9. Mark Johnsons POV

My jaw still hurts for moments ago it had been fixed in an expression of utter disbelief.

I had been in utter shock when Kathryn had yelled out Holly's name and my wife had come crawling out of the chimney. Holly had speeded towards the sliding doors that headed out to the garden but soon found they were locked tight. As Kathryn instructed her to take off her shoes in order to not leave ashy prints, she had frantically made for the front door. She had even tried the kitchen windows but everything had been locked with new codes before the menacing trio had headed upstairs. Kathryn would have to offer her iris or fingerprint to override the system. Being cuffed to the chimney had immobilized her however and as she was thinking up an alternative Holly had stood in the hallway, listening to them argueing over Kathryns insinuations. She had been succesful in planting the seed of doubt and in doing so had given us this fighting chance while they were bickering.

"Look in the cupboard under the stairs, there should be tools in there that can cut through these cuffs," Kathryn whispers. Holly already dissapears. When she returns she holds a small plasma cutter. Good, that will do. "Don´t bother using it on the windows; they´re enforced. Hand it to me -very good. Now; hide in the cubboard," Kathryn commands "when they're all in here, go upstairs and leave through the bathroom window, that's the first room to your right, it leads to a flat roof and from there you can climb down." I can see Holly is tense with adrenaline and her mind races to safely store the information she's given. "Can you do that, Holly?"

"Yes." My wife dutifully complies like an overachieving student eager to please a demanding teacher.

"Okay, It'll all be all right, Holly, just stay silent and wait until you're free to go upstairs, it's better to be silent than fast, do you understand that, Holly?" I can tell Kathryn's not yet finished but Holly already turns to do as she's told. "How will I know they're all in here?" She asks as she returns. "I'll yell..." Kathryn looks at me for a moment and replies "..one of us will yell I can't believe this is happening. Now go, be careful, you'll do fine." Kathryns tone is eerily calm and I can see that it has a positive effect on Holly. "I know you have guts otherwise you wouldn't be here" Kathryn winks at her but the meaning is lost on me.

"It's going to be okay, honey." I add and she reenters the room for a quick kiss. Stepping backwards into the hallway I can see that the severity of the situation overwhelmes her greatly.

"Don't yell for her to come out before these doors are closed, allright Mark? She'll never make it otherwise." I nod fastidiously.

As Kathryn starts working on the old cuffs, careful not to burn her hand, I wonder how often she's endured calamities like these. "I'm not blaming you for anything." She says. Even under duress she's considerate of me and she manages to devide her attention between me and the cuff. She even seems to manage it effortlessly. "I knew you must've moved on by the time you wrote that letter," with short intervals, she looks up from her work. She produces bright sparks but seems to know what she's doing. "I didn't like the finality of it, but rationally I knew that we weren't going to be together again." She looks up more intently as she says "It really was for the best."

"I'm sorry anyway." I say. She offers a small smile but I can't take to look her in the eye. Staring at her feet I tell her "I had started a letter that confided my love for you," My voice cracks at the word 'love', it's hardly pronounced but I know she'll understand. "Even that I would leave Holly if you'd want me to, but I just couldn't. I knew the object wouldn't be waiting for you in the decades to come, but freeing me of my guilt. It wouldn't be right. But I want you to know that, for days, I was torn, wondering which letter to send." It moves her.

"Thank you for telling me." She says. "I needed to receive that letter, you know."

I interrupt her "..you don't have to say anythi-"

"-No, really," she's adamant in her continuance "I needed to read that letter because it made me realise I was keeping you as a safetynet, one that kept me from opening up to others." I'm amazed at my simplicity but her reassurance shatters years of living with the horrible monster of my guilt. Hearing her side, hearing her letting me off the hook, may proof to be of a larger impact than all the peergroups, therapists and unofficial caregivers put together could ever be.

"I hold no resentment, no blame and there is no need to be sorry." She must think I've turned into a meak old man for my eyes are tearing up once again, but this time my tears come with a smile of relief.

"So you forgive me?" I ask.

"There is nothing you need forgiveness for." My question hurts her.

"But if it helps, then of course, you have my full and free forgiveness."

I don't realise the thumps in the hallway growing louder as the intrudors come down the stairs. Thankfully she does and hurriedly shoves the plasma cutter in a pile of ashes in the fireplace.