293. Sickness and health, 5

(Rose)

I'm a little dehydrated because I keep urinating and vomiting without control. I still sweat blood and other things irregularly. Needless to say, I've been too weak to venture out of thee room for the last few days. I just crawl between the bed were I rest and the bathtub where I empty myself in painful mess.

Bleue is elsewhere, looking for food and reliable medicine, and anything else remotely helpful.

I sense her presence at times, as she also helps cleaning my body and my mess.

I would have likely died horribly here without you.

I'm happy you're by my side in more ways than one.

I hear you giggling. My fever is getting the best of me again.

In my worst nightmares; I see clear blue eyes appear in darkness, and a long gone and past evil is looking at me, sending shivers down my spine.

Old guilts and fear returns in this time of weakness. Past trauma echoes through my flesh.

It's painful being sick and weak.

~

I've lost weight, rapidly. I'm very weak.

Bleue is spoon-feeding me.

Most of my skin infections are now gone, though odd traces are still visible around sensitive areas.

I'm not vomiting parasites anymore lately, so I'm probably getting better there as well.

R - Thank you...

B - It's alright, come on.

R - I love you...

B - I know, I know. Come on, open your mouth.

I eat the soup in the spoon, unable to feel the taste so far.

It boils in my damaged stomach.

Something bad is staining my legs again.

I try to scratch my head but Bleue stops my hand. I think I've lost most of my hair.

R - What if...

The two haunting words. Bleue's face instantly loses her warmth and smile.

B - If you die here, I will go on living. But I will be very sad. More than you'd really believe. So do your best okay?

R - Yes...

I want to survive...

Even though I feel powerless, and even weaker and weaker.

At night, the feverish dreams make me feel as if thorns were sprouting all over my body. My skin turned to scales, I grew thorns, spikes and horns, fangs and claws.

The visions of me becoming a monster are not new, but never so pictorial before. Usually it's just my mind. That disease I've caught is numbing me.

A few more days pass like that.

~

I finally wake up with clarity in my thoughts and body. My fever is down.

My weaken body reaches for Bleue sleeping beside me.

Just from the touch of her tummy, I can say she lost weight too. It's a bit worrying.

She wakes up because of the tickles. I manage to smile and she respond in kind.

B - It's good to see you back Rose.

My voice is horribly coarse and husky as I reply. It makes her laugh, because I sound like dad she says.

That morning over the city of sky, I sit up.

I then stand, and walk around. My tummy keeps its content, whatever it is.

My feet stand their ground.

My skin is looking healthier where I had rashes or blisters before. It seems I've lost most of my hair though.

R - How long have I been bald?

B - Two days. I stuffed a pillow with your hair.

R - Well well...

B - You're right, it will grow back. Wild grass always returns. Nasty shrubs always grow back.

I make a face at her, showing my tongue, and then go tie a scarf around my head.

Bleue is amused but she has the face of someone who slept too little over a while. She has a face closer to her past self than she's ever shown.

I hug her. She enjoys it. We can go. We still have a long way to go on our way to the black sea.

To tell the truth, I don't know where exactly is the Nïlufer valley?

Well, it doesn't really matter anymore.

Not in our time. Now is our time.

Bleue packed everything we keep.

We could leave another day, but she insisted on using the levitation sap again, to go at the right time of day.

Because it was unlikely to be the sap that caused my health issue, because I'm still too weak to climb down the building, and because it's fun. Probably mostly because it's fun.

B - Of course. Selbstverständlich meine Lieber.

I submit to my... Arguably, younger sister. I can't really pretend that she is anymore, but that's still how a part of me sees her. She doesn't like it.

She tells me to stop thinking about confusing things and to coat myself with the greek turpentine.

I proceed.

~

The time has finally come. We stand at the edge of this skyscraper roof. We see the sky still painting most of the ground, far below.

We jump. Bleue is holding the pot of the flying tree as well. We end up floating ahead more than we are falling. I hold her hand. We see the empty streets and silent buildings pass on our sides as we float away toward the northern side.

It's all quiet. We spend minutes slowly losing altitude but increasing the distance rapidly.

Little wind brushes our skin because we're not moving that fast.

Still, it feels very nice indeed...

Bleue is enchantée as they say, brimming with joy.

B - Isn't it nice hm?

R - I admit... It was a good idea. Falling away softly like that is really nice.

She thinks of something and suddenly grabs my face with both hands. The flying tree floats back, still on leash.

We're flying gently. Your eyes are blinding me... My heart is going to burst.

Bleue kisses me mightily. While we're still floating away... It feels really strange; good though. I feel completely dizzy.

She's possessing me as I go numb.

I hear her laugh as I blush, trying to recover my senses from that experience.

~