Black City (3)

It feels like an eternity has passed. The sky remains black. Has it been half a day? A whole day? I do not know anymore. I have spent this entire time staring out of a window, trapped in a room as dark as the city outside. The red moon had disappeared for a while, but now it looms once again, its deep craters etched like scars against the void. My thoughts, scattered and molten, dissolve like wax. My gaze drifts, following the sounds beyond the glass. Below, in the courtyard, small children play a strange game.

I have been here the entire day. Viena visited me once, saying nothing. She merely removed my bandage, shook it as she did the day before, and the dried blood vanished without a trace. Then, she smeared a black ointment over my right arm, the skin bruised yellow and violet beneath it. No words were exchanged. Now, I sit here, watching the children outside. My right arm burns faintly, warm, and uncomfortable.

“You have to hit!”