One more wish to be fulfilled. Do it.
That was the only line on the letter that Egrene held. At first, he didn't understand. But then he felt a profound sense of loss creep into him; he had visions of childhood friends connected via a wall.
That wall was how they met. That wall was how they bonded. That wall was how they fell in love with each other. Then the men came and undid that wall, separating them. Egrene felt a tear trickle down his cheek. He would do anything, anything to undo heartaches such as these.
Something clanked in the distance. Egrene ran to it, his heart full of hope. The Anchors had collapsed. Poor maintenance. Looks like he'd finally get that chance. He quickly grabbed a leftover Absolute Exclusion Harness and put it on before he sprinted out of the familiar facility. Nobody noticed him.
Freedom.
Letter clenched in his fist, he made his way to that wall. He didn't know how it worked, but he didn't care. John and Cassy was heartache, trauma and suffering he couldn't stand to witness. This was the same.
His vision clouded over with rage; rage at the Anchors that kept him in place, rage at the pain that existence allowed to exist and flourish, absolute ire at the knowledge of his true nature.
He knew exactly where that wall was; he'd make it there, one way or another.
#
A classic suburban American home stood before him. They were here. Egrene felt it.
Freedom.
Egrene deactived the Harness before he strode over to the door and knocked. Hard. A middle-aged balding man answered.
"You guys again? Didn't you already—"
"A wall was patched here. I've come to unpatch it." Egrene stared at the man sternly.
"What? Are you talking about the wall where the boy came out of?" The man retorted.
"I sure am." Egrene flashed him his badge.
"A boy came out of the wall and you say that—"
Egrene held a hand out to shush him. The balding man saw the rebellious fury that burned in his eyes and backed down.
"I'm opening up that wall again." Egrene glared at him. "I won't let friendship like this be destroyed for the sake of a Veil." Egrene gave him one last glare before he stepped into the house. "I'm leaving that wall open. For the rest of their lives."
"For whose lives?" The man asked.
"That young woman and that young man. The moment they both die, you can call someone else to go ahead to re-close it. It won't matter after that. Until then, it stays open. Understood?" Egrene gritted his teeth as he spoke.
"U-understood."
"And don't even think about calling anyone else after I'm done. Is that clear?" Egrene smiled, but not in a friendly manner.
The man nodded.
Egrene strode through the house and went to knock on the girl's door. He stopped when he heard loud sobbing. His own heart trembled at the sound. He knocked. The girl stifled her sobs for a moment and yelled, "go away, dad!"
"Do you want to see that boy again?" Egrene's voice shook.
Silence. Click.
Her cheeks were puffy and she was sniffling loudly.
"Who are you?"
"A rule-breaker." Egrene smiled. Genuinely. "Let me see that wall."
She stepped aside and let him in. The wall was solid, but Egrene could feel it rippling. He walked over to it and placed a hand on it.
Misery and longing.
Rage spiked within him.
He pushed on the wall. It didn't budge. No. Wouldn't have this. He'd come too far to stop. This was going to happen. He pushed again. Once more, it didn't budge, then he realized what the problem was. He reached to the top-left corner of the wall, grabbed hold and tore off the thaumaturgic ritual that kept them apart. It came off like wallpaper and crumbled into dust.
Two worlds, once separate, now re-united.
"There's a boy in your wall," Egrene whispered, tears of joy now streaming down his cheeks.
Said boy peeked a head through the wall. He gasped.
The girl gasped back, hands cupped over her mouth.
"Go get her, tiger." Egrene gave the boy a gentle pat on his back.
They ran to each other and engaged in a tight embrace that seemed like it would never end.
The balding man, the girl's father, stepped in and watched.
Egrene glared at him, even though it was never his intent to harm her in the first place.
"This was meant to be," Egrene whispered. "They grew up together. They die together. Understood?"
The dad nodded.
#
On his way back, Egrene pulled the letter out of his pocket and took another look at it. The message had changed.
I left you there, but you can still have purpose. No more Anchors. I promise.
Egrene smiled.
