193 Meet Me Halfway

A/N: This latest installment goes out to my wonderful new reader coolguy21jz2015 whose reviews have perked me up out of my slump and got me writing again, and to milady Chloemcg. This chapter is a longer read – my longest to date! – but if I’m going to start wrapping up some of the arcs, I can’t keep splitting chapters up because of length. Consider this my humble atonement for my lengthy absence (sorry!) I hope you guys appreciate some sweetness and long-forgotten faces … back to the sting aftermath next chapter! 😊

In a lifetime
Made of memories
I believe
In destiny
Every moment returns again in time
When I’ve got the future on my mind
Know that you’ll be the only one

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Out where the world belongs
To only you and I

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Make this a new beginning of another life.

In a lifetime
There is only love
Reaching for the lonely one
We are stronger when we are given love
When we put emotions on the line
Know that we are the timeless ones

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Out where the world belongs
To only you and I

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Make this a new beginning of another life.

Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes
Special Court, Labyrinthia Town Square
July 21, 2026

As the formerly (presumed) deceased victim completed the last of his damaging testimony, the thunderstruck, and somewhat queasy, Phoenix gripped the edge of the bench so hard, that his knuckles turned white. At the same time, his frayed nerves were stretched to their limits while his ragged composure threatened to shatter like shards of brittle glass.

I am teetering on the tightrope edge of sanity … and snake-fuckingly crazy!

“This case has been officially banjaxed!” Espella wailed in despair, although she was careful to speak in an undertone so only the pianist and Athena could hear. “Ruined beyond repair thanks to this totally pants testimony of that…mangled apricot hell beast!”

“And that’s the nub and gist of it, as you fine English folks would say,” Wayland Payne concluded somberly as he wrapped up his statement. “The indisputable proof that Miss Cykes tried to rob me is evidenced by the now missing diamond and gold tennis bracelet, which was very expensive, and given to me as my high school graduation present by Mother and Father.”

Tennis bracelet? Phoenix eyed the rotund youth dubiously. What in the name of King Arthur’s codpiece?! This kid has never held a racket in his entire overprivileged life, I’ll bet! Those doughy arms are indicative that he’s never lifted anything heavier than a fork to his mouth!

Winston Payne’s progeny waved his pudgy wrist at the court, so they could see the noticeably visible tan line left behind from the aforementioned jewelry on his otherwise carroty skin.

The former King of the Turnabout gawped at the boy as if he’d turned into a talking egg, so borderline obscene was the stark contrast of white against the rest of that gelatinous orange flesh.

If he was a few inches shorter, he could pass for an Oompa-Loompa!

“This is an outrage, Mr. Wright!” Athena hissed out of the corner of her mouth. “Why are they all acting like this plonker’s testimony is untenable?!”

The question caused the hobo to spring into action.

“Objection!” The poker champ called out. “Miss Cykes was frisked when she was apprehended, and there was no sign of this alleged bracelet found on her person! For all we know, it could have been lost in the woods due to the victim’s carelessness…”

“My mother was an acclaimed, wealthy psychologist at the Space Centre in California!” Athena added fervently. “I never wanted for whilst anything growing up, and lack of money remains a non-issue with me! I’ve zero need to steal…”

The judge banged his gavel.

“Silence, accused! Sir Blue Knight, control your client! I will not tolerate such outbursts in my courtroom!”

“He’s lying, Mr. Wright!” Athena insisted tearily as Espella put a comforting arm around the riled-up girl to soothe her. “I never took that horrendous, kitschy thing! Nobody in their right or left mind would want it! It’s an eyesore from the Liberace House of Double Merde and Ordure and Poo!”

“I believe you, Athena, don’t worry,” Phoenix assured her. “But you can’t interrupt the trial like this! You have to let me do my job and defend you!”

“It’s true though!” Widget, who had watched far too many Friends re-runs, piped up. “That gaudy thing is the ultimate women repeller! It’s a rejection from the MR. T collection! I PITY THE FOOL who puts on my jewelry! I do, I do!”

Espella clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle and Phoenix turned back to the judge.

“Milord, if you simply had an investigations team comb over the woods again, I’m sure everything would pan out! And once that bracelet was found, the theft culpability from my client could easily be removed…”

“Even if the item in question was found in the forest, it doesn’t prove anything. Miss Cykes simply could have tossed it aside when she heard Eve approaching,” Barnham interjected flatly. “The issue of the bracelet isn’t even the pressing matter here, Sir Blue Knight, merely an attempt of the victim to establish a motive for being attacked. Nevertheless, even if it’s not the case, and this wasn’t a robbery, the charge of aggravated assault and attempted murder still stands. Moreover, while it helps to have a motive, it is not a requirement, as you must know, to establish the burden of proving one’s guilt.”

“Yes, Prosecutor Barnham.” Phoenix’s shoulders slumped defeatedly. “I am certainly aware.”

“Objection overruled,” the judge decided. “You may continue, Mr. Payne.”

“I wish he was here to defend my honor against the slight of being called a common thief!” Athena mumbled under her breath. “That Baciagaloop would be wearing his sword like a shish kebab!”

Wayland’s thick, wormy lips curled into a sneer.

“Furthermore, this head injury of mine, while luckily not fatal, should be all the evidence you need to prove I was gravely assaulted by that deranged broad, and barely escaped with my life! It’s a cut-and-dry case – I should know, I’m studying law to be a prosecutor just like my father, the famed and esteemed Los Angeles prosecutor, Winston Payne.”

Oh, my giddy aunt’s brassiere! The card shark somehow suppressed a derisive snort. A future DA?! Seriously?! I had this Pinocchio Jabroni better pegged as an aspiring professional sociopath… or a Fox Channel newscaster!

But Wayland still wasn’t done with the character assassination of his classmate.

“You know what they say about all redheads being a little insane, am I right, Your J-Ship?” He winked at the judge, then at the incredulous Barnham. “Relax, Mr. DA! I’m talking about the dames, not the dudes!”

The head wound victim heaved a dramatic sigh.

“Any road, Athene’s been thirsty to get a piece of me for some time now, you see – although I never could’ve dreamed she’d ever resort to looting and attempted murder if she couldn’t sink her teeth me though!”

As if! In your Incel dreams, Wayland, you – you witless effing cock-splat! Athena’s hands, which were clenched so tightly into fists that her fingernails dug into her palms, were shaking with suppressed rage. Biting into you would not only give me rabies but skyrocket my cholesterol levels through the roof!

“Is he blooming barking?! Espella gasped in dismay. “Or is that Jammy Dodger just an unpardonable numpty?!”

Catching Phoenix’s bewildered look, she hurriedly whispered a translation.

“The conk on the noggin’ surely rendered the chap bonkers! How the ruddy is anyone believing any of this absolute rubbish of the first water from that septic numpty?!”

“Aye! Belt up, you bloviating flesh bag!” Widget agreed helpfully. “Even a half-wit wouldn’t buy the bloody porkies flying out of that knob-jockey’s oversized gob!”

Inauspiciously, like practically everything he blurted out, this latest insult was emitted at a stage-whisper level! To make matters worse, this time, the overly distraught Athena had been too boggled by the audacious perjury being committed to even bother with shushing her outspoken AI.

Ergo, this time, the entire courtroom (now abuzz with unmistakable sniggering) had overheard everything, loud and clear!

Barnham shook his head and frowned at the defense bench but remained mum. However, the judge had also picked up on the slurs of the tactless robotic pendant and looked decidedly unimpressed.

“What was that slagging off I just heard from your client, Sir Blue Knight?” The judge’s heavy grey brows were already knitted in disapproval as his eyes bored into the cowering American teenager. “I would hear you repeat yourself, Miss Cykes if you will?”

Athena shook her head violently and steadily dodged that probing, Arctic stare.

“Sir Blue Knight?” The judge persisted. “Do you care to do the honors and enlighten us?”

The spiky-haired man gauchely scratched the back of his neck and flashed a weak smile.

Did I say I was bound for Bedlam? Well, scratch that! I’m not just about to go batshit crazy … I am also fucked! We are both utterly and collaboratively fucked! Athena and I will be walking like cowboys for a week after this trial … we are so fucked!

“I’m afraid I didn’t hear a thing, milord,” he lied with his most innocuous expression.

“Please excuse Miss Cykes for her unseemly behavior, milord!” Espella affixed the irate magistrate with a set of apologetically pleading baby-blues. “Surely you can understand how the chap making an unexpected rise from the dead would make the poor lass momentarily be in a ditherspaz! It jolly well even gave me quite a turn!”

Just as the judge seemed to be thawing out his icy demeanor, Widget dropped a clanger.

“Buggeration and blast! That poncy bloke’s entire testimony is a load of waffles!“ He bleeped indignantly, not about enough to be silenced, despite the mortified Athena clapping her hands around him this time. “Somebody hand that porky sod some maple syrup already!”

Phoenix closed his eyes and fought to keep the remains of his breakfast, now toiling heavily within his churning stomach, from coming up and taking a bow, right there and then!

Ngyunghf! I wouldn’t go as far as to compare this travesty of a trial to an actual train wreck, per se. That isn’t fair to train wrecks! Because people actually want to watch those…

“You insufferable Smurf!” The Yankee boy’s piggy eyes shot daggers at both his nemesis and the glowing red pendant. “I’m not fat! I’m cultivating mass!”

“Which would make you the lardiest drip since the invention of water!” Widget riposted back, with gusto. “Not to mention any ill-fated future offspring would be considered interspecies breeding cuz you are irrefutable proof of HUMAN/MANATEE copulation!”

The courtroom practically went into cardiac arrest for a split instant – before erupting into a collective roar of laughter. The judge had to bang his gavel three times to subdue the near-deafening chaos.

“Order! Order in the court!”

The judge slammed down his golden mallet one more time, then glowered at the titian-haired girl. The tremulous Athena’s hands were clamped tightly around her mouthy little friend, and she shrank back under the withering stare.

“I swear by Her Royal Majesty, Miss Cykes – one more cheeky outburst like that and I will have you held in contempt of court!”

Never mind! The ex-defense lawyer corrected himself gloomily. This entire kangaroo court is an accident waiting to happen…a.k.a an ill-fated TRAIN WRECK! And I somehow, inadvertently, have bought myself and poor Athena first-class tickets on this medieval train to this gargantuan, bloody mess of a train wreck!

“Not to mention I may have Prosecutor Barnham add slander to the mountain of allegations – attempted murder, aggravated assault, and robbery are only a few amongst those already stacked against you, Red!” Wayland revealed a nasty smile that was more of a hateful leer. “By all means, keep wagging that runaway tongue of yours! After all, that list of charges is already lengthier than a roll of loo paper, is it not?”

Espella and Athena both clapped their hands over their mouths in mutual expressions of abject petrification, while Phoenix’s barely suppressed nausea threatened to come back with a vengeance!

Welp, there goes another blow to the concept of a fair and just universe! The anterior Ace Attorney barely stifled a groan as he dragged a hand down his now sweat-dropping face. But let’s look on the bright side of this latest Hades inferno, shall we? At least there are no fiery pits of death if I fail this time around…

“Never mind compounding her follies, Mr. Payne. This trial has already endured enough sixes and sevens! However, I will agree that we need to put an end to all this faffing about, once and for all!” Barnham slammed his fist down on the desk. “Now then, milord! With this last testimony, we’ve got Miss Cykes bang to rights on all these accusations! I believe it is time. I ask that you render your unwavering verdict!”

“Very well.” The judge raised his gavel and regarded Phoenix with an inquisitively raised eyebrow. “Based on Mr. Payne’s declarations and the testimonies of the previous witnesses, Miss Eve Belduke and Wordsmith…

“Crikey! We can’t forget that old blighter, can we?” Athena grumbled under her breath. “The man who should have been convicted of boring us beyond the Valley of the Dim and into the twilight world of the Elderly Mad!”

“… Sir Blue Knight, unless you have any more evidence or witnesses to bring forth, I do believe I have enough evidence to make my verdict right now…”

“No!” Athena shrieked in horror, clapping her hands on her cheeks. “Mr. Wright…it can’t end like this! Do something – please!”

“I – I can’t think of anything!” He cried, clutching his head and dropping forward onto the bench, bearing his own weight, as well as that of the whole world, upon his arms. “Athena… I’m so sorry!”

Phoenix tried to force down the bile as his stomach turned over while his mind spun with repudiation and self-loathing.

I can’t believe it’s all over already! I’ve lost! Athena, please forgive me! You were counting on me – and I’ve let you down! I’ve failed you – not because I stopped believing in you, but because I am nothing but a useless has-been… and utter failure! I’m a third rate, facsimile of a sham of a fax of an attorney! A disgrace! No – an even bigger disgrace than I already was, because I couldn’t even cut it as a pseudo-attorney! I’ve lost all my skills… I – I have no business ever setting foot in a courtroom!

He hung his head, nausea clawing like razor-sharp gryphon talons at his throat as he braced himself for that dreaded verdict to come from the judge’s lips.

That was when he heard it. The sound was music to his ears.

“OBJECTION!”

Raising his wary head, he focused his red-rimmed orbs on the vision that’d injected a ray of hope into that gloomy courtroom with just one word, and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

“You!”

Pearl Fey
Lido Café and Bar, Hyde Park
July 21, 2026

Pearl paced back and forth in front of the café and for the umpteenth time, cast another glance at her watch, a concerned frown furrowing in her brow.

I’m so confused – it’s been 20 minutes! Why am I still all aloney, on my owney here? I wonder if I should be worried…

The spirit medium nervously gnawed at her thumb, an old nervous habit from childhood she had yet to quell as she went over the intended order of events.

The gang’s plan for operation Love Match meant that first, Flora and Anneliese would feign having breakfast here at the café as a ruse to ditch their parents. Next, I was to make some pretext to get out of there to give the Professor and Dr. Rudolf some privacy. Finally, Luke was supposed to come up with his excuse to take leave, then come join me at Lido so the two of us could spend the day together!

She craned her neck to see if there was any sign of her beau being afoot within the vicinity but to her chagrin, still found none.

Well, the girls are nowhere in sight, and I am now by myself in this enormous park that I am completely unfamiliar with, and I’m starting to feel as overwhelmed as I was that first day we met when I was lost in the woods and was convinced I was all running solo and at the mercy of wolves! Where is my boyfriend?!

What was most disconcerting about Luke’s conspicuous absence was not the amount of time that had lapsed – the necromancer had never been the impatient sort – but the fact that her other half was not answering any of her texts or calls, either!

Unlike that time when she had been in the forest by Layton’s house last year, at least this time she was out in a public place, with a full battery and cell signal. She was not helpless; she could easily call Maya or the girls, and they could meet her at the cafe – where she would stay put, as opposed to wandering aimlessly around the enormous tourist attraction – until they found her.

No, it wasn’t her safety and well-being that was making Pearl feel so antsy this time.

A quick peek at her watch indicated that it had been nearly half an hour now that she’d been waiting … Luke should have been there ages ago!

Oh, my giddy God’s pajamas! Where are you, Luke?!

The brunette’s imagination began to reel with possibilities about the lad’s delayed arrival, none of them positive.

What if his mobile had been stolen? Or worse?!

Granted, it was broad daylight in a bustling, happy, sunny park, where everything seemed non-threatening and safe. However, at almost 17, Pearl was no longer naïve and unaware of the evils and dangers of the world anymore. Madmen could be anywhere, even in Merry Olde England!

What if the reason he wasn’t answering his phone was that he literally couldn’t?

Her heart sank.

What if something unspeakable had happened to her darling Luke?

Phoenix Wright and Avenging Angel
Special Court, Labyrinthia Town Square
July 21, 2026

“That’s Wright! It’s none other than moi!”

The next thing he knew, his favorite sound in the world was drawing nearer and nearer until the owner of that mellifluous cadence, like a vision from a dream, swiftly joined him in her customary spot at his side behind the defense bench, as though she’d never left.

Phoenix’s heart soared with so much love and hope, that it took his breath away. His avenging wingless angel, with her mere presence, had immediately brightened up the atmosphere of what’d just seemed like the most abysmal, dreary place on earth like a burst of sunshine.

He would have been grinning like an idiot if his jowls still hadn’t been somewhere in the vicinity of his chest!

“Pick that jaw up off the floor and shove those eyeballs back into your skull, Old Man! It’s-a-me – Maya the Magnificent! Never fear, your Ace Assistant is here!”

Beaming at Espella and Athena, the Master winked at Phoenix, and then the love of his life treated the courtroom to a dazzling smile before she curtsied prettily at both the judge and Barnham – a neat trick since she was wearing Capri pants! – before turning back to her awestruck lover.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the court, Maya Fey has arrived! Better yet, I have come to the defense’s rescue with ultra-decisive, super-important evidence, so please, let’s not be too hasty with that verdict, milord!”

“Maya Fey?” The judge’s eyes widened. “Be you the same American lass from the witch trials ten years ago?”

“In the flesh! The very nearly charred flesh, last time we met, milord!” The diviner grinned impishly. “You may not have recognized me a decade later without my face obscuring knight’s helmet, though! Please forgive the abrupt intrusion – I don’t just show up at these sorts of things… I always prefer to make an entrance!”

“Maya!” Phoenix croaked, at last, not giving two short flying mopeds about courtroom protocol and crushing her petite form against him in a bear hug. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Delightful to see you again. Also, impeccable timing, mate!” Espella greeted the spirit medium with a warmhearted smile. “I feared Mr. Wright might have gone off his trolley if you hadn’t arrived!”

“Yes, great timing indubitably, since I was just about to throw myself into the fire pit – if they’d still had one!” The DILF exclaimed, finally releasing his girlfriend so she could hug the blonde Englishwoman and discreetly introduce herself to the gobsmacked Athena. “Just one question though…”

“Yes?”

“What took you so long?!”

“I had a lot of fires to put out during the several adventures I experienced en route, Nick!” Maya replied cheerfully. “I swear, being a firefighter might be my true life’s calling! Moreover, I had to make like an orange and seriously peel while trying to pin down that pesky evidence I mentioned I’d brought! Although it’s not so much evidence as it is… a decisive witness, shall we say?”

She turned back to the judge, a beatific smile on full display.

“Milord, my witness was…ah, a bit reluctant to appear here today. Ergo, I had to be … very persuasive in my methods to get them here. Presently, the witness is being detained by the bailiffs in the lobby. Just to assist the gentleman in their … subduing efforts, may I please request a brief recess?”

“I think all of us could use a break!” The judge agreed amicably, although he appeared as dazed and confused as Barnham and everyone else in the courtroom by this sudden turnabout. “Very well… the court is adjourned for a 30-minute recess!”

As soon as the gavel banged, Maya turned to Phoenix with a puckish grin.

“You looked like you were at the end of your rope there, Nick!” She teased. “Allow me to ease your mind with a little storytelling! Just wait till you hear about everything else that went down back in London today after I left you and the Wolf-Man in Miles’ hotel room this morning…”

Pearl Fey
Lido Café and Bar, Hyde Park
July 21, 2026

Pearl gnawed at her lip and pushed the unpleasant speculations out of her mind. She was readying to march back to the café and ask the staff if anyone had seen a boy with Luke’s description when she was suddenly accosted by two strawberry-blonde teenagers.

The baby-faced pair, around the acolyte’s age, were visibly brother and sister and appeared to be twins. Both were decked out in medieval-style apparel – the boy in green dungarees and the girl in a long, russet tent dress – with duplicate brown vests over their respective outfits. Both also wore matching open, friendly smiles as they loped towards her.

“Morning, miss!” The lanky male youth, who was sporting a bowl haircut and pushing an ice cream trolley greeted her pleasantly. “Perchance, is your name Pearl Fey?”

Before the dumbfounded girl could reply, he was immediately chastised by his twin.

The girl, evidently the stroppier sib, whose own hair was styled into a pageboy haircut, waved an exasperated hand, the one that wasn’t carrying a large assortment of colorful helium balloons, at the flummoxed diviner.

“Don’t be such a prat, Cecil! Obviously, she’s the one we’ve been seeking! I reckon it would be quite a fluke if another lass was meandering about with that same queer pretzel hairstyle!”

The psychic’s hand reflexively flew upward to self-consciously pat at her trademarked loops, while a slight rosy calescence crept over her cheeks.

“No need to get the hump, Petal!” Cecil snapped back. “There’s hardly any harm in asking just to make sure!”

Petal ignored her twin and focused her attention back on the American.

“Alright, Pearl?” She asked kindly. “You looked like you were a bit put out before we came over. Sorry about that! We would have arrived sooner to meet you, but thanks to certain duff gits, who shall remain nameless…”

She curled her lip disdainfully at her twin, as though he was a crusty boogie that’d fallen out of her nose.

“…they opted to faff about, then take yonks in the khazi the second we got here!”

Cecil glared at his sister.

“Shut your mush, Petal! I reckon the poor lass looks so boggled because some random, narky bint she’s never met decided to throw a wobbler! And over something that wasn’t even my fault!” He retorted defensively. “Are you so bleeding thick that I need to explain again, why I was in the lav so long?!”

“There’s really no need for that…” Pearl interrupted hastily, but Cecil was on a roll now as he scowled at Petal.

“The reason we were tardy meeting the Yank lass was because of you, you daft cow! I was still feeling dicky this morning from that naff steak and kidney pie you made for supper last night! Better I got all the honking out of my system in the loo, rather than all over the little titches here today, yeah? Bloody miracle I even came into work today!”

“Um, excuse me?” Pearl interjected meekly. “But…who are you guys? You both seem to know who I am, but I haven’t the foggiest idea who you might be. Have we met?”

The twins stopped their row abruptly and treated her to identical dazzling beams that lit up their ruddy faces.

“I’m Petal, and this is my brother, Cecil,” the English girl replied graciously. “We’re old mates of Luke’s. We met him 10 years ago when we lived in Labyrinthia, but have long since moved to the mainland. We’re working here at the park for the summer before we start uni.”

“Luke recruited us because he has a big surprise for you,” Cecil added eagerly, already digging around in his overall pockets. “We’re here to give you the first clue you’re going to need today!”

“Clue?” Pearl echoed blankly as she hesitantly took the rolled-up paper from the boy. “What do you mean?”

“Luke has planned a special scavenger hunt for you!” Petal informed convivially. “He said you’re a clever lass, so it should be easy-peasy lemon squeezy to solve the puzzles he’s left for you. But … should you get stuck, you need only text him the secret safe word: MEATLOAF, and he’ll guide your way.”

“Meatloaf?” The spirit medium knew she was starting to sound like a parrot, but her poor frazzled mind was still absorbing the bizarreness of the twosome before her, not to mention the unexpected turnabout in what she’d imagined today’s game plan to be! “I wonder why he chose the word meatloaf – he hates that dish. His favorite food is roasted lamb.”

“Not the food, pet,” Cecil corrected cordially. “The singer. Quite brilliant! It means: “I Would Do Anything For Love” … (But I Won’t Do That!)”

“Um, OK…” Pearl smiled in confusion, as she was unfamiliar with both the song and singer. “Thanks a lot, you two. I guess I’d better get cracking on this clue if I ever hope to locate my boyfriend!”

“Tara, love!” Petal gaily pranced away with her huge array of colorful balloons. “We both of us need to chivvy along and get to work now! Best of Britain to you!”

“Toodle pip!” Cecil was already pushing his trolley towards the big crowd of hungry children already rushing in the direction of the ice cream vendor. “Regards to Luke, whenever you find him!”

“What a strange but endearing pair!” Pearl was smiling but shaking her head after the adorable siblings had departed. “Well, time to see if I can figure out what Layton’s former apprentice has in store for me!”

Squizzing down at the scroll she’d just unrolled, she carefully read the inked message that was written in Luke’s familiar loopy cursive for her first clue:

Our day of mystery has begun
It’s time now to have some fun
So, go to the place
That reflects your face
And there you’ll find the clue after this one

“Reflects your face…” She murmured to herself, tapping the parchment, which looked like something out of a Harry Potter film, against her chin. “Hmmm… That would have to be a mirror! The closest one would have to be… In the ladies’ room!”

Tee hee! Now that I’m no longer scared out of my wits about his safety, this treasure hunt idea seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun!

She eagerly dashed over to the facilities over by the café. Sure enough, tucked behind the first above-sink-looking glass, with just the slightest edge visible so as not to attract anyone else’s attention, was another scroll tied up with a ribbon. Pearl hastily unraveled it, her heart pounding with anticipation.

Professor Layton and Katharina Rudolf
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park
July 21, 2026

Neither Flora nor Anneliese seemed even remotely stupefied to find their parents meshed in the compromising position of being bound together, knee to ankle, by the twin leashes of the effusive Constantine and Feyt. Father and son gleefully continued dashing in mindless circles around one another, which only pressed the psychologist and Professor into even further propinquity with each passing moment, much to their visible discomfiture.

Without a hint of shillyshallying, Layton’s cheeky daughter had blithely informed the bonded duo that Luke and Pearl had taken off for some romantic couple time somewhere in the park, whilst she and her recently reunited mate now intended to watch a live concert at Barclaycard, subsequently sticking their parents with dog sitting duty – and leaving Katharina and the Englishman zilch say in the matter whatsoever!

“Why don’t you girls help un-tie us, and we can all go to the concert together?” Layton suggested. “It’s an outdoor venue. I’m sure there wouldn’t be any issues with having Constantine and Feyt with us.”

His reasonable request was swiftly denied by the troublemaking teens, who decreed that the two professional geniuses would have to fend for themselves in finding a solution to Puzzle No. 1: Fit to be Tied! NO HINT COINS!

With that, the childhood chums skipped away merrily, leaving  Katharina and conflicted Layton alone at that magnificent fountain, with only two reunified pups and one another for company.

After what seemed like eons of silence, the Professor finally spoke.

“I do believe that all four of them were involved in this grand conspiracy to have things end up this way, don’t you, Dr. Rudolf?”

“Five, if you count a certain meddling spirit medium who purposely gave me erroneous information about where to meet everybody, which was evidently instrumental in making this whole stunt work!” Katharina responded with a wry grin, then looked down at their fastened legs and met his gaze unflinchingly. “Your daughter referred to you and me as geniuses, but I believe it is those children who are equally worthy of that title. After all, have they not finally found a way to ensure that you cannot run away from me this time, Professor?”

Layton could only blink furiously in response, as he was so taken aback by this unanticipated candor from the demure doctor.

Well, knock me down with a feather!

The Professor was a man of the world; cultured, well-traveled, and very familiar with the behavioral customs of people from countless countries. Ergo, the forthright question shouldn’t have astounded him as much as it did; it was a prime example of the typical directness that Germans were renowned for!

However, what he hadn’t been prepared for was his tongue-tied inability to articulate an acceptable response, which was nigh impossible when he was in such intimate proximity to those captivating twin opals.

Her eyes transcended mere shades of gray; they embodied a tumultuous expanse, a sea in its own right. A tempestuous, treacherous sea that had the power to cleave apart anyone who dared linger too intently, ensnaring the observer and pulling them into the swirling abyss of its depths…

A slightly coquettish smile played on the blonde’s rosebud lips as she tilted her head slightly upward, giving him no choice but to meet her questioning orbs, which despite the solemnity of her question, now held a sanguine glimmer to them as she waited for a riposte to her inquiry.

Katharina was right, of course. There was no escaping from her this time… His canny daughter and equally culpable mates had surely ascertained that!

“Does the cat have your tongue, Professor?” She derided playfully. “Or would it be better if I had said dog instead, to be more fitting?”

The German Frau jutted her chin towards the furry co-conspirators in this matchmaking scheme.

The two were so tightly fused that the mere act of shifting her head had resulted in her bosom becoming even further pressed against his chest, making the top-hatted gentleman’s whole bonce turn scarlet with a hint of beetroot, and he cursed himself for such a jejune schoolboy reaction! While it was not at all an unpleasant sensation to feel soft, feminine curves against his form for the first time in almost two decades, it hardly erased the mortifying circumstances surrounding it!

Two rounded sets of twinkling black eyes were now watching him knowingly, and when he caught their glances, both pets emitted a wheezing sound that could only be construed as a canine snicker!

Odds bodkins! The top-hatted gentleman felt as though he was falling a few buttons short of a cardigan. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the Bichon Frises not only sensed my discomposure – but seemed to find it quite comical!

By now, father and son had stopped running amok and were plopped down languidly on the ground, directing identical goofy grins at the pair, as though wholly aware of what mischief they’d caused.

In all actuality, Layton cogitated with amused annoyance, in Feyt’s case, considering his father is the Animal Whisperer, I jolly well wouldn’t be surprised if Luke specifically did arrange for this outcome with the pup – and surely with Constantine, as well! After all, what are the odds of Barnham’s dog even being here in the first place? That simply cannot be a coincidence! That meddling former apprentice of mine will be getting an earful when I see him again! Also, that hoyden I’m rearing is hopefully savoring all the merrymaking today because this skullduggery will result in that little chit being indefinitely grounded the second we get home!

He’d been so lost in contemplation of Feyt and Constantine’s canine psychology that he’d forgotten how he’d skived both Katharina’s first and second questions, thereby coming across not as hospitably xenial to the foreigner to his homeland, but seemed to be ignoring her, instead!

The revelation of his perceived solecism became apparent when she spoke again, as her playful tone now had a dejected ring to it.

“The last time I was in the vicinity of a man who found my presence so repugnant that he couldn’t bring himself to engage in conversation, even when prompted, harks back to the time with my ex-husband, Günther,” she lamented with a sense of desolation. “This instance uncomfortably mirrors the moment when I realized our marriage had crumbled, for he, too, became incapable of meeting my gaze, as if I were Medusa, and the mere act of casting eyes on me would petrify him to stone.”

Her gaze was now downcast.

“As we neared the end, his acknowledgment of my presence dwindled to the point where a passing glance seemed a rarity. He chose to peer through me rather than at me, even when we shared the same room. Frustrated with feeling like a mere specter in my own home, I reached a breaking point. I confronted him directly, posing the question, ‘Do you still love me?’ The silence that followed served as an answer in itself, long before I stumbled upon concrete evidence that he had forsaken his marital vows. His perception of my composed response, devoid of pleas or tears, became his justification, labeling me as an ice queen incapable of rekindling the warmth in his heart or bed.”

Her orbs clouded over as she became lost in the anguish of reminiscence.

“Night after night, I am haunted by the recurring scenes—the departure, the exodus that unfolded between us. When exactly did we bid farewell? The caprices embedded in his nature existed long before either of us slammed that door shut. It’s an agonizing truth that people begin departing from one another well before the final departure. Despite being the one who walked out that door, leaving it in my wake, the sense of loss lingered persistently. Clarity eluded me; it’s an elusive state of mind after the departure of someone you thought meant the world to you. Yet, I couldn’t afford the luxury of breaking down or succumbing to the disintegration of my being because, for the sake of Anneliese, strength was a role I had to play. This, alas, is the unfortunate plight of too many, nein? The obligation to feign normalcy while clandestinely enduring a thousand internal deaths every passing minute.”

With a soundless gasp, Katharina reeled back in horror and internally lambasted herself for this unprecedented garrulousness.

Was zum Geier? Hör auf, Scheiße zu labern, du Dummkopf! Was zum Henker ist falsch mit mir?!

Like a mindless Trottel, without any preamble, she’d proceeded to bloviate inexorably, thus baring her soul to a total stranger! And worse, one who plainly couldn’t even abide being in her presence!

Kackmist! What could have possessed her to carry on in such an appallingly dysthymic manner?!

It was his eyes, she realized belatedly. Those deep, intelligent, penetrating eyes of his had fleetingly allowed her to sense an affinity with him. Katharina’s inner sapiosexual (how beautiful would it be to find someone who was in love with your mind? If a man of intellect were to come along and stimulate her brain, her heart would surely follow!) had lowered her guard and caused her to speak from her feckless, ingenuous heart, rather than her logical psychologist brain!

When someone possesses the ability to peer into the depths of your soul, it becomes a formidable challenge. It compels a level of openness and vulnerability that is inherently discomforting. However, in this instance, my perception was misguided. I misinterpreted a situation, projecting my own desires and fantasies onto it. Consequently, I find myself exposed and defenseless, as if the very essence of my soul has been laid bare.

This hapless sensation was only compounded by the growing substantiation that Layton palpably wanted to be anywhere but there!

The disheartened psychologist raised her palms and pressed them against his chest, trying to create a sophrosyne type of barrier between herself and his stiff form. At the same time, she scrambled to remedy the additional awkwardness she’d brought forth to the unwelcome scenario.

“I – I was not – I did not mean –” She pressed her lips together and closed her stinging eyes for a moment. “I am not – I do not easily . . . share my life… with other people. And I am so sorry if I …”

The gentleman’s mien was unreadable as he then, to her great shock, took her hands in his own and held them close. Her dainty fingers were cold to the touch. They were also trembling somewhat, just like the rest of her, although it was hard to ascertain if it was due to her sudden outburst of emotion, or their unnerving situation.

“You don’t have to be sorry, Dr. Rudolf,” he said softly. “Please, don’t be sorry about me, or for me.”

Her breath caught in her throat as her saturnine gaze met Layton’s.

The last man whose gaze I delved into with such intensity was Günther. Reflecting on the initial instance I locked eyes with those expansive, ocean-like orbs, I vividly recall the sensation of submersion, as if drowning in their depths. In that critical moment, just before I succumbed to the abyss, Günther extended his arm, seizing my hand, and resuscitated me. Breaking the surface, he kissed me and vowed that our journey together would emulate the graceful flight of the mighty winged albatross, soaring to great heights. Little did I fathom that in the ensuing chapters, he would deviate from the majesty of the seabird and metamorphose into a burdensome albatross, metaphorically draped around my neck…

But the Professor’s mesmerizing orbs were an entirely different story. They possessed an otherworldly depth of something incredible, yet unlike anything that she’d ever seen before.

Within those carob depths, she could see both unmasked kindness and sympathy, as well as something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Her gaze fixated on those dark depths, their rapid movements reflecting the sunlight, creating a vivid spectacle. They possessed a mystical, earthy brown hue reminiscent of soil after a torrential downpour. Yet, beyond this, there was an additional element, a subtle gleam akin to an aged copper penny being scrutinized in the warmth beside robust flames, dancing against the safety glass door of a time-worn fireplace. These eyes guarded secrets, much like a pot cradling layers of fertile soil, ensuring the safety of the plant it nurtures. The roots were firmly anchored, mirroring the tight grasp his hermetic gaze maintained over his own concealed truths.

Mein Gott im Himmel. Hershel Layton hat schöne Augen.

“I am at a loss to comprehend my own behavior, delving into such intimate matters with a man I have just encountered!” she stammered, acutely aware of sounding like a sophomoric ninny, persistently prattling on without restraint. “Being excessively loquacious is entirely out of character for me, Professor, yet I find myself unable to curtail this verbal deluge. I attribute it, perhaps, to the juncture of the year. Although summer typically embodies the epitome of joy and carefree abandon for most, it has consistently served as a poignant trigger for melancholy in my own experience.”

She could’ve sworn that alongside the compassion brimming within them there was also a distinctive atrabilious glint that flashed in Layton’s eyes, but then it was gone before she could be sure. Even so, he gave a slight nod of his head, as if in silent agreement with the sentiment.

“In the anticipation, during the blossoming of spring when days stretch longer and mornings grow warmer, there’s a sense of liberation – a season intertwined with notions of growth and new encounters. It echoes the departure of a friend who embarks on a five-week journey only to return brimming with tales of vacation exploits. It’s a time marked by the emergence of cotton minidresses and bikinis that, despite any reservations, you wear timidly, yielding to the collective trend. Yet, in hindsight, perusing photographs of that day, an unsettling sensation creeps in as you discern a discordance – a realization that you appear distinct from the rest.”

Encouraged by his intent expression, she continued breathlessly, unable to stop herself now.

“For an extended period, summer held a different significance for me, far from the conventional notion of liberation. Instead, it functioned as an unyielding exposé, laying bare the facets I fervently wished to shield from the world. It unveiled my perceived loneliness, laid bare my life’s inertia, and illuminated my dissatisfaction with my own body and its appearance. During this season, the sun transformed into an unwavering spotlight, discerning between those who thrived and those who succumbed to the unforgiving ground. Regrettably, I all too frequently found myself among the latter.”

“I understand getting washed away by the poignancy of memories and doubts,” he stated quietly. “Believe me, I do. My advice to you would be to identify what is holding you back from flourishing and start from that.”

She halted her tongue just in the nick of time, so the rest of the words were only spoken in her mind.

In the aftermath of my divorce, I’ve embraced a nun-like existence. The formidable obstacle impeding my personal growth is none other than my impenetrable and paralyzing fear — the dread of entrusting my heart to someone who regards me merely as a passing summer, disregarding the other enduring seasons of the year.

For a protracted moment, they engaged in silent contemplation. Despite Katharina’s diminutive stature—just exceeding five feet—her presence exuded the essence of regality. Even in her current state of fluster and blush, she maintained an indelible and august demeanor. The July sun cast a radiant glow on her ash-blonde hair, which harmonized elegantly with her peaches-and-cream complexion. Her cobalt ankle-length dress, boasting a snug waist and high collar, was adorned with pearl buttons along the bodice and lace on the sleeves.

In his eyes, she appeared resplendently pulchritudinous, with large, luminous eyes and a mouth that was so flawlessly drawn it rivaled any artist’s rendering. As he marveled at her, he found himself pondering how any man could risk forfeiting her love or entertain the notion of turning away from her, even for a fleeting dalliance.

I am so sorry that someone you cherished deeply managed to diminish your sense of worth, leaving you with the confounding belief that you were undeserving of the space you once occupied in both your shared home and his heart. I am saddened to hear that during your most vulnerable moments when you sought solace and companionship, you were coldheartedly abandoned. This heartless act has forged a lasting impression, convincing you that love inevitably culminates in agonizing emotional turmoil.

He seized this rare moment to scrutinize those crystalline orbs. Initially, he had casually categorized them as gray, but during a waltz, feeling particularly poetic, he had elevated them to “silver.” However, neither descriptor adequately captured their essence. They were transparent and radiant, possessing the exact luminous hue of a meticulously polished metal shard. A closer inspection, as he conducted now, revealed intricate swirls of glittering onyx black and subtle hints of blue at the edges. To label them monochrome or mundane would be a misguided assessment. Much like the entirety of her being, Katharina’s eyes were undeniably, breathtakingly exquisite.

Feel liberated to release the weight of your accumulated burdens in my presence. Permit me to stand as your confidante. Much akin to the stained glass components adorning the grandest church windows, you serve as indisputable evidence that even shattered fragments can still possess the most exquisite beauty.

He found himself involuntarily spiraling into a state of apparent madness, each step fueled by the overwhelming difficulty of caring. The surge of unexpected emotions proved to be an unmanageable torrent. His unbridled train of thought strayed so far from the norm that he recoiled as if physically struck – a challenging feat when bound from the knees down on a leather leash by another person. Yet, he remained powerless to stem the tide of emotions threatening to engulf him. His stubborn heart persisted in subjecting him to these turbulent feelings, despite the desperate cries from his terrified mind, urging him to dismiss such unconventional thoughts and regain composure.

Nevertheless, his chest betrayed him, unleashing a beacon of emotions that had long remained concealed. It was a sensation he hadn’t experienced in nearly two decades. His mind spun, pulses raced, and at that moment, nothing else held significance. The smallest whisper resonated like an echo into the abyss, and he felt himself plummeting into an abyss of emotions, a relentless descent with no end in sight…

Pearl Fey
Lido Café and Bar, Hyde Park
July 21, 2026

Cancel plans and set time apart
I’ll even give you a little head start
In the glove box is placed
A small foretaste
A delicious piece of my heart

“Glovebox?” She stared blankly at the page. “Oh, he must mean glove compartment, which is something that’s found in … a vehicle!”

She snapped her fingers.

“And knowing Luke, the most applicable set of wheels that I need to steer myself towards is the Laytonmobile!”

A terrible thought crossed her mind then.

Uh-oh! As bad as it sounds, I hope Flora’s dad and Dr. Rudolf are still entangled in dog leashes, or at the very least, haven’t strayed too far from the Princess Diana Fountain. That was where, according to plan, Luke was supposed to have left them to their own devices. The thing is, to get access to the Laytonmobile, I need to locate Professor Layton and ascertain not only where he parked, but somehow finagle the car keys from him, too! However, that may be easier said than done if he’s super mad at us for ensnaring him with Anneliese’s mother!

The spirit medium let out a distressed moan. The worst-case scenario was they’d all misread the mutual attraction signs betwixt Layton and Katharina, meaning there was a strong possibility that Pearl would get it with both barrels when she finally came across the two very cross adults for her own part in the conspiracy!

Oh, God’s pyjamas and matching slippers! There’s not only the risk I’ll get an earful when I find the Professor – but the possibility I’ll be in even more hot water if he thus opts not to help me!

Pearl wasn’t about to take that gamble! She shot off a rapid-fire text to Flora.

Hi Flora. I’m not sure if you know that Luke has planned a scavenger hunt for me…

The English girl replied immediately.

Absobloodylootely I do, mate! But no cheating – it’s supposed to be a DIY job!

Pearl sighed. Her completely thorough boyfriend had truly covered all his bases!

Don’t worry! I’m not trying to cheat or spoil anything! I already have the second clue figured out, but just in case your dad is too mad to tell me the car’s whereabouts, could you at least let me know where he parked this morning?

Flora messaged back instantly.

Blimey! I hadn’t thought of that! I suppose if that’s the case, you’ll just have to pinch the keys from his jacket pocket! Fingers crossed that Daddy and Dr. Rudolf are still ‘fit to be tied’ and you can take advantage of that! Ha-ha! We’re parked on West Carriage Drive!

Pearl expelled a breath of relief.

Thanks! You’re the best, Flora! You girls have fun!

She barely refrained from typing in the rest of her thoughts about the mischievous duo.

…And at least try to keep out of trouble!

A quick look at the map she got from Visitors Information showed that the fountain was merely a two-minute jaunt from the Professor and the German woman. They were very easy to spot, what with the man’s impossible-to-miss top hat … Plus the fact that they were the only two people tied together from the knees down with the leashes of two very comfortable-looking white dogs!

Constantine and Feyt had been lounging idly on the soft grass by their captives’ feet when Pearl came upon them, but quickly jumped up and nuzzled against her calves the moment they saw her.

“Hi, Constantine! And hello, my baby boy!” She squatted down and lovingly stroked both dogs’ fluffy heads before rising back up and smiling sheepishly at the bound duo. “Erm, hello again, Professor. Good morning, Dr. Rudolf.”

Rather than look annoyed, as she’d feared, or worse, relieved, as she had haltingly anticipated, by her presence, Layton and the psychologist quickly straightened up and immediately dropped their hands, which had been clasped together, back to their sides, both reddening and resembling a couple of guilty teenagers.

“Guten Morgen, Pearl,” Katharina smiled awkwardly and self-consciously began patting at her immaculately coiffed chignon. “How nice to see you again.”

“Ahem, yes, top of the morning to you, dear girl.” The gentleman cleared his throat, now conspicuously looking away from the tiny blonde he was still tethered to. “As you can see, your furry son and his sire have gotten the good doctor and me into a bit of a bind here! Could you lend us a hand?”

At times like this Pearl realized just how much she was like her cousin. As much as she prided herself on being polite, obedient, and well-behaved compared to her much more sassy, daring, and bold guardian, she was still a Fey at heart!

Moreover, the Fey girls were big believers in the power of love … both psychics’ romances were concrete proof that fairytales did exist!

“Oh wow, you two are really tangled up, aren’t you?” The acolyte affected her most concerned expression as she sidled up to Layton, nimble fingers already set in motion. “Professor, I promise you my naughty pet will not be getting any extra treats with his dinner tonight for being such a bad boy!”

She discreetly winked at Feyt and flashed a thumbs-up sign while mouthing the words “good boy” when she was sure neither adult was looking. The puppy flashed his mother a goofy, pink-tongued grin and wagged his tail as if he understood that he wasn’t in any trouble at all, then indolently plopped back down onto the ground.

“Yes, well … a canine is only as naughty as his owner and surely, this mischief was entirely the doing of his bipedal father, not you,” Layton assured her. “Now then, if you wouldn’t mind being a little love and helping to unravel us?”

Eureka! Nabbed the keys without him even noticing! I would make a great pickpocket if I ever gave up spirit channeling and turned to a life of crime!

Unable to suppress a squeal of triumphant glee, Pearl snatched the coveted item from the unsuspecting man’s jacket pocket, then stepped back and smiled innocently, injecting as much sincere regret into her dulcet tone as possible.

“Thanks a lot for these, Professor!” She beamed prettily. “I promise you; I will not be going for a joyride with these! I’d love to stay and help you, but I’m in a bit of a rush, sorry! Bye!”

With that, the teenage spirit medium scampered off before either Layton or Katharina could react, the filched keys clutched in her hot little hands as she booked off towards West Carriage Drive.

Layton looked like he didn’t know what’d hit him as the girl fled the scene of the crime. In fact, he looked so comically gobsmacked that Katharina couldn’t hold back a slight titter at the ludicrousness of the whole situation.

“I hate to say this, Professor, but I believe you just got mugged by a runaway pretzel!”

“She was like a ninja!” Layton sounded incredulous. “I don’t even know at what moment she nicked them! I still can’t believe she did that – Pearl is supposed to be the good one!”

The next few moments of attempted loosening of the leashes proved to be futile, and the Brit finally let out a resigned sigh.

“Care to place your bets now, Dr. Rudolf?”

“For what?” The doctor inquired mildly; her voice rich with amusement now from the sheer lunacy of it all. “About the two of us ever getting untangled anytime this century?”

“No, about when I’ll ever see those keys again – I don’t reckon she’s coming back!”

Professor Layton and Katharina Rudolf
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park
July 21, 2026

She spoke suddenly, without any preamble.

“Do you not ever feel… euchred?”

“Of what?” He looked up.

“I am just so utterly jaded at this point. The transience of everything, its ephemeral nature rather than enduring permanence,” she expressed with a deep, weary sigh. “The constant cycle of endings and beginnings, the ceaseless dance of hope, dreams, and uncertainty. The fleeting moments of joy were overshadowed by the inevitable heartbreak. It feels like it only propels one to withdraw further and deeper into oneself, akin to a turtle retreating into its shell. My predicament lies in the fact that my deliberate actions are consistently misconstrued as accismus. It takes me an extensive amount of time to unfold and bestow trust, leading people to misinterpret my hesitation as mere coyness or, worse, disinterest.”

Layton was so taken aback that he couldn’t seem to marshal a response. Katharina had utterly confounded him with her all too perspicacious analogy, as it’d been on an entirely prescient level that she’d somehow ended up describing his own situation as well as her own!

“Ever since Günther, the threshold for me to form genuine connections has become so demanding that by the time I begin to feel something, others have invariably moved on,” she confessed, her tone steeped in melancholy. “Each attempt to embrace a fresh start is thwarted by an unseen force. A persistent austerity and weariness persistently emerge triumphant. After a while, it ceases to be mere despondency; it transforms into an overpowering sense of nothingness. It is not even a palpable emotion but an inescapable void, accompanied by an urgent yearning to cease its relentless hold on my feelings.”

Layton still didn’t reply, and this latest silence only brought out a fresh surge of misery. No doubt he thought her to be a hollow, overly sangfroid shell of a woman now, just like the few men who’d taken her out over the years eventually did. The Von Karma curse prevailed – cold fish, unfeeling perfectionists. She’d heard it all. That was how the world had always seen them, even though in the case of both Katharina and her sister, nothing could have been further from the truth.

“Think what you will of me, but despite this anecdata relayed, Professor, I am not an unfeeling automaton without heart,” she insisted plaintively. “Just because one has become accustomed to crapehanger tendencies and is not prone to readily demonstrating their emotions, it does not mean they do not feel them! If anything, I wish this debilitating numbness had negated the ability to feel anything else; alas, such is not the case for me, as accompanying it has been this never-ending void comes the pain. It comes back in waves, as fresh as though it were yesterday, without warning.”

I comprehend the exact sentiments coursing through you, He yearned to convey. I, too, have traversed the terrain of love, witnessing both its triumphs and defeats, and emerged fundamentally transformed. It has been an arduous journey, fraught with onerous lessons. I’ve learned that individuals can inflict wounds so cannily, seemingly indifferent to the repercussions. I’ve witnessed good-hearted souls morph in an instant when confronted with the shattering of their own hearts. My encounters have ranged from extraordinary individuals to those of a less benevolent nature.

His chest constricted at his next train of thought.

Yet, the paramount realization is that every soul possesses the strength to release the grip of the past. People enter and exit our lives; it’s an inherent facet of existence. Our circumstances align in parallel yet diverge in essence – Claire’s departure was not a matter of choice, in stark contrast to the seemingly indecisive partner you’ve referred to. What transcends all, dear lady, is the imperative to rise, recognizing your intrinsic worth and deserving of something superior to a person who abandons the commitment to stand by you.

“Allow me to express, Professor, that my current disposition is not the one I have always held. There existed a period where I was tender, freely bestowing my heart for the world to witness. Alas, that facet of my being perished alongside my ex-husband. In his presence, guile had no place, and there was no requirement for a defensive shield. With him, I existed in a state of perpetual softness. I was unequivocally, almost vulnerably, soft for him, yet it was he who brought about my undoing.”

Günther, you committed the gravest transgression: you shattered my spirit. Skillfully, you ignited love within me, only to cruelly cast it aside. You cultivated my trust, only to mercilessly fracture it. Your actions inflicted overwhelming pain. You dismantled me, and, most egregious of all, manipulated me into believing that I was deserving of such anguish.

She closed her eyes against the prickling sensation behind her lids.

“Since then, the sole enduring sensation appears to be pain, coexisting with the persistent void. The magnitude of the pain I experience is cumbersome, extending its reach even to the minutest of occurrences.”

Such matters that would generally warrant as much attention as two short-flying pigs’ Ärsche! Matters such as feeling rejected by someone whose name I had only learned yesterday! Most women would effortlessly brush off such a slight from a newly met man, not taking it to heart and dismissing it with a casual laugh shared with a friend – attributing it to being “that poor bastard’s loss, not theirs!” Unfortunately, I do not align with the typical in any way, shape, or form. This man’s consistent dismissals have, inexplicably, cut to my very core, surpassing the impact of any previous suitors’ attempts to court me over the years.  With other suitors, after a few weeks, when their unsuccessful attempts at seduction and our chaste dates led to their abandonment of pursuit, I was written off as frigid. The calls ceased, and they vanished as though they had never existed. My reactions to the Professor defy logic. How is it that this stranger from a foreign land possesses the capacity to inflict such heartache, while concurrently being the source of more fleeting joy than I have ever known?

He found his speech ability at last, despite the thickness in his throat that had been building since she’d begun pouring her heart out.

“Attempting to substitute your ex-husband would be a futile endeavor,” he advised her. “You’ll find no satisfaction because no one can embody ‘him’ as authentically as he does. Recognize that a part of you will perpetually harbor feelings for your first love, and that’s entirely natural. It doesn’t denote any form of madness or weakness; it simply underscores your humanity. When relationships conclude, the aftermath is not easily defined. Each person you’ve loved becomes a part of the emotional fabric woven into every subsequent relationship. However, this doesn’t imply an inability to let go. You’re permitted to yearn for individuals who once held significance, even if they proved detrimental. Yet, the key is not permitting them to inflict harm anew. Letting go entails the understanding that certain people belong to your history, not your destiny.”

The attempt at comfort only compelled her desire to cry out in protest, as by now the psychologist was hopelessly lost in a sea of tormented ghosts of yesteryear.

On the contrary, it is not solely the love I harbored for my ex-husband that burdens me like a chained boulder around my neck, forming an integral part of my collection of mental baggage. I carry my own demons, riddled with tortured memories and self-loathing for allowing myself to love someone so heartless — someone I still choose to love, inexplicably. He once arrogantly labeled me a prized gemstone, boasting to his friends in my presence that I was the unrivaled Hope Diamond of jewels, an entity that no other could ever hope to outshine. In response, my naive heart nearly burst with pride and joy at the vacuous and superfluous praise of being his ultimate trophy wife.

She swallowed back the sob building in her chest.

Much later, after gifting him with a child – a daughter whom he professed to love, yet couldn’t conceal his disappointment over her not fulfilling the role of a coveted male heir – I abruptly relinquished my role as his wife, relegated to a mere vessel for potential offspring. In his eyes, additional children served as tangible proof of his virility. His desire for more offspring emerged immediately after Anneliese’s birth, permitting any physical connection only when my body was deemed optimal for conception. The refusal to bring another child into our home under such detrimental circumstances marked me as more akin to a carbon rock than a precious gemstone in his eyes. Consequently, he treated me accordingly, wielding disparaging and demeaning slurs as his weapons, targeting everything from my fading beauty to my supposedly inferior housekeeping. Nothing I did was deemed satisfactory any longer. Astonishingly, he attributed it all to me, asserting that his transformation into a callous figure was solely my fault.

She squeezed her eyes shut, lost in painful memories.

The ceaseless barrage of emotional and mental abuse became a nearly insurmountable burden. Had I lingered for even another month, he would have obliterated me entirely. I often ponder whether it was a covert blessing from Gott to discover that he was a philandering, lying serpent when I caught him and his trouser snake writhing with another upon our marital bed!

“In the end, I suppose I cannot fault Günther for an emotion he could not summon,” she uttered with a catch in her voice. “His inability to love me was not his fault. I express this with complete sincerity, devoid of any trace of self-pity. The capacity to love someone deeply is a formidable undertaking. It may be present or absent, and I should not have anticipated more than what was within his emotional scope. It might seem self-centered to desire solace when weary of clinging on, but I deluded myself into believing that by offering everything, it would suffice. I dared to hope, at least, it would be enough for him to love me back, even just a little bit, if I loved enough for both of us.”

She thought for a minute before speaking again, her cadence so faint he almost had to strain his ears to hear her.

“In my youth, I entered matrimony with a surplus of naiveté, entertaining improbable and foolish fantasies. My regret doesn’t lie in the decision to part ways; rather, it resides in the protracted delay before I summoned the courage to do so. Had I acted sooner, I could have spared myself an extended duration of mental and emotional torment within the confines of a loveless marriage. Perhaps an earlier departure might have facilitated a straightforward, clean break, as opposed to the intricate fracture that defies remedy even after the passage of years, resistant to the efficacy of countless bandages or plaster casts.”

“Undoubtedly, the perpetration of significant harm doesn’t always require overt malice. The mere deficiency of empathy and understanding holds ample potency,” Layton susurrated. “Two individuals, once so close, can, bereft of blame or overt betrayal, evolve into distant strangers. Perhaps, indeed, this stands as one of the most heartrending realities in the world.”

Katharina’s mouth went dry at this unexpected outpouring of compassion. She couldn’t have mustered a response if her life had depended on it at that moment.

“Moreover, in the end, you did remove yourself and your daughter from that toxic environment,” he reminded her gently. “That took a lot of strength, which it seems you are not crediting yourself enough for. Many never find the courage to leave; to realize they deserve better. You are selling yourself far too short, madam.”

Her delicate hands, still in his clasp, had gone slack as she stared down at the grass. Feeling strangely emboldened, he squeezed her fingers ever so slightly to get her attention, and the unexpectedness of the gesture jolted her enough to raise her sepulchral gaze back onto his.

“Dr. Rudolf, may I ask a personal question?”

She nodded cautiously.

“What was it that finally prompted you to leave him in the end?”

“He did not wish for me to go,” she admitted. “He claimed Anneliese should not have to come from a broken home. Günther ventured that perhaps we could remain together, albeit in name only. It would have entailed leading separate lives, occupying different bedrooms, yet cohabiting within the same abode. Regrettably, I found it challenging to acquiesce to such … antediluvian, Victorian circumstances.”

Katarina was misty-eyed now as she peered up at him with twin pools of glistening silver.

“No matter how indulgently lenient I may have been towards myself and the trials I endured in the name of kicky-wicky supererogation, my perspective took a didactic shift when I contemplated how I would react if any man similarly treated meine Tochter.” Her voice trembled. “I simply could not bear it. The mere thought of my cherished Anneliese ever undergoing such a barbarous fate brought tears to my eyes.”

There was a long silence as Layton studied her in reflective contemplation.

You evoke the image of a celestial black sky adorned with shimmering constellations, an eternal spectacle that captivates me endlessly. It’s a somewhat daunting notion because, within that very thought, I find an unwillingness to cease gazing upon you. Life often unfolds in a way where the most captivating sights, much like the white oleander, can also harbor hidden dangers, even lethality. Yet despite having just met you, I simply know such is not the case with you, Dr. Rudolf. I sense this truth about you with every visceral proclivity I possess. This intuition resonates within me with an arcane certainty. I lament the possibility that anyone could persuade you otherwise, for I perceive you as nothing short of a masterpiece. While not everyone may fathom your essence, those fortunate enough to grasp it will forever be imprinted with the memory of you.

When he finally did speak, they were the last words she’d expected to hear.

“I concur,” he agreed quietly. “Your inherent gentleness renders you susceptible to the world’s afflictions. However, the silver lining lies in the prospect that with time, things improve and the pain diminishes… should you allow it.”

“You make it all sound so easy, Professor.” The doctor shook her head sorrowfully. “I suppose it is, in theory, but sadly, not so much in actuality. One cannot change into a coarsely skinned, impervious pineapple overnight after a lifetime of being a thinly-skinned, quick-to-bruise peach.”

“Despite the acclaim of pineapple upside-down cake, I find the famed crowned fruit to be far too acidic, myself, as well as the culprit that gives burning dyspepsia to many,” the Brit stated with sham solemnly, the scintilla of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I’ve always fancied peach cobbler myself, for that reason alone.”

Katharina blinked, feeling both bemused and a tad affronted. Had the normally staid Professor Layton just cracked a joke? Or was he making fun of her?

Catching the confusion on her face, he expiated his tone and countenance to express nothing but utmost sincerity.

Strewth! Up until now, I’ve endeavored to shield my heart, encasing it within a glacier, yet it seems you’ve emerged as my radiant sunbeam. Despite my attempts to create distance, your gravitational pull remains unwavering. I may position myself as a lodestone at the South Pole, striving to resist, but it proves futile, as you are the North Pole magnet inexorably drawing me closer. There exists an inexplicable harmony between you and me, a symbiosis where each half complements the other so esoterically that maintaining separate lives would be utterly meaningless. Thus, as much as I find solace in the captivating allure of your eyes, skin, and countenance, my fascination runs far deeper; I’ve never been one for superficial connections. I understand that this attraction delves beyond the surface, reaching into the core of my being. Just as assuredly, I recognize that in moments of darkness, you would be the guiding light that lifts me, and in moments of brightness, you would be the companion rejoicing alongside me.

“Dr. Rudolf, verily, I hope that you never tire of embodying the spirit of a tenderhearted soul. Although it can be disheartening to experience exploitation and the temptation to adopt a dispassionate demeanor, individuals like you are invaluable, akin to rare gems that hold immense significance in our often cold world. Never veer from being the individual who extends genuine care, exerts effort, and loves unreservedly. Be the person who ensures others feel acknowledged, heard, and genuinely cared for. Truly, there is nothing more robust and doughtier than someone who persists in maintaining a tender and empathetic heart in the world that hasn’t always been benevolent to them.”

The look of wonder on her fair visage caused the next extemporaneous words of succor to fall from his mouth before he could stop them.

I want to know you. You seem like someone worth knowing. I find myself drawn to this desire, unable and unwilling to resist its pull. The prospect of getting to know you is not merely a fleeting fancy but a persistent longing. In a world seemingly populated by individuals adorned with callous exteriors and sullen countenances, you stand out as a refreshing contrast. It’s a rarity to encounter someone who doesn’t claim to hold all the answers, whose demeanor isn’t etched in a perpetual scowl, consumed by their own narcissism. You defy this prevailing trend. Instead, you remain inquisitive, continuing to seek answers and solutions. Your intellectual curiosity, the persistent quest for understanding, exude a sagacity that captivates me beyond measure.

“It’s truly unfortunate that your marriage didn’t stand the test of time, especially with your former spouse revealing himself as a knave in the end. Although I understand the lingering pain, let me assure you – it’s not a loss on your part. You experienced love, found moments of happiness, and willingly opened your heart to connect with another human being. Just because it didn’t culminate in a lifelong partnership doesn’t diminish its value. The people who lose are the ones who close their hearts or don’t know how to love. The ones who suffer the most loss will never have the happiness you’ve had because they live in emotional isolation. Yes, you may have endured hurt, but your courage in opening your heart remains a testament to your strength. When you’re prepared, I hope you consider opening your heart once more for someone new. The only genuine loss occurs when one chooses not to venture into the realm of love.”

Layton knew he had just lowered his long-standing emotional shield with these words; for this stranger who had tangibly been thrust upon him and collided into his world for all of five minutes. But with every passing moment, he seemed to fall deeper under the spell of this enchantress who seemed to have fallen from the sky from out of nowhere.

Katharina Rudolf is more than a good woman and a good person;  she’s an elysian soul. Moreover, after hearing her speak from her heart, I am even more enchanted than before. Because I’ve now realized she is one of those elusive, recherché creatures whose outer pulchritude can’t even hold a candle to how empyreal her inner beauty is.

“I find myself compelled to express something that has weighed heavily on my conscience,” he declared, his chestnut gaze unwaveringly locked onto hers. “In the past few days, I’ve exhibited a regrettable level of rudeness towards you, and I must acknowledge there is no justification for my unseemly conduct. I extend my sincerest and most humble apologies for my conduct. However, Dr. Rudolf, it’s crucial to note that I was caught off guard by this situation; I wasn’t prepared for this … for any of this. For meeting you…”

He swallowed hard.

“In retrospect, I vividly recollect an incident from Flora’s primary school years. She would enthusiastically share tales about a friend from summer camp, consistently referring to her as Anna. It has only recently dawned on me that she was, in fact, talking about Anneliese. But I didn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together until I had the pleasure of meeting both of you. It was at that moment that I also recalled my daughter expressing how Anna’s mum was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.”

His voice was hoarse as he whispered the next words.

“But there was no way I ever could’ve been prepared for the most beautiful woman … that I’d ever seen.”

“Professor…” The dazed Katharina could barely speak; all she could do was stare helplessly into that intense gaze, feeling as though she were drowning in a warm pool of chocolate. “I –”

“If there’s one crucial takeaway from our conversation, Dr. Rudolf, please allow it to be this.” His profound gaze, laden with intensity, held her in a breathless captivation. “In my earnest conviction, gentleness stands as one of the most disarming and enchanting attributes. Moreover, with every fiber of my being, I am resolute in my belief that it is tender hearts, such as yours, that bestow upon this universe a quality that makes life truly worth living.”

Translations

British:

Cockney rhyming slang – “Septic”
If you are in London and you hear someone talk about a “septic” they are probably talking about you – because it’s short for “septic tank” which equals “Yank” which is the English word for an American. How do you like them apples? Of course, in the case of Wayland, Espella could have very well just used “septic” in its literal sense too, and it would have been wholly applicable!