The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
"To whom much is given, from him much is expected" Luke 12:48
Lake House
Angelina was getting up when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She frowned. There was no one in the house besides her and she stared at it as the footsteps approached and an elderly woman appeared and stared at her.
"It's interesting to watch what people do with their free will. And the irony is that there are many people who still revolt for not knowing everything... but what's the use? They hardly know how to deal with what little they know... but there is nothing wrong with that, divine justice is wise and respects the free will of each one"the mysterious woman spoke
"..." Angelina bowed her head
"Don't bow your head. Take your own responsibility and accept that you failed, in case you regret it. Take on your responsibility and the choice, if you don't regret it. But don't bow your head and act like an ignorant victim"
"It's the eternal battle between reason and emotion..."
"It's the eternal dance of complacency and hypocrisy! It is convenient to justify and ignore knowledge to keep the convenience of choice, but the real problem is not what you feel, but what you do about that feeling. That's what reason is for... it's meant to be the tool of action for change... when you really want to change... so don't justify yourself with the feelings, but with the knowledge you ignore to remain the same…"
Angelina swallowed, "I underestimated myself... I believed I was ready to do differently this time..."
"Stop justifying yourself! Accept it!"
Angelina frowned frustrated, "I admit I don't want to see them together!"
"Now you're doing what's right... you're being honest!"
"I really wanted to be with him, because that's their third chance..."
"Second..."
"It doesn't matter! It's the third time they've been together and I always have to give it up! That's not fair!"
"Girl, you can be sure that your complaint is impertinent, because you've had more chances with him than you think..."
"Did I?"
"Yes! You've had the privilege of living a lifetime without her presence in his destiny... I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about her..."
"So that proves she's not his soul mate!"
"It doesn't prove you are either..."
"..."
"The truth is you don't know the true concept of soul mate, and it's not up to me to explain it either. All I can say is that nothing is by chance, if she or you are in his destiny, it is because you have merit for it, but you are lacking to organize and clean better these spiteful feelings... love is not a dispute. 'Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn't envy, it doesn't boast. It does not mistreat, it does not seek its interests, it does not anger easily, it does not hold a grudge. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things'... in addition, I quoted someone else's words..."
"That sounded like Mr. Lionel talking..."
"Thus secrets of a heart buried in the midst of battles in the eternal dance of reason and emotion..."
"I tried to be like that and look what happened to me..." Angelina said looking at Angelique's picture and tears formed in her eyes
"And it will happen again if one of you doesn't stop this cycle of grudge from time to time, that is why you acquired for the knowledge of the secrets of the past! These diaries are not gifts, they are objects for reflection so that you can finally change for better! To understand better, not reinforce the latent negativity you all already have!"
"I didn't read their diaries..."
"Because you didn't want to! You've been here several times, you've talked to Lionel several times! You had more chances than any of them and look what you did! You are making the same mistakes from a distant past! And let's be realistic? You do not have to read anyone's diaries, not even yours! Can you wonder why?"
"Why?"
"Because you already know the past! You don't need to look back. You already know where you've been. You just need to know where you're going. Use your eyes to look into the future and make the present. So don't let the past torment you. You cannot avoid what you have become, but from now on you can choose what you will become. To be the living corpse of what was life yesterday is to waste the opportunity of a happy life. Because if you keep rereading and rereading that paragraph, you will get stagnant in time and you will never reach the end of the text. The past may even be in your head, but the future is in your hands. It's as if destiny were a blackboard where you have to erase what's there to write new things."
Angelina remained silent and looked at Angelique's picture, reflective. She now felt the dispute between Angeline and Angelique and she no longer could recognize herself.
Moirai had disappeared while the redhead stood staring at the paintings of Angelique and Katarina for a few seconds, then she turned to Christopher's, and long minutes passed.
.
.
Katarina had managed to arouse Angeline's anger again, or perhaps her anger had never really disappeared, but it was well camouflaged under Angelique's shyness and low self-esteem, or perhaps Angelique's meekness was only a consequence of her most desired wish, to have had Christopher in her arms.
Gentleness was perhaps satisfaction.
Something that hadn't happened this time.
Katarina killed Angelique, or just exposed Angeline to the new era... or just for Chris...
The dispute of the 21st century was between Angeline and Katarina, the two legends of Bohma.
It was known that Angeline had not spawned Bohma's legendary twins, but Angeline was known as their mother. The legendary twins who started the great prosperity era of Bohma.
Katarina was known as The Great Mother of Bohma, but Angeline was the Legendary Mother of Bohma.
It was a Mothers' duel.
Angeline's lies to dirt her sister - Katherine's - reputation were influential in the hunting down of the young couple and in separating them, and especially separating them from their children.
Katherine never forgave her sister's betrayal, of separating her from Christian and their children, especially from their beloved and desired children after discovering the truth in the afterlife.
And so Katarina was born, unconsciously willing to get the title she deserved and continue the love story with her beloved man, but the competition of the old sisters remained.
The lousy personal choices once again sealed the failure of both. Katarina and Christopher acquired immense mismatch to try to get back to the origins of what they felt as Christian and Katherine, and Angeline's "farce" remained intact allied with the martyr Angelique had become.
The history took a different turn. Was Katarina really the real villain? Was Angelique so good? Was Christopher really so blind?
With the access to the old diaries and revelations through dreams, the truth was more exposed than ever on the table.
But the truth has several facets, every dog has its day.
And the Mirror of Time reflected the best and the worst of each of them.
.
.
"Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." ― Jean-Paul Sartre
Somewhere in Bohma
The place was dark and underground.
Jerry, Mr. Lionel's former assistant used a flashlight to light the way as he followed the narrow corridor to a rocky chamber that hid a kind of living room and sat on a rock there was a white silhouette.
"How's everything, Jerry?"
"So far so good, milord."
"Any news about any attempt to break into my house?"
"No sir. I hired 24-hour surveillance for a large perimeter of the area. No one has access to any of the entrances to the cave."
"Good. And did anyone try to after that?"
"Only Chris and Piers were spotted on one occasion, but they didn't attempt any approach to the cave"
"I see... And you know how long will they stay in Bohma?"
"I don't know, but I believe that after Chris saw you that day he's going to stay longer because he came to investigate the deaths of the researchers…"
"So I guess I'm helping him do his job and maybe I should help more and get over with it..."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been thinking... since the meeting I cannot stop thinking about their reaction... and I understand... even if it's painful..."
"And what are you thinking?"
"He wants to see me, so I'm going to show up for him"
"What? How come?"
"It's time to get it over with Jerry! I cannot take it anymore! I made a promise, but I cannot stand this life anymore! Look where I am! Look how I am! This is not life, it is penance!"
"I understand, but what are you going to do with the remaining Black Herbs?"
"I'm going to destroy them all from the root! It's the easiest thing for me since I have full access to them"
"But..."
"There is no "but" Jerry. The Black Herbs can no longer exist! Look how many people have already died because of the creation of creatures that increasingly have an absurd power of regeneration! If the madmen who make this kind of creation have access to the Black Herb and all its properties, it will be the end of everything, the end of the world! I cannot let that happen! And much less I can continue existing, because it is no use extinguishing the herbs while I continue to exist! There is no safe place for me anymore and the truth is that I do not even want to find a safe place, I want this penance to end and that's why I'm already setting up the special incinerator so that nothing of me will be left!"
Jerry remained silent, without judgments. It was not up to him to judge any choice made.
"I see, so if you want I can talk to Chris and tell him to come see you wherever you is your preference"
"Please do this, and only him... If Kat wants it too, she has the permission too, but no one else besides them!"
"I'm sorry giving my opinion on it, but I doubt she wants to come... you said that she did not react well when she saw you and even fell sick"
"I know... I remember her horror expression very well, but... Lionel said they have access to all the past records and she was the one who was more curious and willing to understand things... maybe this curiosity can get bigger than fear..."
"I'll try to incite her curiosity... I know you really want to see her too, but I don't promise you she will come"
"You do not know how much and don't worry about it. I've learned to keep my expectation very low, almost zero."
Hotel, Bohma
Chris was taking a nap on the bed while Kate was showering.
Flashback
It was daylight, Christopher was at the table in the living room while writing letters to send to his children who no longer lived with him and already lived in other houses with their own families.
"Daddy, Daddy!"
He heard the screams of Melissa, his youngest 12-year-old daughter, approaching the house.
"What happened Mel?" He replied
"Hurry! Henry..." she spoke catching her breath
"What about him?"
"He got hurt!"
"Again?" He asked getting up quickly
"Hurry dad, he's bleeding a lot!"
"Where is he?"
"In there" she pointed to the barn
Without thinking twice, Christopher rushed to the location, and as he entered, he saw little Henry, holding his wrist all bloodied, and a machete full of blood on the floor near him.
"What happened, son?" He asked worried, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket
"I cut myself" the boy replied coolly
"How?"
"I wanted to make a test…"
"Test what, son?! Look at you!"
"I'm fine, dad..."
Christopher knelt down and looked better at his son's wrist and could not believe his eyes. Or rather, in what he didn't see! The boy's pulse was perfectly unmarked.
"Are you lying to me as your mother did?" He said in shock and irritated at the same time
(*)
As time passed, Henry became an adult and remained very attached to his father, and they both had some hobbies in common such as going out to hunt, or training.
Of all the children, Henry was the only one who kept close to his father in the everyday, even more than Oliver. Henry was the son most attached to his father and never questioned his father at all.
They both had a very special connection.
One day, he was helping his father with the barn reform.
Christopher no longer had all the physical vigor of youth; after all, he was almost 60 years old. But in spite of his old age and increasingly weakened health, he was still active in what he could and always had the help and support of Henry for everything - his most special son.
But it was during the reform of the barn that an accident happened and a wooden slat struck Henry in the chest.
"Henry!" Christopher shouted desperately seeing his impaled son
Henry was agonizing with the pain of the object crossing his chest, but even with the pain, he held the batter and in a quick movement, he pulled it out. The lung had been pierced and a huge amount of blood spurted from him as he agonized on the floor.
Christopher was desperate not knowing what to do.
"Dad..." he whispered before closing his eyes
Christopher bent over his son's body, weeping. He could not believe that happened before his eyes. He could not believe he would have to bury another child of his. He'd have to bury his special son.
End of Flashback
Chris woke up with a start looking sideways as Kate dried herself carefully after the shower.
"Are you okay?" She asked noticing his behavior
"Yeah... it was just a dream... How are you?"
"I've been better..."
"That what happens fighting in the streets..." he spoke with a shrug
She inhaled after noticing his warning tone, "Are you ready to listen to me?"
"Of course"
She sat next to him and took a deep breath, "I didn't look for the fight... I was very happy with our engagement and with the little time to organize the wedding things, I ended up going shopping... I didn't have realized where I was until I looked at the lake gate. At no point did I realize that it is now her house... for me it was still the public park where we could visit Mr. Lionel without asking permission... I did not go in to get in a fight, I went in because I remembered of Mr. Lionel and how much I miss him."
"I know you really got very close..."
She nodded in agreement, "But then I saw her coming towards me, and it's no secret that we don't like each other…"
"I know..."
"I tried ignoring her but I didn't like the tone she spoke to me and things got worse when she held my arm... I felt upset and didn't like her insinuations about you... she was trying to low me down, and she even tried to talk shit about you when she said that she just needed to snap her fingers for you to be with her... as if you were her dog, although she did not use that dog term, that's how I understood her words"
She wiggled her fingers anxiously.
"But was that the reason why you attacked her?"
"No, of course not! That was only the beginning... but I was already angry with her after reading the messages she sent you trying to seduce you... I know I did wrong in searching your things without permission, but... but... Damn, it's not easy to see my boyfriend talking to a girl that he had feelings... it's difficult to believe that there can be friendship when one of the parties clearly still nurtures the hope of a relationship with the other... It's impossible not feeling jealous of it!"
"Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you! But I don't trust her! I keep imagining her waiting for the opportunity to seduce you, to kiss you, whatever!"
"You can't control people, nor their actions..."
"But you can avoid hers by staying away from her!"
"I did not like that you searched my things behind my back"
"I apologize for the lack of permission, but I don't regret it. I was right about her intentions!" She replied, folding her arms," Why did not you tell me that you kissed her?"She asked irritated.
"It was not a kiss, it was an almost kiss..."
She laughed scornfully, "An almost kiss? Is it possible to almost kiss?"
"It was not a kiss on the lips... it was on the corner…"
"Big del!" She said sarcastically
"But that was all... nothing else never beyond that..."
"Did you ever sleep with her?"
"No, never!"
"Do you feel like it?"
He chuckled, "No..."
"Don't lie to me!"
"Kate, please don't get me another woman. Don't try looking for things that don't exist so you can justify your jealousy and blame me for it!"
"..."
Chris sighed, and despite the rebuke he appreciated Kate's honesty by admitting what she did on her own, it proved what Angelina said, "Anyways, continue what you were saying..."
She inhaled deeply, "You know I'm not the type to back down when confronted"
"I know…"
"So that's what happened. She said shit and I said shit too"
"So you admit that you teased her, too?"
She lowered her head biting her lips in nervousness, "I spoke something I shouldn't have... but nothing justifies what she said about me! Nothing! And that's when I exploded"
"What did she tell you?"
"She insulted me, she humiliated me, she mocked my condition..." tears began to form, "She said I was rotten, dry... defective! And that's why no life was generated in me... and she even admitted she thought it was good, for I deserve this..." she couldn't bear the pressure to hold the cry
"What?" He asked, frowning, astonished
"I didn't explode out of jealousy! I exploded because she... my love... what kind of person mocks another's disability? What kind of person says to a sick person, 'I'm glad you're sick!' What kind of monster does that? It's like you tell someone who has no leg that they deserve no pity and it's good they don't have a leg! It's like saying that is beautiful to have a disability, that is beautiful that suffering! It is not! This is horrible! This is bullying!"
Chris was amazed at what he was hearing. He never expected those words to come out of Angelina's mouth.
"I knew she laughs at me, she has pleasure in my suffering! She laughs that I cannot fulfill my dream! And she still wants to take you from me, my other dream that I once talked to Mrs. Life the day I got my diagnosis, I said, I begged! I said that since I could not fulfill the dream of being a mother, then I wished I could live a great love! And then you came to my life, you are my great love and that stupid bitch wants to take you from me! She wants to see me suffer! So it hurts me to know that you have a friendship with her and I was pissed off when you went to her first!"
"And I'm glad I did it, Kate..." he spoke with an ease tone
"Oh really? Why?"
"Because I could be sure who's lying to me"
"And what difference would it make if it were the other way around? I am your bride! I should be your priority! Not her!" she shouted
He took her hand gently, "You are my priority, you're my fiancée and my future wife... I didn't make the mistake of choosing you over her, Kate..." he spoke in a gentle tone and lowered his face close to hers and looked at her deep in the eyes, "I can see in your eyes that you're not lying to me, I can feel your sincerity even in admitting your collaboration in the fight... this is worthy! It's an honor for me to have all of your love and I hope I can fill your expectations..."
"Stop talking to her..." she whispered
"I already did... it was worth it for me to talk to her first... I realized she's not who I thought she was... And I could still get the ring you had lost..." he smiled kindly
She smiled back
"You too are my great love" he whispered before kissing her kindly. Then he ran his fingers gently on her face with a touch of love so that symbolically the bruises could heal faster and without subsequent pain.
They hugged.
.
.
Not being stubborn and being honest was worth it. Listening to so many people's advices to be honest and after reflecting on past mistakes was worth it to make the change be effective.
Kate was aware that she no longer was innocent Katherine, not even stormy Katarina. She was discovering herself more and more apart from those women she once upon a time used to be. Surely she still had some of their traits, but she had the intention to be clear this time. The man she loves praises that.
Yet, she still had something to hide and as they hugged, she received a message in her cell phone.
A message from her brother Vlad.
She ignored it. She had had enough for that day.
On the other hand, Chris more than never used his rationality for good. He no longer was his emotional counterparts of the past, at least, not as they used to be.
He still had his temperamental trait, but as he aged he became more resigned about things. He tended to listen more before judging.
He was still coping with the recent events, but as a more grounded man, he was more focused on the present than in the past he couldn't change. That's why he didn't find the use in reading past things. He was more concerned with the now on.
Although, not admitting it consciously, it was evident that having more access to Christian's feelings through dreams had had more influence on him than he could perceive. Somehow all that Christopher went through was worth it in the end. It served to unbury the kind man in him.
Christian could love Katarina after all. He was kind and comprehensive. Sadly they wasted a lifetime to accomplish it. Although, Christopher Reed wasn't completely gone and it was in Chris's hands to make the final decision when he learned some revelations.
"What is important is not what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens to us." ― Jean-Paul Sartre
.
.
I'm sorry, I have to go,
I knew, it was a lie,
How much time I lost
For someone who promises and then never changes
Strange love puts in troubles
But in reality it is us.
There is a strange love which makes grow
And smile between tears.
How many pages there to write,
Dreams and bruises to share,
There is love which happens often at this age,
Gets entangled inside of this soul
Which asks without deciding
If it is love which it gives to us
And how many lost nights in tears,
Rereading those letters
Which you don't manage to throw away any more
From the maze of nostalgia
A great love which comes to an end
But why does it remain in the heart?
A strange love which comes and leaves
To thoughts which hide there
True stories which belong to us
But they leave each other like we
A strange fragile love,
Imprisoned, free.
A strange love which puts in troubles
But in reality it is us
A strange love which happens often at this age,
Gets entangled inside of a soul,
A strange love which puts in troubles
But gets lost like we
A strange love which comes and leaves
True stories which belong to us
A strange fragile love,
Imprisoned, free.
A strange love which can not live
And gets lost inside of us
I'm sorry, I have to go,
This time I have promised it to myself
Because I want a true love
Without you... (Strani Amore – Laura Pausini)
Thank you McTamale and Xaori for the reviews! :D
I decided to end the chapter with this song that so fits what's happening here.
We are so close to the end of BT. I can't believe it, although Mirror of Time will really tell us the true end of this saga.
I can spoil you that in M.O.T. we will see so much more of content with B. which is the game's essence, of course the drama and romance will continue and we will also see Chris during his amnesia in 2013, not to mention we will also learn who Chris will end up with after all...muhauah
Stay tuned!