Meanwhile, as Catherine packed the last of her things, she thought back on the image of Vincent and Lisa dancing together...they seemed so close, and it hurt her so much.
And after what she had seen, Catherine was no longer sure if what Peter had surmised, was correct after all. Perhaps Vincent not mentioning the concert was intentional, because he was planning to attend the concert with Lisa all along!
Now, Catherine felt so foolish for having gone! Though she loved the children, and yes they DID invite her, it was still Vincent's world she had entered. And...most stunning and shattering of all, Vincent did not sense her presence there! Catherine kept waiting for him to look her way, but he never did, he never felt her near by, nor did he feel her pain as she stood so close, a short distance away in the library threshold, as she watched them dance.
As Catherine put her suitcase by the door, it was then she heard a tap on her balcony door. Knowing it was Vincent, Catherine's heart raced, because of this unexpected happenstance, never thinking he would have left the tunnels during the children's concert!
And so before she turned around, Catherine dried her tears, and walked over to open the doors to her balcony.
And as she stood in the open doorway, Catherine couldn't really look at him, and so she sorrowfully looked downward, and greeted him simply by saying his name, "Vincent."
Suspecting Catherine had seen him dancing with Lisa, Vincent shamefully acknowledged, "You were down in the tunnels tonight..."
Tearfully, Catherine walked past him into the night air, and as she stood at the balcony wall for a moment, she then turned to him, and said, "I didn't think you knew I was there."
To which Vincent regretfully admitted, "Peter told me."
Intently, Catherine looked at Vincent, and through her tears she resignedlystated, "So it wasn't because YOU yourself knew...Peter had to tell you I was there..."
Catherine then reflectively said, "You know Vincent...I stood there waiting for you to look my way, but you never did..."
Then in a softer melancholy tone, Catherine continued, "...since the night you found me in the park...the night you saved my life, you always knew when I was near...somehow...you just knew, and I always loved knowing this was so..."
With affirmation, Catherine continued, "...tonight though, when you were dancing with Lisa, you were closed to our bond...I never would have believed this could happen to us." Tearfully Vincent helplessly said, "I don't understand Catherine! I cannot understand how I didn't sense you when you were so near..."
As Vincent tried to find a valid reason, he searchingly whispered aloud, "How could this have happened..."
Stepping closer to Vincent, Catherine softly told him, "Because Vincent, it happened because of your feelings for Lisa. Don't you see?"
As they both wept openly, Catherine took Vincent's hands in hers, and calmly, she gently told him, "It is clear there are still things you must face."
Assuring Catherine, Vincent declared, "Things I must face? I cannot deny that, I have no secrets from you Catherine...I have shared those past demons with you."
As Catherine looked at Vincent, she sadly inserted, "I know you have...but I am thinking it is not with me you need to face them with..."
It broke Catherine's heart as she looked at Vincent, she knew how the past was tearing him apart, and she hated being the one to ask him to deal with it.
And so Catherine with care said, "I understand your feeling confused being with Lisa again, I do, I know Lisa has been a part of your life in a very large crucial way, and when she left, you never had to face the feelings you had for her, feelings carefully hidden away. But now she is back, and those feelings cannot be ignored. Vincent you have to sort out all those emotions which have been securely tucked away...and to do that...well you need time..."
And then Catherine added, "...and so, I will give you that time..."
At the sound of Catherine's proposal, Vincent with emotion said, "How can time apart from one another solve..."
And because Catherine needed to stand firm, she explained by inserting, "Without the pull of being here with me...you will have time to search and understand your heart and mind..."
It was then Jennifer's voice came through the intercom, saying they were there to pick up Catherine for their trip! And so upon hearing the message, Vincent with an urgency asked, "Trip? Catherine are you leaving the city?"
To which Catherine carefully replied, "Yes, with Jen and her Mom."
With concern for Catherine reeling, Vincent vehemently and desperately bellowed, "You mustn't leave as a means to help solve my issues! I don't want you to go!"
As Catherine cried in reply, she decreed, "And I don't want to leave! I don't want to go, but I can't stay, feeling all these uncertainties from you..."
To which Vincent replied, "I assure you, though my mind is clouded, my heart is not!"
Somehow, Catherine reined in her unruly emotions, and found the calm to say, "I believe you know your heart, but I want you to be certain in your mind as well."
Then with a collected impassioned tone, Catherine continued, "...Vincent...one day, when we are ready, I am going to want all of you, and I hope one day you will want all of me too. But until you explore your feelings for Lisa, that can never happen."
Catherine then pointed out what she felt to be true, and continued, "There is something powerful between you and Lisa, something I am powerless to fight. She is between us, she has always been between us, even when she lived a continent away, she has always been there."
Resignedly, Catherine demanded, "It is time, time to listen to your heart, and together with Lisa, perhaps put the past to rest..."
Once more the intercom buzzed, and Jennifer repeated, that they were there...
Upon hearing Jennifer for the second time, Vincent looked down at Catherine, and as he saw her pain, he protectively embraced her, and with all the love he possessed in his heart, he tearfully whispered, "I promise you, upon your return, there will be no more doubts, no more demons. I will do what I must do to exorcise them. Just please come back to me safely."
To which Catherine looked back and imploringly responded, "Don't ever forget what you mean to me Vincent, what you will always mean to me."
And then she reluctantly said, "I have to go."
Neither one wanted to let go, but as they did, Vincent said, "Until we meet again...be well..."
As Catherine stood in the balcony's threshold, she softly cried, "Until then...good bye Vincent."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Much later now, below in his world, Vincent sat silently, overlooking the falls, thinking of how all the uncertainties within his heart, had caused so much disappointment to all those around him. Catherine's heartache, the children were saddened he and Catherine had both missed the concert, Father's disappointment, and Peter's indifference toward him.
Yes, suffice it to say, Peter was quite "put-out" with him because of the way he allowed Lisa to come between him and Catherine.
Peter felt protective of Catherine, he always had, but even more so now since Catherine was so alone in the world. And when Vincent returned earlier, and told Peter that Catherine was fine, and of her plans, he had to also admit, all they had surmised was correct. She had been upset seeing them dance, causing Peter to sternly taught his authority, saying Vincent better get it together, one way or another for Catherine's sake.
So yes, Vincent knew the time had come, to do what Jacob, Peter and Catherine had told him to do, listen to his heart, and let it guide him to find his truths!
Meanwhile, as Vincent sat, the silence of the roaring falls was broken with the sound of Lisa's voice. And as she stood behind him, Lisa said, "There you are. I have been looking for you."
She then stepped a bit closer, and cautiously asked, "Did you find Catherine?"
As Vincent stared off into the distance, he answered, "Yes, I found Catherine."
Inquisitively Lisa then asked, "I don't understand Vincent, why didn't she stay? The children were so disappointed. She is held in such high regard with them you know. So why did she disappoint them as she did?"
To which Vincent sadly relayed, "Catherine saw us in the library, she saw us dancing"
As Lisa slowly stepped out onto the ledge to be at Vincent's side, she carefully replied, "I see. And now she is angry?"
Sadly, Vincent thoughtfully answered, "No, not angry, but rather saddened, and disappointed our bond had been broken tonight, and she is wondering why it happened."
Tragically, Vincent continued, "And now, I am questioning my heart, wondering how this could have happened. Perhaps it is time Lisa...time for us to talk about our past..."
He then turned to her, and confessed, "There are things you do not know about me, things you could not know."
Vincent then went on to explain, "So many years ago, when you left the tunnels, left me, left here, I lost myself. I could not face what I had done! I had so much guilt for hurting you, and I blamed my plight of what I was for what had happened, and...hated that I repulsed you."
As Lisa reached out to touch Vincent's arm, and pleaded, "Vincent it wasn't all your fault. Do tell me you know that."
In an effort to correct what Vincent had thought, Lisa then admitted, "And when you say you repulsed me, that could not be farther from the truth."
As Lisa hesitated a moment, she then continued, "I have been carrying regrets of that night with me as well. I feel so guilty things happened as they did."
To which Vincent questioned, "You Lisa, guilty?"
Humbly, Lisa looked back at Vincent, and for the first time in all of her life, she had to admit to a frailty, and it was difficult for her to continue. But she had demons to release as well, and she so badly needed to be free of them. She knew Vincent, was the only one who could help her, and truly understand.
So painfully, she continued on, "Yes, I had feelings for you, fantasies of you. And that night I planned on kissing you, in the Great Hall. I danced for you that night because I knew you loved to watch me dance, and then I planned on kissing you like I had in my dreams."
Vincent looked downward hearing what he always privately suspected, and yet feeling confused by her reaction to him on that day. And so he shyly asked, "You wanted to kiss me? It seemed as though you feared me."
Slowly, she went on to say, "I didn't fear you Vincent, that night I wanted to kiss you and I wanted you to hold me."
In disbelief, he tried to clarify by stating, "You pulled away from me. I saw the look in your eyes."
Explaining further, Lisa said, "The truth of that night is, I wanted you to hold me, and then I felt guilty for wanting it. What frightened me were the feelings I was having. I didn't know if what I felt, was right or wrong! After all, we grew up like a brother and a sister, and the attraction I felt for you confused, and shamed me. That is why I pulled away so suddenly, and that is when you accidentally scratched me."
Bending his head in relief, because for the first time, his instincts were validated, and now he fully understood.
She hadn't pulled away out of disgust, but rather out of shame.
Vincent softly replied, "I never would have believed you felt that way. If only I..."
Cutting in, Lisa said, "I know, if only. But it is all true."
She then asked, "Didn't you realize you were everything to me? You were my tutor, my protector, and my friend. As we grew up, I began to view you differently, I saw you in a new and an exciting light. You became my fantasy! Oh Vincent, I was just a young girl with dreams all those years ago, and you were just a boy. We didn't know what we were doing, we couldn't know the power of all these strange new feelings. All I knew was I loved when you looked at me and watched me. I knew you found me pretty. And it made me feel so wonderful."
Vincent raised his eyes to look back at her, finally feeling a relief, because she had put a voice to all these truths of their past.
Then he said, "You were so lovely, and you danced so beautifully."
Pondering, Lisa offered, "I often thought if Father hadn't showed up just then, perhaps we could have sorted out our own feelings for one another. And we wouldn't have had to live with so much shame and painful uncertainties all these years."
With his head bent in sorrow, Vincent said, "But the truth is, I did harm you, and for that, I do blame myself."
Taking part blame, Lisa claimed, "I share in the responsibility of that night. It was all just an unfortunate accident. Nothing more. I never saw need to cast any blame, although Father did! Yes he blamed me for everything that night, and me alone! If only Father wouldn't have been lurking about and saw what had happened, then maybe he wouldn't have turned me out as he did."
Vincent recognized the pain Lisa must have had then, and so he imagined, "You must have felt so all alone."
She nodded, and with a faraway look in her eyes, she recalled the feelings of abandonment, and softly admitted, "Yes I did."
Seeing things through her eyes now, Vincent vehemently stated, "Father was so wrong! It should have been I who was banished!"
Shaking her head no, Lisa softly said, "I don't mean to be cruel, but where would you have gone? Father took what he thought to be the only option open to him, and that was to cast me away. But understand, I am not bitter toward Father, not really. I can understand why he did what he did. You were his son, he loved you, and he wanted to protect you! To Father, I was just this young girl he didn't know how to deal with or tame, and I believe on some level, he hated me for being close to you! Funny, but all I really wanted was to feel close to him. Yes Vincent, I always longed for Father's approval, and how I wished he wouldn't have hated me so. And I sense, after all this time, he still hates me!"
Softly Vincent assured her, "Father doesn't hate you."
Asking for a better explanation, Lisa questioned, "What then Vincent, if he doesn't hate me, then what? Even now, I sense this overwhelming feeling of disapproval from him. And I wonder why I STILL hold him in such high regard?"
Painfully, Lisa continued, "It is just so difficult to shed these feeling of guilt and rejection. They are the great illusionists you know Vincent, "Guilt" and "Rejection". They give us cause to misinterpret our true feelings."
Resignedly, Lisa revealed, "And this is what I have done. I know now, I have misread these feeling I have for you. I do love you, but I'm not "in" love with you. I don't feel toward you as Catherine feels."
Vincent looked at Lisa, and said, "You have healed a wound that has been inside of me, inside of my heart. A wound that has caused me to hurt Catherine terribly."
Lisa approached Vincent, and with much affection gave him a loving hug. Sincerely she said to him, "If only we could forget the past and not look upon to it with so much reverence."
Looking up at Vincent with hope in her eyes, she asked, "Can't we? Can't we just forget the sorrow of that night, and put it all behind us? I want it to be like it was when we were children. I long to feel close to you again Vincent."
Vincent took in Lisa's gaze, and returned it kindly, as he said, "Yes, I would like that as well."
Taking in a deep breath, she recognized, "A new beginning then."
In agreement, Vincent replied, "Yes a new beginning."