"Do you remember what was written in Aiden's letter?" I said as I tried to lift my cup of coffee without spilling it all over me because I couldn't stop my hands from shaking.

"What?" asked Connor, who had a glazed look in his eyes and appeared as if he had just returned to the world of the living.

"I'm talking about the letter that was in Aiden's capsule."

He shook his head. "We burned them, so of course, I don't remember."

The words were forever engraved in my memory even after we burned the letters, so I started reciting them as if they were written in front of me. "He, who stared at him, loafing like a tree. Whose soul, now expanding in white agony. Had fused in a flaming circuit of atrocity."

Frowning, Connor looked at me with narrowed eyes. "I still don't understand what you're aiming for."

I sighed. "Think about it, Connor. Aiden played little to no role in what we did. He always watched from afar like a statue, staring at us without doing anything. And can you tell me exactly how he died? Or rather killed."

Connor kept silent while giving me a bewildered look.

I continued, raising my voice a little. "He died of electrocution, Connor. Doesn't white agony and flaming circuit of atrocity remind you of anything?"

Connor shook his head and stared at me in disbelief before he mumbled. "You must have lost your mind."

I raised an eyebrow. "Then how can you explain what happened, Mr. know it all?"

"Aiden was always the weakest link between the three of us, and I think for him, what happened was like the straw that broke the camel's back. I think it caused him to have hallucinations and apparently made him believe in ghosts. The cops said his death was a result of a tragic accident because of an electrical spark." He brought a shaky hand to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then his eyes met mine, and I could see that they were filled with confusion. "And since when do you believe in conspiracy theories? Next, you'll say that the moon landing was faked."

I let out a humorless laugh. "I see you're in a good mood."

Connor gave me a sideways look as he took a sip of his coffee, and then he was silent for about a minute, staring out the glass window of the coffee shop. I watched him carefully as he poked his tongue into his cheek and inhaled a long breath.

"It looks like you're still trying to play angel, Erin. When in reality, we had already turned into monsters a long time ago, my friend," he finally said.

I couldn't find anything to say in return. Maybe he was right. Perhaps I should stop pretending as if I was innocent and that I had made up for the mistakes of the past. And perhaps I should admit to myself that what we did ten years ago could never be forgiven...

I have always been fond of computer science, and back in high school, when life wasn't so... complicated, I was planning to study software engineering in college. But after what happened, my desire changed, and I settled on studying medicine.

And thinking about this now, I couldn't help but feel self-pity at how naïve I was.

Even if I helped save hundreds of lives, it still would never erase the little kid's bloodied image from my mind. Nor would it make me stop hearing Ethan's deafening moaning sounds and pleas as we buried him alive.

"I should've never brought up the idea of the stupid reunion. We were better off when we were away from each other," Connor said, his voice breaking a little. But he succeeded in snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What happened to Aiden wasn't your fault, Connor," I said, trying to ease his pain. "Besides, I'm the one who suggested the whole idea of the damned capsules."

Connor let out a loud sigh without meeting my gaze. "I really don't get why Aiden insisted on maintaining his friendship with us. We never brought him anything but trouble."

I laughed despite myself. "I have asked myself that plenty of times."

Connor laughed too, and for a moment there, I felt the tension leave my body. I began to go through the memories we shared with Aiden as I tried my best to push away the ugly parts.

I wanted to be able to remember his innocent face and sweet-natured smile. And to stop my mind from spiraling into a dark place so that I wouldn't be forced to imagine how he ended up as a burnt corpse.

"For how long are you still going to be in town?" Connor asked, directing my attention to him again.

"I was supposed to leave tomorrow, but I will stay for the funeral."

However, at that time, I didn't know it would be the worst decision I had ever made.

I should have fled to the last corner of Earth when I still had the chance. Yet, a part of me knew that even if I had crossed the ocean, it still wouldn't have made any difference.

I mean, was it ever possible for anyone to escape their fate?