Stuck in a Frozen Lake

By BarBarKetrab

Final Part

Teco was walking home after leaving Tama and Ellet. He had some time to organize things in his head. After leaving them, the sky had darkened, and snow began to lightly fall.

‘Maybe another blizzard?’ he thought as he walked past the familiar surroundings.

‘Help her….without letting her know you’re helping? That doesn’t make much sense, does it?’

He had decided though, that he would not let Ena suffer, not alone at least. He would help her.

But how? He trudged through a larger pile of snow blocking the path between two snow covered trees. His house was not far from here, and with it, came Ena.

In the end, he decided not to think about it. After all, trying to get into her head wouldn’t end well. He knew that from experience.

But, he wanted to finally escape that blizzard in his mind, and he needed help to do so. Ena would help him, he realized, just as he would help her. They both needed to reach for each others’ hands to find their way out of that snowstorm. Then, they wouldn’t have to be left in the freezing darkness, both of them.

That’s right, show her you’re helping. You don't have to say anything. Reach out, and just let her see. Then, you won't have to agonise over what you do and what she does. You’ll at least then know that you are both there for each other.

Things wouldn’t change. He would still be emotionless Teco and she would still be ‘I can’t understand her’ Ena. But, with a little support, they would at least know who to turn to when they needed it.

Then, maybe someday, he wouldn’t be stuck in that frozen lake all by himself. Maybe he would be able to share it with someone.

Finally, he thought he knew what he had to do.

He arrived at his house’s doorstep. There was no point in knocking on the wooden door, it was his house after all.

He entered quietly, and shut the door behind him. He removed his shoes and coat, as well as his hat, scarf and gloves, and hung them on the rack.

Slowly, he made his way to the kitchen.

That was where he found her.

She was leaning on the kitchen table, apparently after having eaten something. Her shirt was still drenched, so she was wearing the one that he let her borrow, plus some plain grey pants. She appeared somewhat bored and lost in thought, pressing her fist into her cheek as she propped herself up with her elbow.

He was relieved to see that she looked relatively normal after the events of last night.

Their green eyes met as soon as she noticed his presence.

She rose to her feet, pushing a chair back as she did so, and walked over to him. She inched her head closer until she was right in front of his face, and said with a somewhat manic smile, “did you get my note?”

He hugged her.

Ena Lanoisnemid stiffened as soon as he embraced her, but after contemplating for a few seconds with her arms at her sides, she slowly wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him back.

And finally, Teco felt that he had done the right thing for once.

As they stood embracing each other, Ena began speaking, her voice softer than usual.

“About the note…….” she began. “I guess it wasn’t like me to write something like that. I just wanted to see what trying to ‘fit in’ would feel like.”

Teco simply nodded in response, brushing his head against her shoulder, the wall around his heart no longer bothering him.

They stayed like that for quite a while.

-The End