Chapter 7: Delirium

Artemisia's body froze completely while listening to her great aunt's name. She genuinely hoped that after so many months of death the woman's name would be forgotten at the bottom of the gossip chest that the city certainly had. As much as it had been a few weeks, her great-aunt's body was almost becoming a clotter of bones and elegant clothes, people kept talking about her and her great-niece. That town just couldn't forget Delfine Carmesim.

"What do you want to talk about Delfine? — asked Artemísia trying to ignore the shadows that came back to dance. This time, they would tat around the maiden and make jokes for the widows.

The feeling of something being terribly wrong grew every moment when the young woman tried to ignore what was happening. Maybe if she ignored those hallucinations, at one point they'd get tired of jumping and dancing. In addition to the unbearable music that was getting tattooed on her mind. She was about to implore the Spirits of Rest to do something to stop her from listening to that torment that insisted on stalking the young woman not imposed as much as she tried.

Leonore's expression was also not one of the best, as the redhead was as pale as a cloud on a summer day. It was all very, very strange.

"You know something, don't you? — Artemísia risked asking, even if she was wrong and imply that yes, she's really going crazy. However, if she kept quiet the girl wouldn't know if Leonore was also seeing and hearing all that.

Before the woman could respond, the smell of oleander became even stronger, causing her body to tip a little forward dizzy and staggering point. The shadows continued dancing even more tweling and getting closer and closer to Artemisia letting panic take over the girl's body. As she saw the slightly transparent hands of the shadows trying to touch her face at all costs, Leonore held even stronger on her arm pulling toward the car that was waiting for her. As they walked, the shadows followed them as in a procession in the name of the Spirits.

The girl seemed to be panicking along with Artemisia, who was increasingly among the unconscious, while asking the driver to drive as fast, and as careful as possible. The blonde leaned against the bench putting her hand on her chest, feeling as if every moment she breathed, the shadows came closer and closer, trying to touch her heart. Through the skin, veins and muscles.

"What's happening to me? — asked Arteisia trying to hold on to the crying voice that insisted on leaving, tearing her throat in the process. As the trees became a great blur and the city was gradually left behind, the young woman's despair grew increasingly raw. "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!

"Do you know why pain is the greatest enemy of human beings?" Thing said, with various voices and tones. "Pain takes something away from us all. It takes away our flesh, love, hatred, indifference."

The icy hands of the shadows continued to tear the young woman's body, pulling home again with hatred and despair. Tears flowed down her face and sobs were so tormented that they tore her throat, pulling whatever life line they could get. But there didn't seem to be salvation for that pain.

"She tears, tears and takes off. It takes away everything we strive to give... What else do you want to give us? What do you still want to take from us?! The pain comes to claim death, give you what should not have been left aside!" the thing screamed and Artemísia screamed too, at some point the girl realized that she said the same things that that voice monster was letting go, flooding the car with meaningless words.

"Make it stop!" Artemísia looked at Leonore and saw the live panic on the girl's pale face. She understood well, just felt the warm and febrile tears coming down her face.

"While death takes only life from us, denying to leave us tormented and swimming in full existential emptiness. She still gives us why live! You shouldn't live! Death and pain exist in you. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! You shouldn't!"

The car stopped abruptly and Artemisia's head hit hard against something hard, erasing her from that senseless existence in which things she did not know existed made her suffer like an animal about to be slaughtered.

Artemysia opened her eyes, feeling terribly heavy and sore. Her body was on a soft place as fur of cat cubs, what appeared to be a fur robe was protecting her from the cold that still seemed to fall all over town. It all hurt, she noticed a few moments later. Her body seemed to have been trampled as if it were a bunch of grapes, her head was the worst of all, throbbing as if her heart had changed places during the journey to that place.

She turned around a bit, feeling her bones move one by one, moving inside the muscle and forcing him to move as well. It took from her lips a whimper of pain that was even worse to verbalize. Everything was pain.

"Mom used to tell me it was all pain, — Leonore's voice said softly as she passed a damp, warm cloth on Artemisia's face. "and all that the pain came from the desire not to feel pain."

The blonde turned her face, blinking slowly a few times to see Leonore's face a little sharper. The concern was still a mask on the other woman's face, but she smiled gently at Artemisia and kept passing the cloth on her face. The blonde thought she had a fever and sweaty, but when she saw the reddish cloth move away from her face, she rose quickly — and regretting it in the most bitter way at the same moment.

"Don't move yet... The headstresses just cleaned you up. It will bleed again if you keep movin. — the redhead's voice was soft, which caused Artemisia to lie down again.

"What happened to me? — she asked as she felt the words tear her vocal cords like thorns. "My body hurts as if I had been crumpled like the dough of a loaf of bread, there is blood on that cloth that apparently came out of me and, obviously, i'm not at home. What happened?"

Talking hurt, it hurt like never before. Even in the worst of colds it was not that way, it was certainly a naygetto verbalize the thoughts and desires to employees and healers, but it was not like that. Leonore's sigh was as bitter as the air that was over that room. What surprised the girl most was that the strong smell of oleander had been exchanged for the sweet and soft full of freesias.

"Do you want me to comfort you by telling a plausible and sweet story? Like those lies we tell the children about the little sleeping butterflies and the goblins of teeth. — Leonore spoke again and helped Artemisia put on a sweater, as she only realized she was naked when a cold drop of water fell on her chest.

"Or do you want me to tell the bitter truth about what happened? — Artemísia closed her eyes for a moment. It wouldn't do any good to pretend that what happened was merely a hallucination of hers, there was no way it could be something as psychological as that, people would have realized... Wouldn't they?

"If you don't want to know about the raw and unpleasant truth, it's all right. I can't make you do what I have to ask, even if it's for your own good. — The young woman opened her eyes and swallowed the saliva in a failed attempt to dampen her throat.

When the redhead realized, so that Artemisia does not know how, stood up quickly muttering a "wait" and left the room trying to make as little noise as possible. The blonde snug on the bed, enjoying the smell of freesia that was a touch as soft as feather in the air, she looked at her arm and noticed that there were small red scratches on the skin, also had hand marks, of various sizes, and nails too.

A few minutes after Leonore left, she returned with a large glass with what appeared to be water to the top. Artemisia thanked her softly when the young woman was near her and took the glass drinking slowly and letting the water wash away the despair she had felt who knows how many hours before.

"I... — Artemisia said as she pushed the glass away from her lips. “I want to know what happened to me."

Leonore's smile was a little sad, but in a way that said "I'm sorry", probably for the blonde's deplorable state. However, she did not change her mind or deviate from the subject, just took Artemisia's hand and said:

"You're a living-dead."