There had been a time when he was young, that Anabelle had been his world.  His first date.  His first kiss.  His first...<br/><br/>He gave a start as Evelyn spoke.  He hadn't even heard her approach.  He gave his head a weary shake.  "I...  I should, yeah."  He said, brow furrowed in a troubled frown.  He could recall her pale skin.  Her auburn hair, and the freckles that dotted her chest.  He could remember her hips under his hands.  Their last goodbye.  His jaw flexed, as he stepped further into the room, and bent to snatch up the letter.  It smelled like her.  Why, after all this time, had she picked now to reach out to him?<br/><br/>He turned back to the doorway.  Eve was watching him.  Waiting for direction.  He sat himself down on the bed, turning the letter over in his hands.  One splayed on the coverlet, and he gently patted it.  What he'd thought were old emotional scars were in an instant torn open.  As raw as the day Anabelle had left.<br/><br/>Without waiting for his memories to take him back to what had once been, he tore the letter open unceremoniously.  The stationary within was even fancy, chased with leaf-of-gold, and even more heavily scented.  In her elegant hand, it read:<br/><br/><i>Dearest Casey,<br/>
<br/>
It has been too long.  I have been lax in keeping in touch.  I know the way I left wounded you, and I know that injuries left untended will fester, and rot.  But I would be remiss if I were to leave you wounded still, going forward.  I want to make amends.  To give you the closure I couldn't  seven years gone.  Meet me in our secret world, and I will tell it all to you.</i><br/><br/><i>With regrets,</i><br/><i>Anabelle</i><br/><br/>Casey's eyes read the words twenty times over.  His face was calculatedly calm, but his mind was reeling.