Chapter Three: Books of Life

Sisi wanted to take her mind off her child. She called Emery Thornton, a friend from her past. She invited her over for spaghetti, a dish that Emery enjoyed. They caught up with one another, talked about Emery's mansion and the empire she had built from creating a videogame that had enslaved almost half of the population. Due to a non-disclosure agreement, the author of this entry is not allowed to divulge the title of said videogame.

The smell of parmesan cheese and freshly cut oregano suffused with Emery's essence—greed. It was pungent, a distinct scent from her recent captures. Greed smelled like an old newspaper drenched in gutter water and piss. Sisi held her breath and carried on, even though the smell made her gag.

After dinner, Emery said her goodbye. Sisi created a new book of life and wrote down Emery's name. She noticed how the words flowed naturally from pen to page. It was as if the book was writing itself. Her hand was merely a guide, a conduit of an arcane tale.

Sisi didn't know Emery's childhood, but the first chapter detailed how she was an only child and how she was raised by her two loving fathers. The next chapter told the story of the cowplant incident. It was the chapter in Emery's life that destroyed her family and her fortune. The death of her fathers was the birth of her greed.

Sisi closed Emery's book. She felt sick at reading every detail, every thought, every emotion that was available to her within pages. But her voyeuristic curiosity proved stronger after a couple of minutes.

Sisi reached for Cayden Little's book. As she skimmed through some chapters, Sisi couldn't recall writing any of the chapters. However, she did remember writing the last chapter, the chapter where Sisi had met Cayden for the first time. As she finished reading that chapter, she flipped to the next page and found another chapter she could not remember writing.

She read on. She read about Cayden's struggle with raising a child by himself. Isabel just started talking, and the child asked about her mother. As Sisi read on, she noticed that the empty pages were being written by a phantom writer. Ink appeared out of the page, and Sisi continued to read and read. The narrator was Cayden't thoughts, and Cayden thought ill of Sisi and her child.

Sisi closed the book. It was that moment the Sisi needed to confront her lover and meet her child. The third voice supported her on that decision as well.