CHAPTER 23: Revelation

CHAPTER 23: Revelation

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The party wasn't going to end anytime soon and Ella was stuck there since she didn't have her own ride. Whoever said time moves faster when you're having fun was definitely a miserable loner. Just like Ella was or rather felt like.

She was still reeling from what Neo had said in his drunken state, but the only thing she felt was flattered. There wasn't anything else... and she wondered why she wasn't interested in exploring that at all.

The night seemed like it would go on forever, but Ella might as well have been sleeping with her eyes wide open, that's how much fun she was having.

A group of friends behind her were complaining about how bad the music was at the party. "It's just awful." A girl said.

"If you're expecting some classical music then you're at the wrong place." Some guy said.

Ella blocked them out, it's been a while since her ears became accustomed to the blend of sound around her, it was all white noise that she successfully shut out without much effort.

But it shocked her when suddenly her hearing senses had a mind of their own and turned in to listen to a conversation going on behind her eavesdropping without meaning to.

"I finished it yesterday, and I could not believe the ending...I cried my eyes out." a sharp voice cut through her bubble of calm.

"But why? It was a happy ending." said a different soft female voice.

"Please can we stop talking about Ivory Castle? It makes me tear up just thinking about it." spoke a deep male voice and a small amused smirk spread across Ella's lips.

"But why?" the same feminine voice repeated, "I don't understand why you guys are behaving as if it was a sad ending... It was such a sweet happy ending."

"If you think that, then you're just an optimist," said the guy.

Ella's interest was now piqued, she suddenly wanted to know what these strangers thought about her brother's book and so she turned slightly towards the group and observed them subtly.

It was an odd mix of people, the two girls were both beautiful in different ways. One of them was a short brunette with a cute bob-cut and small eyes, she had a pitchy voice but not in an annoying manner and she wore loose clothes even to a beach party clearly declaring that she couldn't care less about the 'dress code'.

The other girl was tall and talkative, her voice was soft and elegant, and her appearance was striking. She had thick red curls cascading down her shoulders as she talked animatedly utilizing all her facial expressions and hand gestures. Her piercing eyes could look right through you, but not in an intrusive way, her features were sharp and beautiful and she could easily intimidate anyone with her grace and confidence if it wasn't for the genuine mellow smile on her shapely lips. She wore a black tank top and jeans that accentuated her long legs.

The guy seemed like the most laid back one, he wore a college jersey that was firm for his built arms and broad chest with a crest of CLS music academy which according to Ella's knowledge was the most prestigious music institution in the state, it wasn't very close though and she wondered what these people were doing so far from the campus.

The guy was tall, his dark hair tousled, his voice deep, deeper than you'd expect from his boyish features. He looked the most frustrated of that conversation and didn't make a secret of it as he flailed around- apparently trying to make the girls switch the subject to something less tear-inducing.

"Guys I'm not an optimist, you know me better than anyone, in fact, I like sad endings, but the ending for that book was perfect and it was the best closure they could have." the redhead explained.

"Deep down you're an optimist- even though you claim to be a pessimistic drama queen, you're a secret optimist." the other girl playfully accused.

"There's nothing wrong with being an optimist, I am loud and proud. I love happy endings and I'm not ashamed to admit it." the guy puffed his chest out as he sat up straighter. "And Rhea I must disagree- that was a sad ending, so much so that every song I wrote for some time after reading that book makes people burst into tears."

"But every song I played on my cello was a happy melody." Rhea argued, "They both set out to find each other- is that not a happy ending?"

"Yeah they did but they didn't actually meet did they?" the brunette girl added.

"They could have crossed paths at the wrong time and would have never met each other!" the dude said supporting the argument.

"But there was a subtle mention of the fact that everything turned out well." She argued, pushing her long hair behind her ear. Ella was entertained for sure and she couldn't wait to tell her brother all about this scenario.

"No there wasn't, in fact, it was subtly indicated that- not everything works out as it should." the tall guy said.

"You're all correct." Ella couldn't help but blurt those words, giving away that she's been listening in.

Three pairs of surprised eyes now gawked at her with poorly concealed confusion. "Sorry, I couldn't help but to hear..." she added as she tried not to get flustered under their scrutiny and continued to speak now that she had their attention, "The ending of Ivory Castle was meant to be that way, it was crafted very carefully and meticulously. The author wanted readers to project onto his abstract words and realise their own ending."

"How can you be so sure?" the girl with a pitchy voice and a cute bob cut asked.

"I've been following Cameron Sinclair's work for a long time and analysed them, trust me- I know what he had in mind. The ending was deliberate and I must admit, quite clever too," she said. The question of whether the book had a happy or a sad ending became the talk of the town on the internet which resulted in bigger sales and the book stayed on the bestseller list for months because everyone wanted to know what it was about.

"But how- I don't get it." The guy said and Ella smiled and elaborated.

"If you paid close attention to the choice of words towards the end scene of the book, it became more and more abstract as opposed to specific. The language became less concrete which is usually advised against but in this case, it worked." She told them and all three of them listened to her like she was some kind of expert.

"I feel like I should re-read the book." He said.

"It's even better the second time around, I definitely recommend it-..." she paused, not knowing his name.

He read her confusion and quickly rectified the situation, " I'm Justin, this is Rhea and Lilly." he said pointing at the red-head and the short girl.

Ella chuckled a little embarrassed at hijacking their conversation and forgoing the introductions. "I'll definitely recommend it, Justin, I'm Ella by the way."

"I agree with Ella, I read the book the second time and it only got better, Cameron Sinclair's writing is impressive- I can't believe I almost didn't read it," Rhea said.

"What do you mean?" Ella asked- intrigued.

"I used to only read non-fiction, but a year ago someone I used to date introduced me to Cameron Sinclair's books, but I was a firm believer of 'reality is often stranger than fiction' and so I didn't give it a fair chance for the longest time," she said.

'Reality is often stranger than fiction where had she heard that before?

Something about Rhea was suddenly familiar, Ella's mind was abruptly trying to place her- trying to put pieces of a puzzle together as she frowned.

"I agree his writing is so good. I even read his debut novel and it was amazing." Justin was saying, but Ella was lost in thought.

A question that had no relevance to the current conversation slipped out before she could analyse and understand why she was even voicing that out loud, "Have you read Bernard Shaw & Mrs Patrick Campbell: Their Correspondence?"

Rhea frowned, but soon her face transformed and she was looking at Ella like she had placed the moon and the stars in the night sky. "Oh my god! I can't believe I actually met someone who has read that book, I mean it's my favourite and I rave about it to everyone I meet and a lot of people have read Pygmalion but hardly anyone has read that one." she looked at Ella with sparkling eyes.

Ella chuckled, "You were not kidding about the raving part." Something in her mind was closing in on a picture but she couldn't figure out what it was. The picture was blurred, what was she not placing?

"What else do you expect? As I said, it's my favourite book," she repeated.

The other two friends had begun their own conversion about another one of Cameron's books while Rhea talked to Ella about the epistolary novel in question.

"I must admit it's very good. I read it in parts so that I wouldn't finish it too soon and then fall into a post-reading depression..." Ella said.

"I get it in fact I believe-..." As they continued to chat a thought remained at the back of Ella's mind. She was not seeing something relevant?

What was it?

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When Ella woke up with a mild headache, she wished it was a weekend. She didn't drink much the night before, but apparently, just a small amount of alcohol consumption was enough to make her feel some aftereffects. She didn't have commitments such as college or her shift at the library until later that day, and hence no motivation to get out of bed, she just stayed put, staring up at her ceiling, her mind blank.

She eventually got out of bed, her day started late and aimless, but she found her bearings soon after freshening up and having a cup of coffee. Nora was still passed out cold in her bed and would probably be hungover for the rest of the day, unlike Ella she did party quite hard and late into the morning hours. When Ella peeked into her roommate's bedroom to see if she wanted any breakfast, she just got a pillow thrown at her head. Charming.

Conversations from last night circulated in her mind while she worked in the kitchen, her talk with Daniel and Andrew being the most prevalent but occasionally random moments interrupted her thoughts like what Neo had confessed to her and her random conversation with those three strangers. There was something she was still missing though and she didn't know what...

After a quick breakfast, she decided to work on her story. It wasn't due very soon but she knew she had to make progress on it as early on as possible. She sat at her desk, mulling over where to start as she read through her notes and materials while time passed around her and she stayed locked in a bubble of her own.

When she stopped writing she realised she had written something that had nothing to do with her story. She sighed knowing her mind was preoccupied and she had to deal with it before diving into something creative...

She picked up the paper and read over her words again...checking for mistakes.

1 -Nov-2018

Dear Elliot,

You don't know how disappointing it is to walk into the library, stand in front of the fourth rack of the last shelf, gaze expectantly into the familiar crack between the two very specific books only to find nothing waiting for you there.

Your silence is deafening.

Is it so wrong for wanting to know the hand scribbling those words, the mind behind those thoughts and the eyes envisioning those memories?

In your perception, it may be so- but I'm not gonna lie to you about my curiosity; in fact, it's grown to such a degree that now it consumes me and I'm dying to know the real you.

You didn't write to me these few days and it felt like a vital part of my day- something I took for granted has gone missing. I'm thinking you wouldn't ever write back and an emptiness has begun to surround me with the thought of losing this link forever.

(My speculation even took a turn and thought something brutal and unfortunate has happened to you and I sincerely hope you're fine, and if not then writing me a letter is probably the last thing on your mind so it's understandable.)

These long letterless days had made me realise that I'd rather have you in my life in some form than not at all.

I regret my previous accusatory letter, it's just that sometimes you write in such a way that it makes me feel like you know me and I merely wanted to know if I was reading too much into your words. You don't have to say anything about it if you don't want to but I'd really like it if we continued our correspondence as we used to. I hope you will accept my apology and write back a reply soon.

Impatiently.

Annie

Once she went over the letter, she suddenly was wrapped up in this haste that wanted her to deliver the letter as quickly as she could. She changed into some decent outdoorsy clothes, pulled on her shoes, grabbed her phone and the letter that she tucked into the inner pocket of her jacket and set out towards the library in a restless hurry.

The library was ten minutes away, and she was stubborn to make it under eight. It was a Thursday and so the library was crowded more than on weekends, but Ella walked in not bothering with maintaining the quiet and rushed straight to the back of the room, ignoring all the looks she got from the occupants, she only stopped at the last shelf.

Her eyes instantly found the familiar space between the two corner books but when she saw that familiar piece of paper filling that gap between those books she felt relieved, so much so that her knees buckled and she had to reach out and hold onto the side of the bookshelf to steady herself.

Finally, It was like she could rest her mind and breathe.

He didn't leave, he didn't disappear, she had her mysterious confidant back and that was all that mattered.

With unsure hands she reached for the letter and unfolded it with nervous fingers, her eyes effortlessly fell on his swooping handwriting, but the first two words she read froze her completely.

"Dear Ella,"

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