Chapter Text
Norman is gone, Ray's thoughts yelled at him as he read his third book of the day, as if the deafening silence wasn't enough. His fingers instinctively flipped through the pages, none of the words registering in his head. They were nothing but transient blocks of text replacing each other as he tried to fill something— to feel something within him.
But for all the things Ray knew, there were only two things he did not.
One, no amount of words would be enough to fill the void in his heart. And two, that—
"Norman's alive," Emma gasped, hands shaking as she unfolded the paper hidden in the drawer beside her bed.
"Norman."
She traced each and every single line that he had left her with the edges her fingertips ever so delicately, as if the letter would disappear and crumble into pieces at her very touch. He was always so fragile, after all. And yet she came swashbuckling into his life every single day without an inch of grace and without fail, oblivious that the tip of her antenna was a beacon of light that Norman would follow wherever she'd go.
A tear rolled down her cheek, distorting the ink it fell upon.
"Norman."
And another.
"Norman," Emma sobbed, a waterfall of joy streaming down her face as she found herself smiling for the first time ever since.. ever since he left.
"Wait." She grunted as she retrieved her crutches, eyes beaming with hope as it did back then. "I need to tell Ray."
She was already halfway through the doorframe when she realized she hadn't even finished reading the letter. In fact, she didn't read a single word, bursting into tears at the mere sight of his handwriting that spelled out her name.
Norman, you are alive, aren't you?
Emma carefully sat down at the foot of her bed, picking up the paper for the second time.
You escaped somehow, right? You didn't write me such a long letter just to tell me you were really planning to die, right?
"Emma," it read, or rather, Norman read in her head, his voice so deeply ingrained in her that she didn't even need to try to hear him. She shut her eyes for a few seconds, steeling herself. God knows what Norman had to say next.
"How are you?"
She blinked at the question several times in disbelief. "What..?"
A chuckle escaped her lips before she could catch it, shaking her head.
Of course that's what he'd say first. Of course it was. She laughed some more, drowning her sorrow away in the only way she knew how.
"Ba-ka," Emma whispered so quietly she wasn't sure if she had spoken at all.
How was she?
Tired.
Restless.
She remembered the sound of Ray's footsteps as he lingered in front of the door to the infirmary on that night, only hearing his retreating steps nearly thirty minutes later.
Broken.
"What have you been up to, Emma?"
Missing you.
"I hope it doesn't involve anything that requires you to get out of bed. You should be resting, after all."
And you should be here, with me. With Ray. But you're not.
"You and Ray.. you don't hate me, do you? For giving up."
Emma bit back a sob. How could we ever hate you, Norman?
"You two are really something, you know," he continued, and Emma could almost feel the fondness in his voice, "you deserve to see what the rest of the world holds."
You did, too.
"But, ah, I'm afraid I don't have much time left, so let me just give you a few reminders before you read the rest."
Emma tilted her head slightly in confusion.
"First, take care of yourself, Emma. Always."
She softened for a moment and moved on to the next line.
"Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, tell Ray that you received this message."
Wait, what?
"I'm sorry I couldn't share your dream with you, Emma, but at the very least, I wanted to do the most that I can to make sure it will most certainly come true."
She wiped her eyes as her vision blurred once more before diving into the almost impossibly elaborate plan Norman ever devised in his entire life.
It.. it was perfect. They— they could actually pull this off! Their family could escape, together!
"Oh, and one more thing. You must be wondering why I instructed you to keep this a secret from Ray."
Emma welcomed the familiar chills that traveled up her spine every time Norman explained how he arrived at his conclusions to her.
"He's going to attempt to kill himself. Most probably by burning himself down with the rest of Gracefield if he can, knowing him. That is the night you're going to escape, after saving him. And, I hope it's not too much seeing as I've asked so much from you already but, when you do save Ray, please relay my next line to him."
She giggled.
"Will do, Norman."