Chapter 4

Janet, with her injured leg, kept trying to put out the fire with water. However, the smoke was too much, and she fell to the ground, struggling with the locked door. The fire grew wildly and reached Chester's room.

Janet remembered Chester's special pendant. Fighting through the flames, she crawled to his room. She found the pendant, but the fire burned her leg. She fell, and the pendant broke into pieces on the floor.

She sobbed while lying on the ground, trying to pick up the pieces.

"Chester's special pendant can't be broken."

Just then, as Chester came back with the firefighters, he saw Janet with the broken pieces.

Suddenly, Janet, who was in my arms, started shaking hard. She clutched my hand and cried out in pain, "Nathalie, his slap hurt so much. I tried to fix it for him, but he just yelled at me to go away and not to touch his stuff."

I gently patted her back, trying to make her feel better. I told her it was all a dream—there was no fire, and no one was hitting her.

"Janet, nobody's going to hurt you anymore, and the pain is all gone."

However, Janet suddenly started coughing really hard. "He looked so angry. He said I did it on purpose, that I did not want him to go back home. But that's not true. I really wanted him to go home more than anything."

Hence, Janet just nodded quietly.

"I didn't want Chester to go away, I wanted to stay with Chester forever."

However, Chester got really upset. He took Janet from the firefighter and walked away.

When they were alone in a quiet alley, Chester made a phone call, and a stranger showed up. In front of him, Chester took out something sharp. He held Janet's leg and made three marks. Each time, Chester sounded more upset.

"Janet! You chose this at the start. I don't owe you anything, not anymore!"

After the last mark, Janet's clothes were all red. Chester did not look at her again. He just left with the sharp item. He went to the docks with his followers to apologize.

When I heard that, I could not stop my tears from falling. "Janet, so that's how your leg got hurt. You lost so much blood. Did it hurt?"

I did not think Janet could answer as she was too out of it. However, she heard me and reached out to wipe my tears away.

"He asked me the same thing that day. Nathalie, it didn't hurt."

After she said that, she seemed to run out of energy and passed out. I tried to wake her up by shaking her gently, but she stayed asleep.

I hugged her close, praying over and over again. "Please, let this sweet, silly girl have a good life just this once," I whispered in my heart.

In the dead of night, Janet's eyes fluttered open, and she began to weep. I held her even tighter.

"Janet, when the sun comes up, we'll find help! You've got to hang in there, show that jerk he didn't break you!"

She kept shouting out in pain, and I could not help but cry with her. Janet was not the smartest, but she was the toughest. Even when bugs bit her during our two years of adventures, she never cried.

I could not bear to think of how much pain she was in back then...

Janet trembled, blood gushing from her mouth. "It was so hard to earn money before. Chester would give me all the food. He'd pass out from hunger."

Then, she started thinking I was someone else. "Chester, you must be so tired after all these years."

I sobbed and pressed my hand over her mouth. "Don't talk. Just hold on. The snow's about to stop."

However, Janet seemed to see nothing. Confused, she whispered in my ear.

"Don't tell him I'm still dumb and a failure. I've been everywhere, but I still can't forget him." Tears and blood streaked Janet's face.

"If you get better, I won't tell him how much of a failure you are!"

She hugged my neck, her voice barely a whisper. "He made those clay dolls for me—one for him and one for me. We'd never be apart."

She slowly closed her eyes, and blood stained my shirt collar.

"Nathalie... if only I weren't such a fool."

Her eyes shut, and her hands slipped from my neck. Then, there was only silence. All that was left in the howling snowstorm was the sound of my crying.

…

After the snowstorm passed, I made my way down the mountain alone, rushing straight to Riverton City. I got there just as Chester's engagement party was starting.

Right when Chester was about to slip the ring on Rose's finger, I burst into the room. "Chester, Janet has passed away, and she sent me to give you a wedding present!"