time, by the river. Pictures of that feast I was invited to, years ago, when I was only a girl. "Oh, I remember how disappointed by that I was," I laughed heartily, recalling my feelings of disappointment when I was shown their pathetic assortment of food. "That did the trick," my lips broke into a smile and my tears dried up in my eyes, leaving behind a crusty sensation.

***

After a few more minutes of staring mindlessly, eventually, the food smelt like it was ready to be served. Grabbing out a few bowls, I filled each of them with the vegetable soup I'd made, providing a piece of bread with each of the bowls. Walking out of the kitchen and into the living room, where the table was, I was met by three gazes. Those gazes belonged to Olaf himself along with two of his younger sons. One was four years old and the other was six years old. He had other sons, but they were all older and had their own houses and slaves on this property; they were practically independent. "Here you go, sir," I sighed as I placed the bowl down in front of him, my hands freeing up a bit.

"And, here you go, young masters," I gave the boys a sweet smile before laying down the last two bowls in front of them.

"Fank yew," the boys responded, their mouths already full of food.

"I hope you enjoy it," I looked between the two with a happy expression before walking back around the table, to where Olaf sat. "Do you not like the food sir?" I asked, my heart quickening as nervousness welled up within me, noticing he hadn't touched the bowl in front of him.

"No, that's not it," he answered, his old gaze holding mine in place. "You were crying," he observed, "What was it?"

"N-no sir! I wasn't crying!" I shook my head from side to side, denying his allegations.

"You were crying. I can tell by how red your eyes are," he continued, not faltering in his claims. "So, what was it?" he asked again.

"I can't be talking about these things with you, Master Olaf, sir," I shook my hands in front of me.

"Well, then, I order you to tell me what you were crying about?" the edges of his lips lifted as he checkmated me.

With a defeated sigh, I answered, "It was about my past,"

"Of course it was. All slaves cry about their past lives. Complaining about how their past was so much better than their present," Olaf shook his head slowly. "But, what I have to say to that is at least you weren't bought by some maniac. Or, at least someone did buy you, otherwise, who knows what would've happened if you stayed with those Viking men,"

"S-sorry sir! I wasn't trying to say anything about your farm being bad or anything," I urgently shook my hands and head in denial.

"Ah, it doesn't matter Irene," he waved my fear away with a light chuckle as he rose from his chair.

"Where are you going? You haven't even eaten yet?" I asked, pointing at the bowl, untouched, on the table.

"Oh, I don't eat breakfast," he shook his head and made his way to exit of the house, turning around once he'd reached the door, "Come now boys!"

The two young boys still eating stopped what they were doing before turning to look at me. With two cute smiles of appreciation, they ran off to join their father, leaving me all alone. "Ah well, at least the boys liked it," I smiled as I picked up the two empty bowls the boys had left behind. Holding all three bowls, stacked on top of one another, I made my way outside, to the well. As I walked down the hall leading to the kitchen and then to the outside, I bumped into someone - a familiar someone.

Gertrud looked down at the bowls in my arms, her lips twitching, "I guess they didn't like your food after all!"

"Shut up Gertrud. That's just one bowl," I moved the top bowl away, revealing the two empty bowls underneath. Gertrud's eyes widened for a moment like she was actually shocked my food got eaten.

"Well, one bowl was untouched! That alone proves you aren't fit to be a cook!" Gertrud desperately tried to save herself.

"Master Olaf told me he doesn't eat breakfast. That's why he didn't touch it," I glared at Gertrud, absently stacking the bowls again. "Well, if that's all you wished to say, I'll be off now," I squeezed between Gertrud and wall, continuing down the hall. I could feel Gertrud's eyes following me the entire way down the hall until, eventually, I disappeared into the kitchen.

"Stupid Gertrud!" I hissed between gritted teeth, almost dropping the bowls on accident. "Why do I have to live with that foul mouthed ogre!" my anger quickly turned to joy as the insult left my lips. Insulting Gertrud behind her back was really fun (you guys should try it! you may only insult gertrud though). With a creak, I pushed open the door that led from the kitchen to the well outside. Grabbing a bucket from the assortment of buckets that littered the space around the well, I began filling it with water. Once the bucket was full of water, I carefully placed it on the floor in front of me. "This reminds me... Isn't this how I met Aslerta?" I spoke, reminiscent of the past. "That's right! He was so weak back then! He couldn't even lift a bucket of water!" I let out a few laughs as the picture of him struggling to pick the bucket up filled my mind. With a relieved sigh, I grabbed my piece of fabric I used for scrubbing before dunking a bowl into the water. Once the bowl was soaked with water, I began scrubbing absently, my thoughts elsewhere - dancing through the joys of my past.

Time seemed to go by so fast when I'm remembering the happy things of my life - it felt like only a few seconds since I began washing the dishes and now I'm done. Well, it was only three bowls and some spoons, but still.

***

From the moment I finished with the dishes from breakfast, I moved on to planning the next meal of the day, lunch. Once I'd planned out what I was to make, I swiftly began to process of preparing the ingredients and then cooking them. And, so, by the time lunch rolled around, I was well prepared with the food necessary. This time, not only did the boys eat but, so too did Master Olaf. And, once again, the boys said they liked it, but Master Olaf did too! That proves my abilities as a great cook. Gertrud, I'm sorry, but I believe I am a better chef than you.

Then, I repeated that same process again for dinner. I washed the dishes from lunch, then went to prepare everything for the next and final meal of the day. The biggest one too as I had to cook for myself, the Master's family and the other three slave women. However much I disliked the slave women, I still had to cook for them - thus were the requirements of my job. And, so, I spent most of my afternoon diligently cooking up eight meals! Since it was dinner, I was allowed to cook some of the meat from the meat stores, which would make the meal much better.

***

After a few hours, I'd cooked two different meals. One meal was an exquisite masterpiece of a variety of different animals, the other was a disgusting, sloppy sort of soup - that was for Gertrud, Hilde and Hilda. Smiling with approval, I filled some plates with all types of meat; steak, lamb, chicken and pork. "This place really is rich," I observed as I held some of the plates that were almost overflowing with the lovely smell of cooked meat. Holding the plates carefully, I walked out the kitchen and down the hallway to where the dinner table was. Along the way, I ran into my fellow slaves. "Is that for us?" Hilde asked, her eyes sparkling with a gluttonous desire.

Snuffing out the spark in her eye, I answered, "No, Hilde. This is for the Master. You, Hilda and Gertrud's food is still in the kitchen. So, I suggest you get it quick before it gets cold,"

"Right," she slowly nodded her head before walking off with disappointment evident in the way she walked.

"The food is ready!" I beamed as I walked into the dining room, into the views of the Master and his family. The two boys faces lit up with excitement as they saw the food I was carrying. "That looks delicious Irene!" Olaf smiled as his face also lit with excitement in the same way his boys did. Frida, across the table from Olaf, nodded with agreement.

"I hope you all like it then," I smiled as I placed the plates down along the centre of the table, so that everyone could reach the food. The moment the plates touched the table, everyone's hands shot out and grabbed some food. Just as I was about to leave, I felt a hand grip the back of my clothes, tugging me towards the table. "Irene, eat with us at the table," Master Olaf spoke, nodding at the empty seat beside Frida and across from one of the boys - the older one.

"Yes, you've earnt it," Frida gave a gentle smile as she pulled the seat out for me.

"R-really? Wouldn't that be rude? For a slave to eat at the same table as her Masters," I nervously tried rejecting the proposition but Olaf's eyes stayed strong, insisting I joined them.

"I gave you permission though. So, take it," Olaf stared me down with a fierce determination to make me sit.

"Well, I can't reject the offer, can I?" I asked, expecting no particular answer, as I moved to sit down beside Frida. In between mouthfuls, Frida grinned in my direction.

"This is really good, Irene," Frida spoke as she finally finished swallowing a bit of chicken.

"T-thank you ma'am," I blushed at all the compliments I was receiving as my hand slowly navigated towards a piece of chicken. Seeing how much everyone else was enjoying my cooking, I obviously wanted in on the flavour too. Grabbing the drumstick, I brought it close to my mouth. The warm smell of freshly cooked chicken flowed from the drumstick, filling my noise. I could feel my anticipation for the taste grow within. Opening my mouth, I took a big bite out of the piece of chicken. My eyes lit up with delight the moment the piece of chicken touched my tongue. "It's amazing," I spoke in between chewing, completely amazed I made something so delicious.

"See, we weren't lying," Olaf gave a hearty laugh from across the table as he too devoured a piece of chicken. "Ragnar and Sigurd here seem to be loving it too," he gave the older one, Ragnar, a pat on the back.

"Yes. Thank you lady Irene," Ragnar thanked me from across the table as he bit aggressively into a piece of steak.

"You're welcome Master Ragnar," I smiled sweetly at him from across the table, causing his face to go bright red. It seemed that even young boys, yet to understand the concept of liking someone, were captivated by my beauty. This feels really similar to when I used to eat with Aslerta's family. They're all so happy. Maybe slavery isn't all that bad or, perhaps, I was just lucky to have been taken in by this family.

Finishing up all the plates of food, I asked, "You've all finished eating?"

In response, they all gave me a little nod. Standing up, I stacked all the plates in my arms before turning to the hallway. "Goodnight everyone," I smiled back over my shoulder before disappearing into the darkness of the unlit house. I could hear their voices, growing smaller, saying goodnight back. With an appreciative smile, I went outside to the well. I swiftly filled up a bucket and placed it down on the ground. Crouching over it, I dunked each plate in, one after the other - cleaning each with a piece of cloth. Once I'd cleaned all the dishes, I emptied the bucket out in the grass and returned to the kitchen, the plates in hand. After quickly stacking all the plates in their required places, I had finished my work for the day. "Ah, I'm free," I sighed, exhausted from the day.

I walked quietly out of the house and down the hill, towards our slave shack. As I went, holding up my dress so as to keep it from getting dirtier than it already was. The cold moonlight shone down on me from above, covering me in a pale white light. I gazed up at the moon, my face relaxing as it's circular form and soft grey and white tones calmed me. "Aslerta would be watching this moon too. From somewhere..." I murmured quietly, my eyes shimmering with tears on the verge of falling.

"Who's Aslerta?" a voice, whose tone told me that it meant no good, spoke from behind me followed by a few footsteps.

Turning, I came to face the owner of the voice. My eyes narrowed on hers, my lips tilting downwards when I recognised who it was. "Why should I tell you, Gertrud?" I asked, keeping my voice cool.

"Aren't best friends supposed to tell each other everything?" she asked, a sly grin on her face as she moved closer to me.

"You aren't my best friend," I spat, unmoving as I stared deep into her disgusting brown eyes.

"Aww come on! We'll be living with each other for the rest of our lives! We'll have to become friends at some point, right?" she drawled her last words, her eyes struggling to make themselves cuter as she tried to beg.

"Just shut up. It's time we get to sleep. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow," I spoke without much care for her, turning to walk to our little cabin.

"Is this Aslerta fellow another guy you seduced with that beauty of yours?" Gertrud asked from behind me, her voice flooded with a mixture of mocking and sarcasm.

"I did not seduce him! You don't even know what our relationship is! So, stop asking and shut up!" I yelled at her, finally breaking. The barrier holding my tears from falling was slowly being worn away.

"Right. I don't think you seduced him, rather he seduced you! Why else would you cry over him," Gertrud corrected herself, with a prideful tone.

"What? How do you know I cried over him? No... Are you trying to say he doesn't care about me at all?!" the tears had finally broken through the barrier and began dripping down my cheeks as I pivoted to face Gertrud again.

"If he really cared about you, he would've saved you," she whispered, her lips breaking into a smile upon seeing my reaction.

"H-he tried to save me! I-it was my fault I got myself caught! I could've escaped!" I defended Aslerta with all my will, my hands clenching into fists by my side as tears continued to surge forth from my eyes.

"Oh well, I believe I've accomplished my goal here," she eyed my face which had shrivelled into a crying expression.

"What..." I whispered in defeat as Gertrud strode past me, smiling manically as she went. "I should just run away, shouldn't I?" I murmured, falling to my knees. My hands gripped the wet grass, tearing the green strands from the ground as the tears continued in a never ending flood from my eyes. "Where are you Aslerta? Tell me, so I can run away and be with you again..." I croaked, my head falling to the floor as I wept. I hoped and willed with all my mind that, by some miracle, a voice would speak and tell me where Aslerta was. But, after hours of being curled up in a sad ball on the cold grass of the night, no voice came.

1/3/976 AD

From that night on the 2nd of August last year, Gertrud and I's relationship has been worse than ever. She continued to insult me on the daily, trying to make me feel of little to no value. But, I always had the Master and his family who, unknowingly, countered Gertrud's demeaning language with their positivity. Without them and my growing desire to be saved by Aslerta, I would've long since given up on this terrible world.

Today, like any other day, I went along and did all the work required of me. Today, Hilde and I were the ones who dealt with the clothes. My relationship with Hilde was mediocre at best, but it was much more pleasant than what I had with Gertrud. Although we didn't speak, at least Hilde didn't spend the whole day belittling me like Gertrud would've, had she been tasked to work with me.

When night had fallen, all of us slave women gathered to eat dinner, save Gertrud who was eating with the Master and his family - she was the one cooking today. So, it was only Hilde, Hilda and I who were here eating together. I could hear the two murmuring to each other quietly. From what I gathered, they were talking about how their days went; all the good things that happened and all the bad. I sat, prodding mindlessly at the foul slop Gertrud had cooked for us slaves, listening intently to Hilde and Hilda's conversation. Nothing of what they said really caught my attention until I heard Hilda say the following words, "Guttorm's village vanished,"

My ears perked up upon hearing this, my lips trembling as that terrible name brought back the memories I had tried to forget. "D-did you just say G-guttorm?" my face went pale white as I thought about what this meant. Could this mean Aslerta was near?

"Yes, I did say Guttorm," Hilda nodded, looking curiously at me from where she was sitting, further down on the bench. "What? Does the name Guttorm mean something to you?"

"Y-yes," I nodded slowly, my lips breaking into a smile as my mind filled with the possibility that Aslerta could be there. "Could you tell me everything you know about it?"

"I suppose I can. I don't know too much," Hilda responded, her eyes showing her confusion.

"It's fine, just tell my everything you know," I asked eagerly, leaning forward in my seat.

"Well, um. The closest village to this farm - Olaf's farm, is a village owned by a group of Vikings led by Guttorm. From what I can tell, a few of the farmers were sent over to trade with them, like normal. But, what they found was nothing. Just, nothing. They said all the houses were gone, the farms - everything was gone. If anyone did die, there surely wasn't any blood or corpses to prove it," she answered in great detail - it seemed she must've gotten this information straight from the source and was just reciting it.

"Vikings... That has to be Aslerta," tears broke from my eyes as my mouth formed a hopeful smile.

"You shouldn't get your hopes up Irene. If you knew one of them - I-I'm sorry but I doubt they'd still be alive," Hilda spoke, concern evident in her voice. It was the first shred of concern I'd actually received from any of these slave women I'd been living with.

"No, he's alive," dropping my bowl, I dashed for the exit.

"Where are you going Irene?" Hilde and Hilda called from behind me, their voices quickly growing quieter as I ran.

"To find Aslerta!" I shouted back, my voice overflowing with excitement. I sprinted as fast as I could across the fields, completely ignoring the fact mud was covering my dress. I didn't care if my legs hurt or I ran out of breath, my body was being controlled by a strong desire to see Aslerta again. I moved quietly through the night, unseen by anyone as I got closer and closer to the village that had supposedly been owned by Guttorm.

After half an hour or so of sprinting with all my might, I'd reached the hill that stood as the only barrier between Olaf's home and Guttorm's. I exhaled a long exhale full of relief as I reached the bottom of the hill. "Just over this is Aslerta," I muttered, my eyes tearing up with tears of joy, accompanied by the happiest smile I'd ever worn. Sucking in all the air around me, I placed my first foot on the bottom of the hill. I began climbing the hill, eager to reach the top. With some more steps, I'd gone halfway up the slope, the top growing nearer. The pale white light of the moon guided me as it twinkled with equal excitement from high up in the sky. My vision began to blur as a sea of tears began to surge forth, covering my cheeks with water. "I'm nearly there Aslerta," I huffed as I pushed through the pain burning through my legs and continued climbing the hill. With the last few steps, I finally reached the top. An excited smile controlling my lips, I looked out over the land in front of me - Guttorm's land. 

But, just like Hilda said, there was nothing. No village. If the village was burnt to the ground, there definitely weren't any signs of it; there was no rubble; no char marks on trees; no corpses or blood. It was just a completely empty field that looked as though it had never been touched by humans. "C-come on! Please be here Aslerta!" I exclaimed, sprinting down the hill, almost tripping over my dress as I went. The bottom of my dress had already become damp with mud and water but that didn't bother me. My eyes darted around the field and into the trees, looking for something - any sign of human life. Anything. That's when I spotted something - it was a small campfire with small embers of flame still dancing within the wood, making it glow orange. Reaching the bottom of the hill, I ran over to the campfire. Stepping into its range, I could still feel the heat emanating from it. Along with the last embers, it was clear that this fire was used recently.

"Aslerta! You're here aren't you! Please, answer me!" I cried at the top of my lungs, my tears morphing from joy into tears of despair. "I have to tell you something! So, if you can hear me, listen well!" I shouted, my face a mess of tears and snot. "I-I'm pregnant! But, not with your child," I muttered the last words as I fell to my knees over the campfire. I gazed at the wood and watched as my shimmering tears dripped from my nose and into the last bit of flames, sizzling the moment it hit the wood. My left hand moved to my stomach, stroking the small bump, signalling the baby growing in my stomach. Master Olaf's baby...

Aslerta

1/3/976 AD

It was night time and here we were - Asger, Eira, Silotona and I sitting around a campfire enjoying a lovely meal of steak. The steak we'd stolen from a cow before Silotona completely wiped the lands of human touch. It was amazing to watch as his dark magic spread itself like water over the rubble of the village, completely devouring the remains, leaving only nature.

"Why are you eating, Aslerta?" Silotona asked, his scary black eyes watching me as I ate.

"Because I have to," I answered in between mouthfuls, glaring at him - I didn't really like talking to him.

"You could always resurrect, you know? It gets rid of your hunger. I haven't touched food in centuries now," Silotona nodded his head pridefully, giving the steak a disgusted look.

I didn't respond. I didn't want the conversation to continue. Silotona had already planned out what I'd be doing for the next 30 or so years. It was rather controlling which made me hate this deal I'd come to with the man even more. I didn't want to be stuck on a schedule all my life. A schedule made to benefit Silotona, not me - I didn't even know exactly why he wanted me; why he couldn't have 'Taken over the world,' himself. It was all still a mystery to me. But, what I did know was that tonight marked the beginning of the next tale in my long life.

With a few more bites, I'd finished my piece of steak - leaving only Eira who was still slowly eating. She'd been really timid since the appearance of Silotona. She hadn't spoken a word to anyone in the presence of Silotona. Asger was the same but he wasn't necessarily timid, I could see all he was doing was thinking, ignoring everything else. I had been the only one to actually speak with Silotona, although it was usually only one sentence at a time. "I know you feel pressured, but you don't have to rush, Eira. I know you're scared," I spoke, noticing Eira's chewing get faster. She looked at me, her once bright golden eyes now a trembling dark yellow. Giving her a gentle smile, I placed a hand on her back. It seemed to make her feel a bit better as her eyes brightened a bit, letting in tones of gold.

After that we sat in silence for a minute or so, the only sound being Eira digging her teeth into a piece of meat. Once she'd finished, her small voice muttered, "I'm done,"

"Oh good! That means we can go!" Silotona leapt into a standing position, with much excitement while the rest of us stood with clear hesitance. "Let's waste no more time!" Silotona declared, putting out the fire with some odd force. With a wave of his hand, darkness enveloped my body. Then I was flying, high in the sky, just over the fire we'd eaten at. That was when I heard a familiar voice. "Aslerta! You're here aren't you! Please, answer me!" it was Irene. I could see her small, beautiful figure running to the fire we'd just eaten at, her gorgeous golden hair flowing in the air around her. I wanted to answer her, but I just couldn't. No matter how loud I screamed, she'd never hear me. "Irene!" I cried, my hands clawing at the edges of the dark bubble I was in. But, no sound could escape. Tears fell from my eyes as I drifted further and further from her. "No!" my voice croaked. "I was so close..." I muttered in defeat as I watched with tears as Irene grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Until she disappeared from sight.