Metanoia (28 page)

After that, Leyance suggested that Elenzel
take her up to his and Gina’s cabin for a small vacation to try to
regain Athena’s contentment towards the subject of her new life. It
was quickly rumored that the vacation brought more than peace of
mind to Athena. These rumors were quickly confirmed by their smiles
and glances towards each other.

“
That cottage is a
miracle-maker. I tell you that,” Leyance was saying to Elenzel one
day.

“
That it is,” he
confirmed.

“
So…” Leyance said trying
to dodge the real thought on his mind. “Okay, Gina would want me to
say this. Does she know how old you are?”

“
Yes,” Elenzel answered.
“She knows I’m close to two years your junior. This makes the age
difference between us the exact same one that separates you and
Gina.” His smile glimmered in the sunlight.

“
You are?” Leyance asked in
disbelief.

“
Yes. I am two years
younger than you.”

“
Huh. I never even knew
that.”

Leyance visited Gina everyday. She lay in the
hospital wing and still had not regained consciousness. She seemed
to be in a coma-like state and showed no signs of waking up. Still
Leyance stayed by her side and when he left her room, it was only
to check up on Athena, Elenzel, Fheyrhil, and the girls as Gina
would have done herself and would have wanted him to do in her
absence. He then sat by his wife’s side, and spoke to her of her
friends and family, the people she held dear. Every time, he would
tell her how much he loved her. Leyance did love Gina with all his
heart and had hope for her full recovery, but as each day passed
with not so much as a finger twitch, he began to slowly lose that
hope. Each day was a reminder that he might start having to learn
how to live without Gina. He had lived with this possibility
before, many times, but he knew it was towards the end. If Gina
would survive this one, it would be a miracle, a miracle that most
definitely would not be repeated another time.

On this particular visit, Athena had come
along to see Gina. She stood, unable to move, as she looked down on
her sister. Even though she had been in the city for only a short
while, she could see how much the inhabitants loved their queen.
She had only met Gina a short while ago, but she could feel how
much she, Athena, loved Gina as well. Still, many questions had not
been answered.

“
What happens to the people
back there? In the other world?” she asked Leyance, still staring
at Gina. “They saw us in the hospital, they saw me being revived by
her, her saving my life…” Tears began to well up in her
eyes.

“
We can adjust their
memories with potions, but some things, such as the computer
documents of you being dead, we cannot alter. That will require us
to actually go in and change them. We’ve done it
before.”

“
But they must know that
their systems can be accessed. Maybe not now, but eventually they
will and when it comes to that, we’ll need to start breaking into
high security government buildings with elaborate schemes involving
us dressed up like FBI agents or something…”

Leyance laughed. “I doubt it will ever come
to that. We’ll manage, no matter what we have to do, Athena.”

She paused, watching her sister and the man
who’s eyes never left the sleeping beauty.

“
I miss her, Leyance,” she
whispered. Slowly, Leyance turned to look at her and held his arm
open, signaling for her to come over to him. She did, and he
wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“
I miss her too, more than
you know,” he said. He turned to Gina. “Here we are, Gina. Two of
the people you love most. We are both asking you now. Out of love,
please, wake up. We need you here. I need you, Fheyrhil needs you,
Alvina needs you, Calypso needs you, Jacinda needs you, the city
needs you, but most importantly, your sister now needs you more
than ever. You went through the same transition she’s now going
through, and she needs your help. She’s taken the news very well,
you would be proud, but inside she’s breaking and has cracked a few
times. She needs you to help her through this.”

“
I do, Gina. I can’t do
this alone,” Athena whispered. Tears were beginning to flow. “Even
when I first met you, I thought of you as a sister to me, and it
has been an amazing gift to know that wish has come true. Please
don’t leave me now. I need my sister. I need the only person who
knows exactly how I’m feeling. Please, Gina, please wake
up…”

Years passed and the Nythagiéns proved
themselves to be quick healers. Every time another blow shook the
city, they were quick to recover and help those in need. Much work
had gone into fixing the wrong in the other world caused by that
one night, but it had been done. Athena found herself helping this
along and those in the city as well. She and Elenzel grew
increasingly closer as each day, week, month, and even year passed.
Athena had also done what many thought to be impossible: she had
started a new and loving relationship with her dad. She had
forgiven the unforgivable. News quickly spread about the truth
regarding the two sisters and their father. They came to learn that
the schemes and lies had been made up in an attempt to save both
girls’ lives, though, of course, mainly Gina’s. Athena accepted the
story, though it did take some time, and learned to love her father
for working so hard to keep his daughters safe. Her moment of
acceptance came much as Gina’s had the night of the accident. The
city marveled in these new relationships that led to many reunions
amongst the city. Everyday people found each other and forgave the
hardships they had both caused one another.

Neither Übels nor Noquef
gave the city much trouble anymore. Now the trouble came from
outside, in the other world, which Athena insisted on being
monitored. More than once they had found themselves in a jam where
they found they needed elaborate schemes to rectify – just as
Athena had predicted.

On one particular evening, Calypso, Jacinda,
and Alvina were running around frantically. They carried a bundle
of rose petals, a picnic blanket, pillows, plates, silverware, and
glasses between them. They went back and forth between a beautiful
lookout point above the city and their cottages in order to create
a perfect, romantic atmosphere. It was a spot fit for a proposal
and hopefully, Elenzel thought, a perfect spot for him and Athena
to become engaged later on that evening.

Meanwhile, five guards stood watch over a
high security government building back in the other world. Three
men, two women. One man wore a wise gaze that was apparent even
through his sunglasses. Another man’s blond hair sparkled amongst
his attire, a ring sealed safely in his pocket near his heart. The
third man’s brown loose curls made his appearance in a black suit
entirely appealing as he smiled at the woman on the end, next to
the woman on his right. The woman on his right, a feisty girl with
brownish-red curls, smiled slightly at her current thoughts. Yet,
the girl on the end shone out among the rest. Her intricate
necklace sparkled and reflected upon her brown curls. The handsome
man who had stared at her for so long now smiled a beautiful smile
at her. She smiled back, acknowledging her husband.

“
Let’s go.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Angela Schiavone was born and raised in San
Jose, California. She’s always loved writing and telling stories,
but she originally discovered this through her first love - acting.
She developed these loves at Santa Clara University where she
studied both Theatre Arts and English. She first started writing
about Gina Cassidy at age 17 after she started daydreaming one
boring day in Chemistry class. Like Gina, Angela had difficulty
with the subject and enjoyed imagining stories instead. She never
meant for
Metanoia
to become an actual book, but found that once she had started
writing about Gina’s story, she couldn’t stop. The story started as
a screenplay and then became a manuscript shortly after, and well,
here are the results. Angela hopes you have enjoyed Gina’s story
and encourages each reader to keep imagining.

Enjoy the book? Buy others!

Other works by Angela
Schiavone:

Who Killed Abigail Watson?

A murder-mystery novel about three teenagers
who make it their summer goal to solve an old mystery.

Forever Hold Your Peace

A comedic one-act play about the eccentric
group of people brought together by a wedding, all of who have
something to say.

The Lost Suitcase

A children’s book about a suitcase who gets
lost in the airport.

All available at
http://writtenbyangela.t35.com
.