Ruby shrank further back into the corner. She wished she could just melt away into the shadows. Far below she could hear strange voices talking earnestly. They had yet to realize she was gone. Now, Ruby didn’t have a heart, but if she did, it would probably be racing. She would probably also be crying and sweating. But these were things she simply wasn’t capable of. So, she just sat there in the closet, shaking slightly. The voices were growing closer. Such strange, cold, uninterested voices. There was no emotion or warmth in the voices. Her fingers gripped the small crystal that hung around her neck so tightly that she feared they would shatter.
“She does have a habit of wandering off,” one voice said. “Don’t worry. She always hides in the same places.” Footsteps could be heard now. Ruby closed her eyes, trying to shut out the sounds. If only she could be somewhere, anywhere else. She had known that this day would come. She had known that hiding would be useless. But what was she supposed to do? What would Robert have wanted her to do? There was no telling. If Robert were still here, none of this would be happening to her. Hastily, she tucked the crystal into her shirt as the voices reached her door. The door to the closet swung open. Ruby didn’t resist as her arm was grabbed and she was dragged out into the main room.
Her eyes remained on the ground as a strange man stepped forward. Ruby already knew the face of the man who stood before her, though it was her first time meeting him. A feeling of panic was spreading all across her now. If she had known they’d be coming for her, what would she have done? Would she have tried to run away? That was another pointless question for her to shove to the back of her mind. Ruby’s eyes focused on a few cracks in the marble floors. Those cracks had been there for as long as she could remember. They disrupted the clear pattern that had been carved into the stone.
Yet the sight of them always made her heart glow with joy. They were familiar. They had always been there, and they would always be there. She could rely and depend on them. The realization that this would be her last time seeing them hit her like a bullet.
“Here we are,” she was being nudged forward now. The man reached out and took her hand.
“It is excellent work,” he said softly as he carefully examined it. “I can’t remember the last time that I saw one of these,” Ruby forced herself to look up and meet his gaze. She had seen a handful of his photographs. But Ruby had learned pretty early on in her life that reality always feels a little bit different from videos or pictures. His face looked sharp, narrow, and his skin was almost a grey color. At first, she could see a single trace of Robert in him. But the closer Ruby looked, the more she recognized. The eyes were very much like Robert’s with their strange shape and deep blue color. They carried a weary and disinterested look that couldn’t have been less like Robert’s. “Was this mostly his work?” asked the man.
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“All of it. She didn’t look this way when we first found her. She was practically falling apart.” The man finally let her hand go. Ruby yanked it back with some force.
“I would expect no less from my brother,” said the man. A distant look crossed his face briefly. Did he miss Robert too? Ruby wondered.
“Well, she is all ready to go. We’re free to head out as soon as you like, Charles.” Charles, right; that was his name. Ruby had forgotten his name. She usually just thought of him as Robert’s brother. This was her first time hearing his name.
“How about as soon as possible?” said Charles. No! No! Ruby hadn’t even gotten a proper chance to say goodbye to her home. Charles was already walking away. Ruby glanced around at the small group that surrounded her. She looked over them, one by one. Some of them held her gaze; others looked away. She knew all these faces. She had loved all these faces. Robert had loved them too. Robert never would have wanted this, and they knew it. Yet here they were, handing her over to Charles as if she had never meant anything to Robert. She let her eyes linger on them. She wanted them to feel her anger. She wanted guilt to rip them apart.
She didn’t fight back as she was led out of her little room, through the hall and down the staircase. But a part of her desperately wanted to tear away and fling herself at Charles. She knew that it would be useless; she would only end up breaking and being shattered into a million little pieces again. Ruby shuddered. The last thing she wanted was to go through the awful process of being put back together one shard at a time for the fifth time. Either way, she would go with Charles. If her choice was between leaving in one piece or a million, she would go with the first option.
This house, with its high ceilings and huge sunlit windows, was her whole world. How could she leave the world behind? She knew every inch of this old mansion by heart. Every stain in every carpet, every chip and crack, each room had a distinctive feel and personality. Her room was safe and secure. The grand halls were glorious, beautiful, and somewhat vain. Ruby really couldn’t blame them for being vain. She would be too if she looked the way they did. The library was cozy and welcoming. The dining room was full of mystery and wonder. She would never see these places again. She would never experience their unique charms ever again.
This had been her perfect life. She couldn’t say goodbye. She was led out into the open air. At least it was a lovely day. Sunlight shone on the grass, turning it into a glistening emerald river. The sky was a sapphire sea, dotted with fluffy white clouds. Ruby paused and looked over her shoulder. How could anyone have it in them to be afraid of such a wonderful place? All the people who felt that way were utterly blind to the warmth and beauty the house was dripping with. She would remember this. Her mind would hold on to this beautiful image and she would have something to look back to for comfort. She would need comforting memories for the road ahead.
Once outside, Charles took hold of her arm and led her towards a small black car. Ruby kept her eyes on the house and the small group as they watched her go. But there was no feeling in their eyes. She thought back to last night. She had screamed and begged them to let her stay. They hadn’t even registered a word she said. Ever since Robert died, nothing had been the same. Even her friends had changed. Or maybe they had always been that way and were simply showing their colors at last. Charles started the car, and the house, Ruby’s little world faded away with it.