One Heart; Two Souls

Dear My Only,

It’s been far too long since I’ve written to you; I know it must’ve upset you greatly to not hear from me over the past few months, and that if you were able to, you’d scold me a great deal for it. I hope that you can somehow find it within yourself to forgive me, for you see, all that time has been spent constantly running from and fighting the city’s soldiers. The others in the Rebellion and I have been under attack after our camp was compromised by spies amongst us who have been reporting our whereabouts. We’ve been on the run ever since.

We’ve lost so many of our people-- to the attacks as well as starvation and this burning, unending heat. We’ve only just stopped and found shelter safe enough to hide us for a few days, though I fear we’re far too small, and have lost much of our food, weapons, and other supplies for us to last much longer. I’m even using the last piece of paper I have to write this letter to you.

The one remnant of my humanity has been this locket that you gave me so long ago; I find its shape fitting because-- just like the picture it contains-- you have always and forever will be in my heart. Carrying it along with my memories of you has been the only thing keeping me sane since we parted; the only thing giving me the strength to keep fighting and searching for something that’s seemed so out-of-reach and hopeless as “a better life.”

While my time on this God-forsaken planet is numbered, there’s still hope for you to have that life. There’s a place I’ve been hearing about and looking for that is full of people who were able to escape the city and find some semblance of peace and prosperity; where there are things like farms, fresh water, and even air conditioning! Stuff that you and I have dreamed of since we were children, and that I have been searching for all these years!

I’ve also made a friend and trusted ally with a cyborg called Blue, who has joined us on our journey and been invaluable to our cause. I’ve spoken about you a lot with her; she’s promised to bring you to that place and watch over you since I cannot. She takes promises very seriously so I trust she will keep her word; I bet you two will get along very well.

While I would love nothing more than to meet you at that place and to hold you once more, there’s no hope for the last of the Rebellion and I in surviving another attack; it won’t be too long until we’re either found and destroyed completely or we run out of supplies entirely and die slowly. By the time you’ve read this, I will likely be long dead. It is therefore my last wish that you make it to that place and are able to live on and be happy there. All I need you to do is wait until Blue comes for you and stay by her side at least until you reach it. I know it may hurt you to hear this, and you might even hate me a little bit, but please know that even if we cannot meet again, I will always be right in that locket and your heart.

Yours Truly,

Angelina

As she sat there for what felt like hours raking over the letter with shaking, disbelieving eyes, Joanna’s heart beat violently; her hands trembled as the contents of the letter remained unchanging and unforgiving painful to read. No! No this can’t be happening! She pleaded and chanted with no one to answer her; no one to assure her that this was just another on of her nightmares again, or some stupid prank- to no avail.

She’d waited so long to hear from her Angel; opening the letter the moment it’d arrived and in the hopes that her worries were unfounded. Now that those fears have been realized; the crumpled, yellowed paper held within her hands as evidence, Joanna’s the string that had held her last remaining hope snapped. All her senses became dull and unfocused as her world crumbled around her; the screaming and violent destruction from outside her broken, dirty apartment window were now distant, and the usually ever-present heat for once ceased as icy fear stabbed through her chest. She had not even moved to pick up the locket that had fallen to the floor during the initial moment of shock that’d overtaken her when she’d first read the letter.

A light touch to her shoulder was what finally broke her of her numbed state; she was violently thrust back into reality and the sensations around her came back into focus. She then remembered the stranger in the room that’d given her the weapon responsible for it all; she set her eyes on the figure before her. Even though she’d never met this person before and had initially been reluctant to let them in before receiving the letter and locket, Joanna now almost instinctively knew that she must be Blue.

For one, she was most certainly a cyborg; with wires protruding from her head that seemed to connect to the back of her neck, and mechanical arms that were partially hidden underneath the sleeves of her torn hoodie. The dark grey of the wires and her arms contrasted against her near-porcelain-white skin. The next thing that gave Blue away was her long electric blue hair that she’d tied into a ponytail, and her left eye which was entirely blue and glowing slightly in the dim lighting of the room; almost startlingly different from her very normal, very human right eye that was hazel-blue. She looked pretty young despite everything; Joanna guessed she was probably in her early twenties.

“Sorry I startled you… And… um,” Blue shifted around slightly, looking equal parts concerned and awkward as she tried to comfort Joanna, “And I’m sorry for your loss. Angelina was very kind to me, and very brave. She fought until the very e-”

“She’s not dead,” Joanna interrupted insistently, “She just simply can’t be. She promised we’ll meet again and that she’d come back for me as soon as possible! We were supposed to escape together... She promised!” Her voice became more and more unsteady as she moved toward Blue as if ready to physically fight to prove her point; her tone was almost angry in her desperation and rush to deny what had been her very worst fear: losing her Angel forever and never seeing or holding her again.

“I’m afraid she is, miss Joanna,” Blue replied softly, as if it pained her to say it just as much as it hurt Joanna to hear it, “She died right before my eyes… She was barely able to keep alive long enough to have me promise to bring this to you, and to take care of you since she no longer can,” Blue’s eyes blinked rapidly as if to fight away tears, although it was only her right that welled up, “I know you must be hurting badly; she was a very dear friend to me and it hurts me too that she died before she could even fulfill her dream.”

There was then a long pause between the two; the only sounds interrupting the silence were the distant sounds of someone screaming for help, and occasional, loud rumbling of a dilapidated building. As the reality of Joanna’s situation finally became clear, and that her fear had in fact come true, her head fell into her hands and she breathed a troubled sigh. She then asked the only remaining question that was now becoming more incessant in her mind: “So what now? What am I supposed to do now that I know she’s dead? Follow you on the same, long journey to some place that may or may not exist at the risk of death, and then -by some miracle that I make it there… live on without her?” She couldn’t understand what was the point of all that; why she should follow some dream without the only person she’s ever cared about by her side to live it. Joanna had been pacing back and forth during this, only to finally stop to lean herself against the far wall; seeking some sort of physical support to buffer against the effects of what happened that evening.

“That is the idea, yes,” Blue confirmed sadly. “My last promise to her was to take care of you and bring you to that place safely... It is ultimately your choice whether to stay here or leave with me, but I would rather be able to keep my promise as a token of my gratitude for her friendship.”

Joanna, who had begun to shrink into herself while the stress, anger, grief and uncertainty had taken over her entire being, was now processing that information and trying to decide on a course of action. As she did so, her eyes landed on the locket that was still laying on the floor. Slowly, she peeled herself away from the wall and walked over before gently picking up the locket; the comforting, familiar feeling of its metal form digging into her palm as she held it tightly yet tenderly. It had been a gift from Joanna to Angelina when they were love-struck teenagers in an unforgiving, sad world. It was supposed to celebrate Valentine's Day; a holiday they’d learned about that had died out 20 years before either of them were born. All holidays pretty much ceased to be celebrated after years of devastation, war, and mass global warming, and the North City became one of the only inhabited areas left on the planet. Remembering those times was bittersweet now; they were so full of hope and life despite everything then. They had promised to stay together and love each other forever; to one day find someplace far away from the North City. Inside, she knew there was a picture of the both of them smiling together side-by-side; although it’s far too rusty and haggard to risk opening it after all the years that passed, it felt right somehow to have it that way. This one, small heart held within it the ever-lasting love of two souls. After staring at the locket, its physical and emotional weight made her come to a final decision.

She turned to Blue, who was patiently watching her while Joanna decided and - at the very least- seemed trustworthy, and had been there for Angelina until the very end.

With a slight grin, she decided, "A promise is a promise... wouldn't want to make you break it. I'll go with you, for Angelina's sake."

Blue shared the same grin, seeming to understand the slight irony in her tone. Then with the utmost conviction and seriousness, replied, "For Angelina's sake- and yours, I swear to protect you until my death, and to give you the life you've dreamed of. You can count on me."

Joanna nodded as she began to think of how to prepare herself for the long, arduous (and possibly hopeless) journey ahead, "That's what I'm hoping on."

The End.