It all came down to this moment. Annabelle had been unconscious for almost an hour when Dominik and her family arrived at the clinic, and he quickly met with the parents to get their consent for the intervention, that now was a matter of saving her life or not.
“Your daughter seems to have been born with a small hole in her heart. If you try with the stethoscope, you can hear the peculiar sound it makes, very characteristic to the illness. As she grew older, the small hole got bigger, and at the point that we are, if it grows any more, it will be fatal. Besides that, her body is weakening by the minute, so the surgery is a very urgent matter now. We need to operate swiftly and carefully.”
He explained the parents, and they, as the last chance, agreed, knowing that if they didn’t accept, their daughter would die any minute, if not that da
The night was dark and rainy. There was no moon in the sky, and the stars were hidden by the gray clouds that fell undone over a mostly sleeping city.The Archer house stood tall at the end of the hill, showing its gloomy face to the peasants that dared to walk in the stormy night.Inside the house, all of the family members and sleep-in workers had retired for the night and were sleeping, or about to, all of them, except for one, the Archer's only daughter, Annabelle.She was definitely not a normal, society lady.Not that she had weird tastes, or was vicious in any way, her only addiction, as a matter of fact, were books, and more often than not, storytelling and writing, although she hadn't done in a while.She was a very creative girl, a feature mostly fueled by her mandatory seclusion. Since she was just a kid, she was forbidden to play outside, due to some severe crisis that she started having when she was near her sixth birthday, after
"Dear Diary:Since it's the first time that I write, I will introduce myself.My name is Annabelle Archer and I'm a British young woman, and I'm going to die soon.My heart is very weak and the doctors say I have a rare condition that was supposed to kill me before my twentieth birthday, but I have passed that mark already.My father keeps looking for more second opinions, that are no longer second, but maybe a hundredth.My mother keeps the house together, and our family together. She acts like nothing is happening most of the time, but I know better.I know how she feels and do appreciate her attempt at normality, but the mood, in general, is so gloomy anyway."She introduced herself to the small, black, hardcovered notebook that her father had presented her with, but she didn't have the will to start before.She enjoyed very much to tell stories, but her
The wind blew the hair in her forehead. Waves danced around her as her eyes shone brightly without her being able to avoid it. Her parents didn't let their smiles out, knowing that she liked to keep it for herself, so they allowed her to seize the moment her way.The least they could do was at least grant her those small pleasures. Sitting in the window, and having it wide open as she rested her forearms on the windowsill and her head in her arms.That was the freest she had felt in a very long time, and her parents rejoiced with the sight.Doctor Marsh was right, she needed the change of air, and, even if the trip was a little tiring, her mood was lighter and less gloomy that day.Hours later, the carriage was expecting them on Exeter's station and would take them to the Villa.For once, Annabelle rejoiced in feeling the warmth of the sunlight and even let a shy smile on her lips.Nobody
Annabelle was surprised by a whisper from behind her."Miss Abbie... Miss... Are you okay, do you feel bad?"One of the helpers was talking to her in the lowest voice she could manage so she didn't get startled, calling her back to what normal people called reality."Yes, Anna. I just remembered something."The helpers looked at each other and wondered scared if she had seen something and didn't want to say it.The stories about her looking at the void had been around for a while already, but since nobody has seen actually anything, and the noises could be explained, they can't really say the house is haunted, or the girl, in any case.She knows that the helpers are still wondering what she was looking at, but she doesn't care what they think.The march to her room restarts and they spend a couple of hours to finish arranging everything in the right place, especially her medicine cabinet.After a very interest
A very happy trio came into a clothing store.A young, handsome man with very bright eyes and smile, lightly tanned skin and almost six feet tall, dressed in black from top hat to toe, except for his dark green coat, walked first into the store.Following in the middle, a disarrayed girl in gray sleepwear, and last, but never least, a very beautiful lady with pink hair and all-black clothing.Her curvaceous body was hugged by a stylish corset dress that ended up in a skirt a couple of inches over the knee in the front, and almost ankle length in the back.She was about five feet and three inches, with two additional inches that her black, over-the-ankle boots gave her.She was also wearing a very tiny top hat, holding from a bunch of her hair on the right side of her head.To end her image, the same way as her energetic and charismatic husband, she wore a big, genuine smile.The store was almost directly in front of
"Isn't it the cat got your tongue?" Raquel said innocently, as Myron moved his head sideways to his wife, so she didn't follow on her thought.When Raquel looked at the other two people in the room, she noticed.The air felt tense suddenly. Dominik's tone was obviously not well received by Annabelle, who now was no longer looking at the floor.How was this guy managing to touch the nerves of their just arrived new guest in so little more than a phrase?Why?Yes, he was good looking, but, oh what an attitude.Especially with Abbie, who hated to be always the "Rescued" one."Too much of a nerve for a stranger to say something in that tone. You know nothing. I didn't come to be rescued. I'm not helpless, and unlike you, I don't go defensive and attacking people when I first meet them.This is only my first visit to this place, and they are nice, decent people. Something I can see it's not known for you.Now, if
In front of Abbie, there were all kinds of armor, including knives, swords, guns, and also gun holsters, belts, whips, and a series of gadgets she couldn't make out by just looking at them.On her right, a full rack of trench coats, long, and not so long, hooded, in colors or black, with a slit and without.Annabelle wondered at what kind of place she had arrived, while she watched R looking intently at the wall, and then moving to the rack.Was she just picking her something so she was not cold, but it happened to be close to this little armor shop inside her store?Raquel stood in front of the rack as it drew its circles until one of the coats called her attention.It was brown, matching Annabelle's outfit perfectly.R took it from the rack and handed it over to Abbie."Please try it on, Belle Cat. I want to see if it fits you well."Annabelle went to try it and found herself in the mirror, surprised at the
They were just thrown out of the store, and pretty much forced to go to the city together.Dominik had said he could take her, but Annabelle was not happy with the idea.For her, the guy's changes were too much for her comfort, as one minute he was nice, and the next he was uncomfortable and defensive.Maybe people in that dream was a little crazy. From the start, she could say they were different, even from their clothing.She was not remotely close to London but she was very happy about that. What if they were different? They treated her like a normal human being, not a princess, or a porcelain doll.The guy looked shy now that he was alone with her, and looked almost desperately for something to say, anything, hoping that whatever it was, was not as bad as all the other things he had said before."So... We should start walking, I guess," Abbie said, and you could almost think they were in an awkwardness contest. He was glad sh