She turned the corner onto Pannierstrasse and approached the cafe where Chi was sitting, finding her outside with a cup of coffee. Chi had her laptop open and was staring earnestly at the screen while rubbing her wrist, totally absorbed in what she was reading.
“Hey,” said Ida after standing by the table for some time.
Chi cowered and gasped at the same time, looking up at Ida with a disturbed expression before growing calm when she realised who it was.
“Hey,” she said, her face blushing. “Sorry, I was just…” She looked carefully at Ida’s face. “What the hell happened to you?” she said, standing up suddenly.
“Oh,” said Ida, rubbing the bandage above her eye. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Yeah, but what happened?”
Chi reached out but resisted the temptation to touch Ida’s bruised face, biting her bottom lip as she looked over the wounds.
Ida did not want to get into a long-winded explanation. She just wanted a friend, someone whose presence would tell her that everything was going to be ok. Chi locked eyes with her, and Ida began frowning. Her eyes slowly watered up.
“Oh,” said Chi, pouting her lips and reaching over to pull her in. Ida rested her head on Chi and let herself be held. For a moment the street noise faded away, and the pain in her ribs disappeared.
“Sit down,” said Chi. “I’ll get you a drink of water. Do you want a coffee?”
Ida nodded, taking care with her ribs as she eased into the chair. A moment later Chi came back with a glass and sat down beside her.
“I guess I don’t need to ask you how Paris was?” said Chi with a half-smile and look of concern.
“You were right,” said Ida. “I shouldn’t have gone.”
“Oh, shut up,” said Chi, waving her hand dismissively.
“No, I was an idiot,” said Ida. “I need to learn to be more patient.”
“I’m just glad you’re ok. Did you get caught up in those attacks?”
“No,” said Ida, shaking her head. “But I heard them from where I was.”
“Then how did you get… that,” said Chi, signalling at Ida’s wounds.
“It’s a long story,” said Ida.
“Look,” said Chi, pausing while her face turned serious. “You’ve been keeping secrets the whole time I’ve known you. I didn’t say anything before because I didn’t want to be nosey. I figured you had your reasons. But now it’s gone too far. You need to tell me what’s going on with you.”
Ida gazed dumbfounded at Chi.
“To be honest, it’s been getting on my nerves,” continued Chi. “I can’t just play stupid anymore. Not if your life’s at risk.”
Ida exhaled slowly.
“I didn’t want to tell you because it might put you in danger,” she said.
“Me?” said Chi, turning her head. “How?”
Ida shook her head and turned away.
“Ida, have you seen the news?” said Chi. “We’re all in danger. The Chancellor is playing it all cool, telling us not to panic, but people aren’t stupid. Everyone knows something big is brewing, and that it’s probably going to get worse.”
Ida turned back to Chi, whose determination was on full display. It was hard to admire her resolve while it was directed Ida’s way, but she did have a point. The attacks had raised the stakes for the entire globe. The way Frederich had said ‘war’ foreshadowed what was to come. Ida had spent the last day trying to push apocalyptic thoughts out of her mind, but the unease was all around her. It was in the eyes of everyone she saw from Paris to Berlin. There was no sense in keeping Chi in the dark any longer.
“It started with a guy I met when I first came to Berlin,” Ida said. “His name was Elias.”
She only paused her story when the coffee came, and her cup was empty by the time she finished speaking. Chi had been listening intently, wholly immersed by what sounded like an elaborate piece of fiction. When Ida finished, they sat in silence for a long time, the weight of her harrowing tale hanging heavy over the two of them. Finally, Chi snickered and shook her head.
“That’s intense. Really intense,” she said, her eyes opening wide and crossing over each other. “Now I can see why you were so wound up.”
Ida shrugged and smiled bashfully.
“This Vidrik guy sounds like a lunatic,” said Chi.
“He is,” said Ida.
“You go!” blurted Chi. “I’m so proud of you, taking him on like that.”
“Frederich saved me,” said Ida.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” said Chi. “You fought him yourself. And you probably saved that guy’s life, the one from the party.”
“Terence.”
“Right. You could have kept him around to protect you. I know I would have, instead of facing that psycho all by myself.”
Ida stared at the table, only able to think of Vidrik’s first victim sprawled dead on the front steps of her building.
“I knew there was something about that Frederich guy,” said Chi. “He kills people?”
Ida nodded, signalling to Chi to keep her voice down.
“Sorry,” whispered Chi. “Excuse me for being worked up about all this.”
Ida sighed, relieved that her secret was out, while suddenly overwhelmed by the state of society. How did things get so crazy? She thought about women like Olivia, who daily found the strength to face the ugliness of the world. Olivia looked exhausted by the events of the night, but her small, muscular frame remained upright, and she found a way to steel herself before leaving the room to face her next challenge. Ida had been shaken to her core by recent events, but she promised herself she would never let other people’s wickedness get the best of her. The world was in conflict,
