That watch became everything the outside world was. Delia had the capability to inject poetry into simple tragedy. Meaning provided to the smallest things. His thumb ran over the crack in the glass Cordelia pointed out. āAlright. So it didnāt walk itself out here to the beach. And youāre certain Tao never made it here either.ā And if Alex took it and thoughtlessly left the watch in the sand, well. He didnāt mean anything by itā fucking hell. A rush of air hissed between his teeth. āOh? And here I am just learning you two are besties.ā Actual stealing and potential stealing apparently now both acceptable on Meridium. Typical.
Not that Kaz shared any of Alexās ransacking with Cordelia for her to understand his sudden irritation. āWouldnāt say heās good or bad. A clueless dickhead is all.ā Still, it did not make a whole hell of a lot of sense. If Alex took a dead manās watch, what was it doing out on the beach. Beyond that, Cordeliaās eyes stayed wild and open. He heard her heart as it continued to thump unbearably fast.
At first, Kaz expected the mention of Wren to go as usual. A cute island baby who bopped happily around. The soft crinkle of an adorable button nose, the sweet as cane sugar smile. Impressions of Wren did not waver in his experience. Cordelia told him before that Mei died in the labyrinth too, but⦠āWait, wait. What are you telling me?ā This entire time, the bodyā it was Mei?Ā
āI mean. The ring was here with the watch.ā Made sense in his mind. She was still rattled, so Kaz left those conclusions there in the sand too. And perhaps things hadnāt been so rosy for Tao and Cordelia. Everyone has problems. He heard his mother say the same thing to Ani once. Did Tao treat a stupid old broken watch with more care and concern than he did Cordeliaā was that what she was trying to say?Ā
He went silent. She elaborated without giving much more away. Kazās jaw locked tight for a few seconds. āYou wouldnāt have to go back to anything.ā Firm and final. āBut youāve been so certain too. That heās gone.āĀ Fingers curled over the watch. Then, his hand opened again. āIām guessing you donāt want this. So letās see what happens to it.ā Kaz tossed the piece back into the shifting sand.Ā
He laughed, short and clipped. āThereās a chance, yeah. This could all be the island fucking with you. Iāve seen shit that wasnāt there before. Or, like. The beast. Made me think it was Carmen.ā And Ani, but heād rather forget it. āMade me think my night terrors were following me in the daytime. Itās what I was getting at while ago. Itās not the labyrinth. But itās not harmless out here either.ā Far from it.Ā
āIād check around. See if anyone found the watch and, I dunno. Left it here for some fucked up reason.ā He stared blankly at the watch. āMaybe we should fucking destroy it, hm? Weād know for sure itās gone then.āĀ ā
td:*:ļ½„ļ¾ Ā āŗ Ā ļ½”ļ½„:*:dļ¾
āIf Tao would have made it here, Iād know. People would know. If nobody else, the other castaways would know and would have told me. Redirected him to me,ā Cordelia shook her head. There was no way she could not know if Tao got to the beach. There was just simply no possible way. (Was she also trying to convince herself? Maybe.)
Her eyebrows rose at the sudden animosity towards Alex and the apparent bestie statues, as Kaz put it.Ā āIām allowed friends, Kaz,ā she said, her voice sharp, strict - even though probably calling anyone a friend of Cordelia was a stretch, considering how she has kept everyone at an armās length, even in the Labyrinth and she had to now figure out how to actually make friends, wanted to make the connections she hasnāt in the past. But if anyone was her friend, it was Alex, and just because the two of them didnāt get along, that didnāt mean she wanted to hear them bash at each other.Ā āDonāt talk about him like that. You donāt know him, sure, and he told me you arenāt the best of friends, but then just donāt assume the worst of him, please.ā
The conversation shifted from Alex to Wren and Cordelia rubbed her face.Ā āShe killed Mei,ā she said it quietly. Wasnāt even sure why she was keeping her voice down, but part of her felt like she should have done something about the information instead of just-- letting it go. But after the initial shock of the revelation, that feeling of relief got to her that she felt right after. And it wasnāt really Wrenās fault, she recognize the fire craze from a mile away.Ā āI donāt even know how it all happened, it was so fast, but it was her thinking-- thinking she was protecting me, that she was fighting a monster. I didnāt know who it was until I ran into her on the beach.ā
The ring was here with the watch. But Cordelia didnāt want to believe it. Because the watch could be explained away. It could have some kind of logical explanation, even if it was unlucky. But the watch with the ring? Why would anyone steal a wedding ring from somebody? It would have to mean-- so no, the ring was probably just her mind playing tricks on her.
She let out a bitter, breathless chuckle. āI wouldnāt have to go back to anything, yeah, sure. I kept telling myself that I didnāt have to do certain things, Kaz, for most of my life. And then eventually, mostly sooner than later, I did the thing I was telling myself I didnāt have to anyway.ā Would she go back to Tao after all this time? Would she have ever seperated from him if he didnāt try to kill her in a fire craze and she found herself completely alone for the first time in her life, or would she still be with him if she wasnāt forced not to be? Was she still a coward, just thrust into a whole different situation? Probably.
She didnāt want to think about it, though, and instead she focused on his statement afterward and gave a nod.Ā āHe is gone. He has to be gone, Kaz, the state he was in. There was no way there is any coming back from it.ā But her voice didnāt sound so certain anymore, more like she was trying to convince herself of her own words, not just Kaz.
The island was prone to make people see tihngs, believe what wasnāt the truth.Ā āIf this is all just that - the island making me believe, as bad as it sounds, Iām going to be happy. I-- if this is all just some kind of hallucination, somehow, both of us tripping the same thing, I am good with that. I can accept that.ā There was more harm in Tao actually being here, she felt that.Ā āItās probably either the island, or somebody got it somehow. That must be it.ā It was a decision as much as a statement - sheād believe it was either, and not worry about the other possibility.
Still, when he suggested destroying the watch, Cordelia was all for it. For a second her stomach lurched, that instinct of what would Tao say, but she quickly pushed it away and raised her hands, pulled her palms apart and created a pressurized air around the watch - held it there for a moment, an inch above the sand, and then pushed her palms together and pushed the pressure in, destroying the watch.Ā āThat-- that actually felt really good.ā