Once Jacobine had opened the door, I finally got my first peek of the state of her dwellings, and let just say it wasn't anything too unexpected. Just like the building that it resided in, the signs of poverty were unmistakable.
Everything that lay in this room be it the walls or the objects that furnished the rooms were but a shadow of their former self, many having fallen into disrepair after years of use. Common things like spoons and forks, stainless as they were supposed to, were starting to see hints of rust creeping up on its once spotless surface. Other objects that adorned the house like the tables and chairs faired no better, their shine having long faded after tirelessly serving it's owner day after day, leaving it free to be chipped and scratched by the hands of time.
Yet despite the wear and tear that many of the objects in the house had sustained, the house still had a sense of pride to it. Items like chairs and tables, despite their shine having long faded, were polished to the tee and arranged in a manner befitting of such efforts. Even the smaller things like the aforementioned cutleries weren't neglected. Contrary to their nature, they were being proudly displayed by its owner, with said owner even going so far as to have a separate cabinet dedicated to it in spite of the fact that protection like these was no longer very necessary. These objects weren't just in purgatory waiting to be discarded no, they were being displayed, flaunted even for their flaws as flaws like these were these item’s red blood of courage, a testament to their service.
Seeing my scrutiny, Jacobine firmly pulled at the edge of my sleeve “Come on Katherine, this way” she says before guiding me towards her room. Realising that my intense observations of her less than ideal home was probably making her uncomfortable, I duly complied, letting myself be pulled into her room and straight into colour wonderland.
Unlike the dull, organised, utilitarian room that lay literally a door frame away, Jacobine's room was colourful messy and expressive. Her walls covered by hues of red, orange and maroon blending and swirling in ways so chaotic that even the famous Jackson Pollock would have blushed. Some portions even had posters stuck over it further enhancing the vibe of the room. The posters themselves too were equally fascinating, espousing many interesting phrases like worker's rights and break the chains, something which I totally expected to be present in a room of a female 17 year old teenager. Though credit where credit is due, at least they were kept in line with the room’s aesthetic. An aesthetic that ,I might add , bled into every corner of the room, resulting in intense artification of everything it touched.
Some of these artification, were done in smaller ways. Her wooden table for instance was just schoolyard graffiti, it's squiggles upon scribbles of words lines symbols layering over one another to form a cohesive patchwork pattern that spread throughout the table. Other items seemed to have undergone more Intense artification. For example, her wooden wardrobe, with it's door shaped like the wings of a butterfly, had one side intentionally deformed to be bigger than the other in order to make it more avant garde I guess?? So quick disclaimer here, I'm no wardrobe expert, but I am pretty sure most wardrobes you find at your local Walmart/Courts don't exactly sell THese types of wardrobes. Meaning that Jacobine probablyha to do all the work herself which is pretty impressive since not a lot of teens know how to engineer one sided enlarged wardrobes in case you haven't noticed.
But despite all her efforts in engineering her room, under all the layers of colour and dynamism, you could still tell that the room at its core, wasn't suited in one of the most affluent apartment. Items in it like the wardrobe, as innovative as it was, still couldn't outshine time itself and certain portions of the wood were very clearly more faded than the rest. The room itself too was also showing signs of decay. Already at the corner of the room, there were tiny veins of what I assume to be moss alive and growing as it bides it time to reclaim the room for nature. It seemed, that however hard Jacobine tried to escape her surroundings, her circumstance will always one day catch up to her.
"So" Jacobine asks having already seated herself comfortably while I was still lost in my observations, "What brings you to my home, unannounced I might add."
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"I.." I say hesitantly, the image of her tackling me to the ground flashing briefly through my mind before swiftly being pickaxed it to the back of it's head by my consciousness, “I came because I want to apologise for my rude comment back at the alley. What I did was wrong, I shouldn't have called you that, nor have taken out my anger on you. I wasn't thinking straight. I was frustrated, tired and above all terrified for my life. Those men, they scared me, you know. If it wasn't for Herr Schmidt, I don't know what they would have done to us. He felt like my saviour, Jacobine, our saviour." I say as I felt my facade of calmness quickly slip through my grasp "Look Jacobine I don't care about whatever Mr Schmidt is preaching or what organisation he represents. In fact, I'll even gladly throw him and all that away for you because I" I say teariedly "I miss you okay. You were my friend, if not my best. I understand that you might never forgive me for my insults, but could you just please give me one chance, one last chance to make it right?"
One second passes, then two, then a whole minute. All the while, I kept my head down, daring not to catch even a glimpse of her. Internally, I felt like shit, this was 100% not what I planned to happen. Like brain what happened to a smooth entrance of which I, being the master of diplomacy, would simultaneously show remorse and confidently downsize my role in a sort of carrot and stick style which would then hopefully get her to forgive me? Yes ok then why is it that I am just here bawling my eyes out waiting for her reply?? Huh...Looks like once again, real life has foiled my theoretical plan.
Finally, after 3 minutes of excruciating wait, I hear Jacobine's voice peter from in front of me
"Ok, Katherine I forgive you,” She says, sniffing "Bu...But don't you dare call me that ever again, you understand?"
Hearing this, I felt my emotions start to lighten up. Pulling my head upwards, I saw that Jacobine had tactfully turned her face sideways as her tears streak freely down her cheek. In response, I felt my body move involuntarily towards her, and before I knew it, I had wrapped Jacobine in my warm embrace, as she cried her heart out.
As I sat there slowly stroking her with my hand, I hear her speak up once more "Katherine," she says between tears, "Sorry for being such a useless lass back at the alley. I..I tried, I really did, but my body just froze up. I felt so numb, like nothing mattered anymore. If it wasn’t for you, I am sure those men would have done unspeakable things to me. Thank you, Katherine, really. I don't know what would have happened if it wasn't for you."
Hearing what she said, I couldn't help but hug her even closer. She wasn't alone, I too felt the same fear and shock that she felt but unlike her, I managed to overcome this and took action, submitting myself instead of being forced to and thus buying enough time and inevitably saving us both. Yet was it really right then for me to lash out at her for her inaction? Right for me to uphold the same standards for her as I do myself?
"Jacobine, I have something to say."
"Mhm" she says muffledly
"I was wrong too for blaming you, for taking my anger out on you, if anything I should have consoled you and shared our experience together to make us stronger. But Instead.." I pause, feeling tears of my own starting to well up in my eyes, "Instead I decided to selfishly blame you for not doing anything and called you that..that awful name.” I say having entered full-on crying mode.
“It’s fine Katherine.” Jacobine says meekly “I am sorry too, I shouldn’t have tried to force upon you my personal view especially after such all that trauma. He saved us and even if I don’t agree with what he stands for, I should have at the very least been grateful for what he did for us." She pauses, rubbing off some of her tears "I want to personally find him and thank him if that’s fine. But if we do this, don't you dare ogle him, okay?” Hearing this, I let out a small smile before gently nodding my head.
“All in the future, Jacobine.”
With this resolution, our friendship, once teetering on the edge of non-existence, was now forged anew with the strong bonds of steel. We then sallied forth to the quest that lay before us, defeating miniboss after miniboss. Eventually, after months of questing, we finally reached the lair of the big baddy of the world. While he was tough, through the sheer strength of our friendship and a healthy dose of plot armour we managed to dispel the world of its great evil, once again bringing peace to this shattered world. We then proceed to gallop off into the sunset, having become legends and inspiration for men who will write tales of our fables for centuries to come!