Chapter 8

                                    

                                          
"Oralie's mind is broken?!" Grady yelled.
                          
Sophie, Tam, Biana, Linh, Keefe, Fitz and Dex had been sent home after the crisis. Mr. Forkle had risked checking if Oralie's mind might have still been intact, but he described it as weary layers of black suffocating him. He had barely managed to pull himself out. They hadn't yet figured out how to tell the Council. Most of the Council didn't even know that they had opened the cache! 
                          
Sophie had been immediately surrounded by hugs when she arrived at Havenfield's first floor, but when Sophie broke the news to Grady and Edaline, they went berserk. 
                          
"I didn't know that opening the cache would be this - " Grady threw up his hands. "IMPACTING!" 
                          
Sophie winced, and Edaline noticed.
                          
"Grady, she tried the best she could. Nobody could have saved Oralie. Opening the cache was necessary." Edaline put a hand on Grady's shoulder. He shook it away. "I know, Oralie was close to us, but we have to move on. And please stop blaming Sophie for this." 
                          
Sophie winced again at the word "was." 
                          
Grady sighed. "I'm sorry Sophie, I didn't mean to target my anger at you. It's just..." Grady smiled weakly. "You should get to sleep. It's been a long day for you." 
                          
Sophie felt miserable. Her heart thumped loudly, and she had a bulge of guilt in her chest which didn't seem to be going away. Grady and Edaline didn't even give her a hug as she trudged upstairs to her room. When she got there, she flopped onto her bed, snatched Ella, and cried. Cried and cried and cried. She couldn't move from her position on the bed. Facedown, sounds of sobs being muffled by the mattress and Ella. It was her fault. 
                          
Her fault. 
                          
Her fault. 
                          
Her fault. 
                          
She should have taken the idea of a Forgotten Secret more seriously. And Sophie would never be able to tell her biological mother that she loved her, even though she had held a grudge before. 
                          
Suddenly a loud clunk made Sophie lift her head. Sandor had brought Sophie's dinner. 
                          
How long had it been?
                          
One hour?
                          
Two?
                          
Five? 
                          
And most importantly, how much longer could she stay?
                          
Numb?
                          
Confused?
                          
Sorrowful? 
                          
Guilty. 
                          
Sophie shoved her bowl away, and it shattered into a million pieces. Sophie stared at the crystal shards littering her flower-adorned carpet. It was like Oralie. Fragile. And broken. 
                          
Sophie cried again, but no tears could come out. Sandor came in again and offered her some tea. 
                          
Not even caring if it was a sedative, Sophie gulped it down, wishing it would erase her from reality. 
                          
A reality where her parents were distraught because of what Sophie had failed to do.
                          
A reality where another Councillor had been lost. 
                          
A reality where words were too late.
                          
Where everything was too late.
                          
At least it felt like it.
                          
Sophie felt herself drift away into a very colourful dream. But even with dancing alicorns in it, her devastation twisted it into something else. 
                          
Nevertheless, Sophie was glad that she wasn't in reality.