--Thrashing around, vile images flooded her mind. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but no sound came out. She could feel it all again. Every last bit. And with it, came the feeling of desperation and helplessness. Drowning. In her darkest dreams, her imagination could not have fathomed a scene such as this one. She could not think, she could not focus. All she could do is feel it, even though she desperately did not want to. She gave up on resisting. She pretended she wasn’t there. She could not understand it. If there was one want, one need right now… It was to disappear. To never have been.

--The pain welled up and exploded into the darkness.

--She was sitting up. She tried to jump up, but her legs betrayed her and she stumbled to the floor. She searched for her nightstand and the candle that rested on it. She needed some light. Just a little bit of light. It wasn’t there.

--She could only move her right hand. She couldn’t quite feel the other one.

--Her legs felt like twigs. She could make them move, but just barely. Standing up seemed impossible.

--Her body was wrought with agony all over. A surprised voice came from the darkness and said – You’re awake! It’s okay, it’s okay…

--She felt a shy touch on her shoulder. The touch made her jerk away, but the hand was small, cold and gentle. Pulling away from it, she crumpled up like a discarded piece of paper, with unwanted thoughts scribbled all over it. The other person now drew closer, refusing a compromise. The other person held her and said – There, there… Poor thing. You have nothing to fear. Listen to my voice. I’m here now… You will be fine.

***

--Yolanda could not sleep after that dream, but the soothing hug those girl’s hands offered her did manage to render a bit of relief in the end. She ran out of tears at some point, and the girl holding her fell asleep after that, as if relieved. Yolanda could tell because her breathing changed. It felt like a sanctuary where time froze and Yolanda did not dare move. Partly because she was afraid to wake up her savior, and partly because she refused to acknowledge that time would move on, and that this was in fact, reality.

--Once the darkness decided to retire, the sun came up high enough to fill up the room with light. Yolanda could not truly see anything in the conventional sense of that word, but she was aware of the light as it brightened up her foggy view. She could now make out the silhouette of someone, probably of the feminine gender, cradling her hands around Yolanda. She tried to study the figure, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not make out its features. Suddenly, it moved, startling her slightly. It seemed to be yawning, judging by the sound… And the movement seemed odd at first, but Yolanda remembered that it’s probably stretching. That would be the gesture that made most sense, she thought.

The girl – Oh my, I must have fallen asleep. Look at you! You’re awake already. You could have woken me up, you know. You didn’t have to lie here on the floor with me…

--Yolanda tried to answer, but instead of a voice, she merely let out a dry hissing noise that hurt her throat. The other girl told her to take her time and turned around to grab something with both hands from behind her. As she brought it up to Yolanda’s lips, she could recognize the texture of a clay cup, filled with water.

After a few much needed gulps, Yolanda asked – Who are you?

-I’m Sophia, but you can call me Sophie. – The girl replied.

-Ok… Thank you, Sophie.

--Yolanda saw the indiscernible shape in her view shimmer and readjust with a sense of awkwardness that she could feel even through her dim perception.

-I can’t see. – Yolanda confirmed to herself.

--Sophie was silent for a bit, but then placed her cold hand on Yolanda’s forehead, caressed her bruised face, and then gently pulled her greasy hair back.

-I know. – Sophie said. – Your eyes have no light in them.

-Who are you? – Yolanda’s voice asked, devoid of emotion.

-I’m… I came looking for your brother. I met him about a month ago. He saved my life...

-You know Aidan?

-Yes… - Sophie’s voice replied, after a brief pause.

-Where is he?

--Sophie remained silent.

-Where is my brother?

-I… He left before I got here. The villagers say he assembled a party of warriors and went after the Orks.

-What a fool. – Yolanda thought aloud. – And my mother? Where is she?

-She… Didn’t make it. She lies buried north.

--A silence grew tumultuous between the two girls. Yolanda could feel Sophie grab her by the armpits and lift her up onto the bed, with a bit of struggling. Yolanda dropped her cup and it spilled onto the floor.

-Did they… – Yolanda asked. – Did they do the same thing to her as they did to me?

-No. – Sophie replied with a sharp and bitter yelp.

-Good.

--The silence in the room was now so loud that Sophie was engulfed with chilling sweat, and Yolanda felt like she was drifting away from reality. The silence drowned out everything. It froze them. Yolanda could not move, and Sophie would not dare to.

***

--A great deal of footsteps away from there, and many grains of sand back in time, a little boy and a little girl met in a boulevard in Portsmouth. The boy smeared mud all over his face as he tried to wipe the tears off. The life of one of them will forever be changed by this chance encounter.

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--Thank you for reading. Share with your friends, as sharing=caring. Look out for the next part of the story: "Live by the Sword - Dying is Easy"! I'll try and upload the first piece of this one as soon as possible. May the gods be with you.