The Glass Passenger

“Alex are you ready to go?”

Alex looked up from the newspaper he had been reading and saw Rachel stood in front of him holding out her hand. He gently stretched his own hand out and marvelled, as he did every time, how he was finally able to connect with Rachel in that way after such a long time.

Slowly he stood up from the plush hotel chair, and once upright he swayed a little but Rachel had a firm hold on his hand. She would never have allowed him to fall anyway. She handed him his gray beanie and held out a black hoodie for him to pull on. Things had taken a lot longer to accomplish and the first couple of weeks after he had woken up everything had been difficult but now, two months later, Alex was almost back to normal. Rachel and his family had helped him with everything: the album release had been postponed, fan letters answered, official statements had been released, Rachel paid the hospitals bills and Alex had been allowed to go home with strict instructions to attend physiotherapy every day for three weeks.

Almost everything had been taken care of.

Except, there was still one thing that he had to do.

The New York library was vast and it was filled with a silence that Alex could only associate with his four weeks of darkness. This connection unsettled him greatly and he grew visibly anxious as the silence of the great hall began to feel oppressive. Rachel felt him tense up and gently held him back, taking his face softly between her hands.

“You can do this ok?” she said as she smiled up at him with all the love and dedication that her body possessed.

She had been the picture of patience and perseverance throughout the four weeks of Alex’s new life. She had been there for him when every day was a challenged and when normality seemed so far off. Rachel understood that he could never get over his fear of the looming black silences, but she knew that together they could move forward and going to the New York library was an important factor in this.

Alex breathed out slowly and rested his forehead against Rachel’s, receiving the support that he needed to function. After a few moments of standing immobile Rachel took the first step and gently pulled Alex towards the public records section.

The stacked files seemed to loom over Alex, and his uneasiness set in again but this time he shut his eyes and from the depths of his mind he pulled a name. A name that had been the only thing he remembered of the darkness of the four weeks. He had been left with no memory except the vague recollection of a name that up until this point had held no significance.

“Marchetta.”

Upon hearing the name Rachel pulled up the stepladder from one of the bookshelves and stood on tiptoes to see the ‘M’ shelf. After several minutes of searching she came back down holding a yellowing file in her hand, which she held out to Alex.

He stared at the file for a moment, unsure of what to do, unsure if he really wanted to know what the name meant or signified. But somehow he had the feeling that this was all part of moving on, this Marchetta person had been a part of the incident and to fully recover Alex knew that he had to tie up all the knots.

He accepted the file from Rachel and holding onto her hand, he sat down at one of the large brown tables, whilst Rachel stood behind him placing her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her again and any doubts that he may have had up until that moment all vanished once he saw Rachel’s smile.

Taking a deep breath in he flipped the file open and there she was.

Annabel Rowan Marchetta.

There was a picture of her on the title page of the New York Daily from December 9 1956.

‘Tragic Death of Marchetta heiress’.

The girl in the picture seemed to smile up at Alex and Rachel with an endlessly patient smile. It was also a Mona Lisa smile; she seemed to know all the answers to the secrets that existed. There was something haughty about her stature but at the same time her eyes seemed to show something different, she looked a little like a dreamer.

Rachel sat down next to Alex and looked at him carefully, searching for any sign of recollection. Alex couldn’t say for sure that this was exactly the person whom he had a vague memory of, but somehow upon reading her name something inside of Alex clicked. He read the story of her accident and the background of her family’s wealth and it all seemed strangely familiar to him.

Whilst Alex was scanning the yellowing newspaper, Rachel was shifted through the rest of the file, and extracted two pages that looked like they were taking from a society magazine. She found an engagement announcement to a Markus Wilhern, which stated that the wedding was scheduled for the New Year. The pages from the society magazine showed Annabel in long dresses and even though the pictures were black and white, her eyes still appeared to sparkle with the answers to all the mysteries.

He wasn’t sure what to feel. There was an overriding feeling of relief but this was followed almost immediately by astonishment and wonder. Now that he had found the person to match the name what was there to do? The face of Annabel still felt like a blank to him.

Rachel noticed his expression at once and took a hold of his hand. The silver charm bracelet on her right wrist tinkled amiably.

Alex had waited a while before presenting Rachel with the small sentimental treasure. When he had woken up he had found the bracelet clamped tightly in his hand, with no idea of how it got there. But he managed to hide it from Rachel until his first night back home. They had had their first dinner together again and after the plates were cleaned up and they were sat closely intertwined on the sofa, Alex produced the charm bracelet that had been put inside its proper dark blue velvet box.

Rachel had managed to hold back all the tears since Alex had woken up, but when he presented her with the bracelet the tears flowed freely. It was a testament to their relationship and how many wonderful moments they shared together, and as well as this it was a sign of the future: of a long and beautiful future.

So here they were, sat together trying to work out the mystery that was Annabel Marchetta. Rachel at first had thought it would be futile, but she also knew that it would do Alex good. He needed to leave everything related to the accident behind him and move on. There was a whole life still in front of him that he needed to live, and in order for him to do so he had to clear his head.

“But I don’t understand,” Alex said putting his head in his hands. The frustration eating away inside him was irritating.

Rachel chewed her lip, unsure if she should proceed with what she was about to say. She took in a deep breath and Alex turned to her at once. He knew her too well.

‘Say it,” he demanded with a smile.

“I don’t think you need to understand this, I think you may just need to read and listen to her story.”

Alex looked at Rachel a little puzzled. It was in moments like this that she always surprised him. She was a level headed girl, she believed in what she saw and put her faith in things that she could trust. But after Alex’s accident this had shifted. She had to put her trust in something that was unreliable, and she had to trust Alex when it looked like he might never open his eyes again.

“I mean…” Rachel faltered picking up the article detailing Annabel’s death. “I’ve been doing some reading about coma patients and near death experiences, and sometimes people come back with the most extraordinary stories about beings of light…”

“But for me it was all black,” Alex interjected the minute that Rachel began talking about the beings of light.

She smiled at him knowing that he was speaking the truth. They had talked about the accident in great length so that there would be nothing more to say on the matter, and Alex had honestly told her that he remembered nothing but the moments before the crash, and the name ‘Marchetta’ which seemed to come out of mid-air.

“There’s just some things science can’t explain and you need to take it on with a little faith Alex,” Rachel said softly with the warm look that she had been wearing ever since he had woken up.

She had taken that leap of faith for the person that she loved most. She put her faith in Alex and was rewarded for it.

“I don’t know how you got the name but that doesn’t matter, I think that Annabel’s story deserves to be read by you. I mean it’s slightly similar to you, she was in a hit and run.” Rachel’s eyes clouded over a little, but she carried on carefully taking out the articles from the folder.

She smiled reassuringly at Alex, and together they read every single article they could find on her. As he read, Alex still didn’t feel any understanding as to how he got a hold of her name, but slowly he felt as though he was travelling with Annabel on her own journey. She had been a hugely popular girl during her time and after her death it seemed that every aspect of her life was covered. She was as much alive in death as she had been during her breathing moments.

The last page that they found in the file was from a socialite magazine that proclaimed to have solved the mystery of Annabel Marchetta and her lost love. It detailed her sneaking around with Markus Wilhern’s older brother and about the elopement that was meant to have taken place on the night that Annabel died.

It was then that Alex felt true sympathy for her; she had never been able to live out her dreams and enjoy her life to the fullest. It served as a reminder that Alex had gotten a second chance to carry on living out his dreams and that he had someone special to share them with.

“Does it mention anywhere in the papers where she’s buried?” Alex asked Rachel suddenly as he slipped the malicious gossip sheet back in the folder.

After consulting Annabel’s obituary and the caretaker at the Trinity Church Cemetery, Alex and Rachel found them selves looking down at a weathered headstone, which was being taken over by clinging ivy. Rachel knelt down to clear it away from the name which despite all these years was still clearly visible.

Annabel Rowan Marchetta.

“It doesn’t look like anyone had been here for a long time,” Alex said softly as he took in the dead flowers and strangely grass that were invading the grave space.

Despite the morose appearance of the grave Alex felt a strange sense of peace and calm flow over him. Instinctively he knew that this was the right place to be. So with some difficulty he crouched beside Rachel and helped her remove the unwanted flowers and weeds.

They stood there for a while longer, the wind that had picked up enveloped them and sent the November leaves tumbling around them. Despite everything a glorious feeling seemed to be floating in the air and this grew as Rachel pointed out the grave next to Annabel’s.

It was in the same state as Annabel’s but the name was visible through the ivy: Charles Wilhern.

Alex and Rachel both smiled, words seemed inappropriate at this time. With one last look at both graves Alex took a deep breath in and held his hand out for Rachel to take. They walked out of the cemetery together, strong as always. New York was glorious in the autumn light, which seemed to shine brighter than ever. Change and hope lay in the air.

At this moment were still a lot of things that Alex still had left do to: for one thing he had to go ring shopping with Rian. After Alex, Rian had always understood Rachel’s jewellery taste the best. There were still many more things coming Alex’s way, but he didn’t mind because he knew that he’d always be able to actively share his journey with Rachel. He still had a very long way to go but he wasn’t alone.

He was never going to be alone anymore, and that was all that mattered.