Bitter And Bones Romane & Geschichten

Crystal has been refusing to eat for the past two days, and she has lost about 10 kg already. For the past two days, she has refused to talk or step out of the room. Insomnia has become part of her. In fear that she might end up doing something stupid, Mervin took a leave of absence from work just to stay beside Crystal. He has done almost everything to cheer her, but Crystal was never moved. He understood her though; he was also yet to heal. The pain was too much. They had just lost a daughter who had been with them for close to nine years, and now the ones he had regarded as junior sisters for close to twenty years were no more.

I wanted to scream so badly that my jaw ached from the effort of trying. "Does it burn?" he whispered, his eyes wide with manic, rhythmic delight. There was something almost ecstatic in his expression, a sick pleasure that turned my stomach. He twisted his hand, the talons grinding against the ball-and-socket joint of my shoulder with deliberate slowness. I could hear the wet, crunching sound of my own cartilage tearing apart under his fingers, could feel the individual fibers of muscle separating like threads being pulled from fabric. "This is the dark current. It's eating your marrow, Zane. Can you feel it dissolving your bones from the inside out?"

she informed them. They quickly nodded, giving her a go-ahead. Sabine reached up to one of her cabinets, pulled out a large hefty book, and dumped it on the kitchen counter, then shuffled in her apron and pulled out a string of dry bones. Bernice peered at the bones, observing it oddly. She could not place what creature the bones were gotten from, human or beast. Nevertheless, all she was interested in was what it could do.

The bag was full of dry, yellowed strands of fallen hair. Julian opened the diary with shaking hands. *Tried the new drug today. It hurt so bad. Every bone in my body was shaking. The doctor said my liver can't take much more. But Julian's leg can't wait any longer. I have to earn more money.* *Tonight Julian brought me a baked potato. So warm and sweet. I told him I'd already eaten, but the truth is I hadn't had anything all day. Watching him enjoy it made everything worth it. Even if I die someday, as long as his leg gets better, I'd do it all again.*

Then I added vodka and mint syrup. The emcee called me up. "Contestant No. 13, explain your creation." I took the mic. "I first called this 'Forgive', but now it's 'Moon Breeze'. It's a breakup drink for people who got hurt. It's about forgiving yourself and not punishing yourself for someone else's mistakes." I smiled, letting go. I won a participation award but wasn't discouraged. My mixing clip went viral online, dubbed "The Most Beautiful Bartender". I didn't love the focus on my looks. Beauty without skills often got labeled trophies.

Another scream. I worked methodically—fracturing bones, slicing deep enough to hurt but not to kill. The bones I chose were painful, but not the worst. Yet. I dialed up their pain receptors, amplifying every injury tenfold. Anastasia blacked out at number 33. Ortiz lasted longer. “You’ve surprised me,” I admitted at break 83. “That’s rare.” He laughed, blood bubbling between his teeth. “You’re weak. Needing knives… bones… pathetic.”

My eyes were wide open, finally Elias was by my side, boy was I glad to see him! A strange thing began to occur inside me just when I thought it was over. The pain started to grow, only this time it was worse than the bite, there was a fire burning inside me, I began to feel the worst kind of pain I’ve ever felt in all my thirty years of living. It was an excruciating pain— like torture!

Raider looked back and forth at the bones and their owner kind of hoping the latter would tell him which bone to pick. After a moment of silence under the observing gaze of the spirit, Raider randomly reached for the longest bone there, the humerus. It felt exactly like the tibia before it. Warm, almost alive, but unmovable. He looked up and his eyes met the spirit's. He could see the patience of a teacher in them. "Observe. Feel. Don't just pick randomly." said Master Bones softly. Raider let go of the bone and stood up straight. He felt strange. No one had ever spoken to him in such a way. It felt... different, but a good different.